Illustration by Michael DeForge
Slasher Summer
Mina Guadalupe
Mina Guadalupe
+In one or two sentences, describe the main themes present in your game.
The main themes of Slasher Summer are horror, suspense, and mystery. It's like being the protagonist in a retro horror movie!
+What was the inspiration of the game?
What made your team decide to make this game specifically?
I love horror and I really love horror movies. I wanted to play a TTRPG that felt like you were the protagonists in a retro horror movie. However, I wasn't able to find a tabletop game that really fit that vibe for me. So, I decided to make a TTRPG that could be used in any horror scenario, not just the stereotypical slasher film. Slasher Summer fits that niche and lets you play as your favorite horror movie archetype and try to survive the encounter.
+Were there difficult moments when developing the game? What led to those difficult moments? What did you learn from it?
The most difficult part of making Slasher Summer was trying to put together all the components. I wanted it to feel less like a game and more like a horror movie that you were guiding your character through. I ended up hitting a wall a couple of times because of that. In the end, I realized that I just needed to make sure the TTRPG functioned well and captured the aesthetic that I wanted it to as well as the tension and dread that makes a horror film good.
+Were there features you had to remove, and if so, what were they and why were they removed?
I removed a lot of different features at many different times in the game. Before the talents list, each archetype had a skill tree they could slowly unlock. But that eventually felt a little too restricting. Your whole goal is to break out of the archetype you start in. The "dumb jock" always dies. So, you should start out as the dumb jock and try to break that mold to give your character a better shot at survival. Because of this, predetermined skill trees had to go. I feel like allowing the players to pick whatever talents they want is a much better way of creating fleshed out and unique characters.
+Talk about your teammates! What was everyone's role?
I made the game by myself but I've definitely had help along the way. Many of my friends have helped me develop the worldbuilding of Slasher Summer as well as offered a second pair of eyes to look over the game during development and I can't thank them enough for their help!
play this game on itch.io
Itch.io: crowbrainstudios.itch.io
https://www.minaguadalupe.com/