Oh hello, greetings and that. As part of our partnership with Blumhouse Games, we’ve managed to steal some time from the developers of Fear the Spotlight for a little chinwag about the game and the cozy horror space in general.

Here’s our interview. Enjoy x

What was your route into game dev, and the steps that led to the formation of Cozy Game Pals?

Bryan worked in the AAA games industry and Crista worked in the TV animation industry. For years we made games together in our free time during nights and weekends. Those projects were mostly small game-jams where we practiced different skills and learned how to work together. As we got better at creating small projects we fantasized about one day making a “real game” together.

Deep into lockdown, when we were re-evaluating our lives (like many people), we decided it was time to finally try. So we both left our jobs and gave ourselves two years to start making what would become Fear the Spotlight!

What did the transition from being cozy-focused to something slightly less cozy-focused with Fear the Spotlight look like? Was this a natural step for you?

It was a VERY natural step for us! We’re pretty cozy people, and that coziness always shows itself in anything we make. We also LOVE horror games and movies.

We think of Fear the Spotlight as a cozy horror game. It has a comforting nostalgia that reminds us of our childhood favorites like Silent Hill, Resident Evil, and Fatal Frame. And even though it can get dark, we made sure there’s a lot of heart in it.

Fear the Spotlight brings a lot together both in terms of aesthetics and themes. What are you most proud of across that mix? For you as creators, what signature did you try to weave through the game?

We’re really proud of the overall pacing of the game. We tried our best to create a horror game that is accessible for many people to finish and get to the end! The atmosphere was something we also really cared about. Our favorite kind of horror creates an atmosphere of dread rather than relying on jumpscares, which was one of our main goals when making Fear the Spotlight.

The cosy-horror space is a particularly interesting one given its somewhat paradoxical nature - why do you think this sub-genre is starting to rise in prominence?

We really just followed our own taste, which covers both cozy and horror. Thankfully, it turns out overlap between the two audiences is a lot larger than you might think!

In general, horror is a perfect genre for mixing with other genres, and it’s gotten more common (comedy/horror, romance/horror, cozy/horror). Which shows that people have many interests and love to see new combinations of the things they like!

What other horror games should fans of FTS be paying attention to? Any big recommendations?

If you’re into cozy and horror you should definitely be on the look out for Blumhouse Games next release Grave Seasons, which is coming out later this year!

We’re also looking forward to Penguin Colony by Origame, a Lovecraftian horror from the perspective of a penguin.

What's next for Cozy Game Pals? We're not expecting a scoop here, more interested in what aspects of FTS you might be looking to explore more in future projects?

We’re always open to any game idea or genre, but we are taking it slow at the moment since we welcomed a baby into our family recently!

For Fear the Spotlight fans, there is a graphic novel in the works that is written by Patricia Villetto in collaboration with Asgard Books. You can follow the Kickstarter page to be updated when it launches!

Huge thanks to Cozy Game Pals for taking the time here - and if you’ve not played the game that, well, rectify that. Ok bye.

pantaloon.

An Interview with Cozy Game Pals