Q&A

Sylvain Tegroeg Illustrator

Colour is a common tool in game design. Were you ever tempted to add it?

That's something we discussed at the beginning of making the game. My art style was black and white. I wasn t comfortable with adding colour. I like to work with colours, but I find it really difficult – I don't have as much experience with it as drawing in black and white, so I'm a bit reticent about it. If we had added colour, it would have maybe felt too much like Where's Waldo – even though it's now a really obvious reference! I think if there was colour, there would be a huge change in the art style but also in the how the game would play.

What did you learn from the process of making Hidden Folks?

How to make a game. I had all this gaming experience, thinking, what's the trick? And now when I'm playing games, I see the strings behind it. And working with a game designer like Adriaan – as a product designer, that's something I was always eager to do. As a freelance designer, you work with a client, and you don't have this partnership. I learned a lot about making compromises: things that you would love to be in the game, but actually they can't, because there's a way a game has to be.

Hidden-object games are very popular as a genre. Why do you think that is?

Sometimes I’m wondering if it’s not just voyeurism. Sometimes people interact with things just to be like, ‘Oh, what’s inside that closet or that drawer?’ They just want to have a look. They are just curious. There are so many little stories and little things happening, and your head is just like, what’s happening? You just want to know!