Indie Queue: Of Blueberries and Gardening

Even before digging deeply into the game, it's immediately evident one of Blueberry Garden's major selling points is its quirky hand-drawn presentation. The minimalist art style is magnificently sketched, and Svedäng uses well-placed splashes of color to highlight specific elements and breathe subtle warmth into the design. So far, the general response to the game's look and feel has been very positive, which is gratifying, he says. Its unique visual style was developed during years of doodling, mainly in school, while listening to teachers give lessons. "When I finally made the game I just drew like I was used to, not trying to think too much," he adds. Ironically, Svedäng is now an instructor himself, teaching game design to students at the University of Skövde. Drawing the game up from his own art style came easily, but animating his sketches into the game world was a more difficult process. With a little research, he was able to pull it off and is pleased with the end result.

About half of Svedäng's past game projects - Flipside of the Devine, Det Goda Livet (The Good Life), and Bönvagnen (The Bean Vehicle) - have been collaborative efforts created as part of a small team. The special nature of Blueberry Garden has necessitated its development be a one-man project. The amount of control granted by taking the solo development approach is excellent, he says, and it allows things to be accomplished easily and speedily. But it has had some drawbacks: Working on the game has been a rather lonely affair. Svedäng is definitely looking forward to collaborating more with others on future projects - particularly now that he's met so many talented people in the indie development community.

In creating Blueberry Garden, he hopes to instill feelings of curiosity and surprise in those who play the game. "Those two things are something that many adults lack in their life, since everything is so predictable; you go to work, eat, sleep, etc," he says. "In my game, hopefully people can sense that there are things they don't really understand but that they want to investigate and maybe bring back some of the magic from childhood."

As an independent developer, Svedäng is particularly excited that players are now starting to turn to indie titles to get their most profound gaming experiences. He feels it's great that gamers and other developers are so supportive of the indie development community as a whole. Winning the IGF Grand Prize this year bolstered his resolve. "For me the greatest thing about the prize is that it's some kind of proof someone might actually like the game. I wasn't really sure before," says Svedäng. Receiving positive feedback about the game and hearing players enjoyed the experience has been a big boost, he says. "I mean seriously, that's the reason you don't keep your work to yourself, right? Every time someone tells me they got something out of the game I feel so happy."

Blueberry Garden is essentially complete and only a minor amount of polish is left to be applied to the game. It's planned for a PC release in the near future, though a solid date hasn't been decided.

Nathan Meunier is a freelance writer, a regular contributor at The Escapist, and a die-hard indie gaming enthusiast.