Creating ‘The End of You’

‘The End of You‘ is a short, emotional narrative game about a break up and the painful crawl towards closure.

We spoke to Coyan from Lambic Studios about the creating an emotional game like this, how it manifested and the process of working on a game tied to real-life experiences.

What inspired The End of You?

After finishing my previous project (The Stillness of the Wind) I suffered burnout which ended up lasting 5 years. I started working on this project with no real end goal, keeping the scope very small to increase the chances of actually finishing it, and was starting to think about a narrative when I broke up with my partner.

At that point it made sense to pivot the project as relationships and breakups were very much on my mind at the time. I’m not sure you can call it an “inspiration”, maybe “catalyst” would be more fitting. For me it’s the videogame equivalent to a sad breakup song.

How was the creative process of making this game? Was it cathartic or stressful to relive some darker moments inspired by real events?

Due to the length of development (even though this game was very short relative to most other games, about 8 months) there were definitely times when I felt reluctant to sit down to work on the game, the writing especially as this meant trawling through the past for my most unpleasant memories, it felt a little like beating a dead horse. I don’t think I could continue working on the game now – it was an expression of where I was at the time, not where I am now.

Even though the game isn’t an autobiography, the plot and themes definitely made me reflect on my failed relationship: what happened, how did it happen, could it have happened any differently? But also as I was writing it I was thinking about all my previous relationships and, ultimately, myself and my own mental health in much greater detail than I otherwise would have.

The game is from the perspective of Walter, who clearly isn’t in a great place mentally, and is indicative of how I’ve felt at various times in the past. I feel like I am in a good place currently and I think giving myself this project to work on and the time to process all these things has definitely helped get me here.

The game was designed to be played through in one sitting – why did you choose this for this narrative journey?

One aspect is that as a solo developer I need to be smart about where I focus my limited resources, and making shorter experiences is one of the most direct ways of doing that. On top of that, it made sense for this specific project to keep the play time short. For one, it is a small story, and so a smaller game is appropriate.

But also the fact that the game is designed to make you feel uncomfortable, I wanted to be uncompromising in that sense, and so I didn’t want to hold players in that uncomfortable space for too long, or else risk losing attention which would diminish the impact. The scope and intention of the game is very narrow and singular, for me. There is no need to artificially extend the playtime with busy work, add side quests etc. these would only detract from the core experience I feel.

On top of that I have much less free time than I used to, and so I appreciate when a videogame doesn’t waste my time. Sometimes I think of feature films, and how they can deliver a complete narrative in the same time some games take to get through the intro. I just don’t have the time to play these kinds of games these days.

What has been the reception to the game from folks who have already played it? Have their been any standout experiences or stories you’d like to share?

Mostly tears. One standout experience was from my friend whose marriage is not doing so great, it is incredibly strained and on the verge of divorce. He played it, reluctantly, and cried his eyes out, but afterwards turned round and said that the first thing he was going to do when he got home was hug his wife. The game gave him a peek at what life would be like if his marriage were to ultimately fail, and made him realise that there was still time to fix it, it wasn’t over yet. I was pleasantly surprised to see a positive outcome from a game that doesn’t make any attempt to highlight any positive aspect in the situation. The game wallows in sadness and discomfort as that was exactly how I was feeling at the time.

Is there anything you’d like players to take away from the game?

If players searching for consolation could find it in this game that would make me incredibly happy.

Ultimately though personal loss is something we all have to go through alone, on our own terms and in our own way. This project was my specific way of doing that. When grieving it can feel easier to be avoidant, to distract yourself from the pain, but I think sometimes sitting in your feelings and allowing yourself to feel everything can be a way to achieve acceptance and move on. The End of You could grant that license, to allow (force?) you to sit in these emotions for an hour or so, perhaps even giving some perspective which can be hard to get on your own.

But at the end of the day I think the only thing I can promise if you are going through a similar situation is that you will come out of it feeling slightly less alone, knowing someone has gone though the same things, felt the same feelings, and come out the other side.

Other than that I think the game is more about Walter’s mental health than anything, the breakup is just the context. If I can prompt someone to think about their own mental health and lead them to seek help that they wouldn’t have otherwise sought, that would be great. Gaming as a hobby can be lonely, and I think we have a tendency to wait until crisis point to seek help for our issues, but I want to highlight that mental health isn’t only full on depression or PTSD, it can be negative thought cycles, low self esteem etc., which all affect our quality of life if left untreated.