You may not have heard of Quantum Witch, however if you happen to’ve an affinity for pixel-art platformers with partaking story-beats, meta-narratives, and an array of kooky characters, then you ought to be throughout it. To simply name Quantum Witch a vibrant platformer with a powerful narrative (learn: ‘plotformer’) is to do it a disservice, although.
Quantum Witch is a lot greater than its vibrant pixels; it’s NikkiJay’s private story of fleeing a non secular cult, embracing her LGBTQ+ identification, and in search of solace in video video games. There’s a darkish undercurrent, however finally, Nikki chooses to inform her story – and a narrative that many others will little question see themselves in – with humour and satisfaction.
To get a greater thought of precisely what knowledgeable Quantum Witch and the way the indie ‘plotformer’ got here collectively, VG247 sat down with NikkiJay to ask how rising up in a non secular cult led to the event of the sport and what she hopes audiences will get from it.
The under interview discusses non secular trauma, coercive management, and the abuse of energy.
VG247: I’m conscious that Quantum Witch is essentially knowledgeable by your individual private experiences of fleeing a non secular cult; would you thoughts sharing some extra about your expertise, and the way it has knowledgeable Quantum Witch’s story and characters?
Nikki: I used to be born into the group and my household on each side had been third technology. Age 10, I wanted my tonsils out and I needed to inform the surgeon that I’d reasonably die than settle for sure medical therapies. As a 10-year-old, it is one of many questions they ask if you go for CPTSD analysis: “did you at any level actually actually consider you had been going to die?” Yeah, I used to be advised I needed to be ready for that. I needed to die for God if that was the choice that was offered to me. Both take this medical therapy that God stated I could not have or die. I had to decide on demise. This cult actually kills children for God.
Lots of people stayed as a result of the choice was to lose your complete help construction and social community. You had been actually by your self with nothing, which was the choice I selected ultimately. It’s excessive coercive management. This fashion, they are saying that you’ve the character God needs you to have. Non secular management and abuse of that energy is the largest theme that made it into Quantum Witch. It is extremely a lot once more about urgency and selection: I feel if folks have been via related issues, it should resonate with them.
VG247: Throughout the demo, I obtained the impression that Ren is essentially not within the non secular beliefs shared together with her by others in Quantum Witch, however she nonetheless seems to have a fascination with the Previous Gods. I’ve two questions on this: is Ren on the fence, so to talk, about her beliefs? Does this align with any of your ideas and emotions about faith now?
Nikki: Yeah, I’m agnostic. I’m a skeptic. I’ve to be open to the probabilities. A skeptic who is not open to prospects isn’t a skeptic. They are a cynic, and Ren could be very a lot a skeptic. The vast majority of the characters within the sport are simply points of me that I’ve made into a personality, it is just a bit piece of me that I’ve enhanced with out turning it right into a stereotype so far as I can.
Tyra (Ren’s accomplice) is extra cynical: ‘come on, it is nonsense’. And Ren’s like, ‘no, let’s go discover out’. Her want to go discover goes to guide her into issues that she should not have explored in the best way that she’s going to. However yeah, she is certainly that a part of me who would really like for there to be magic.
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VG247: Quantum Witch’s market – which options unnamed characters that bear uncanny resemblances to some iconic online game mascots – is what I assume to be a illustration of a few of your favorite video games. The sport itself usually jogged my memory of themes and mechanics from Undertale, The Binding of Isaac, and even Stardew Valley. What different video games or items of media helped encourage Quantum Witch, and the way?
Nikki: I really like Undertale. What I beloved about Undertale is the combination of all these kinds and then you definately’d be speaking to a personality and out of the blue it’s a must to play a extremely quick response sport. I am unable to do this. I am too outdated. Nevertheless it was an enormous inspiration within the type of sport I wished to create.
As for the explanation why the online game characters are there within the plot of (Quantum Witch’s) story; they do tie into the plot and there is a little trace that they are saying. And I simply beloved placing in my alternate takes on who these characters had been. You may know Paul Rose from Digitizer. On the very starting of the challenge, I had all my story beats labored out. That is what is going on to occur. That is the way it’s all going to work together, however I couldn’t – for the lifetime of me – begin it.
I could not construct the bridges between these beats and Rose helped me so much. He did a script therapy and a number of the dialogue within the market is immediately from him; (one of many characters you meet is) speaking about tablets and I used to be like, ‘that that simply matches in completely as a result of there’s a character in a while who may want that tablet’. It’s additionally a little bit of a cue for me to have the characters discuss medicine. .
I additionally wished so as to add some queer taste to them, so Princess Nectarine – who’s much like however legally distinct from a sure Nintendo character – is in a polycule with Bowser and Mario and so they wish to roleplay kidnapping. I didn’t got down to make a queer sport. It is turned out that method as a result of I am unable to assist it, however it’s not all these characters are.
VG247: I do know you’re a solo developer and this can be a largely solo challenge, however I’m conscious you’ve acquired some assist with the entire endeavour. You talked about Paul Rose. So may you inform me extra in regards to the individuals who have helped you with creating Quantum Witch and what they did?
Nikki: I need to completely shout out Jerden Cooke for the music. We composed lots of it collectively, (with) me totally on the ukulele which you’ll be able to hear in Ren’s theme. I do not know if you happen to’ve seen the video clip of David Lynch serving to compose Laura’s Theme from Twin Peaks. Working with him is like that. I obtained some incredible music which was just like the music I may hear in my head after I began taking part in on the ukulele. He was in a position to put it down, principally extract it from my head, and put it right into a phrase file.
And Paul Rose; I knew him via Digitizer meetups. We simply obtained speaking on Twitter at some point and met up. He is an amazing man and issues happened fairly naturally as a result of it was when Covid hit and lots of TV work obtained cancelled. I stated to him, look, you must get your self on Fiverr. Put your writing companies on the market as a result of folks needs to be paying for this. I might be your first buyer, and so I used to be! With out his assist, this is able to have nonetheless been a set of little story beats that I’d have had no thought how you can wire collectively.
And I’ve all the time wished to work with Stephanie Sterling. What if I simply ping her on Bluesky and say, “Hey, need to write a chapter of this sport? It is obtained a dancing skeleton in it.” She stated, “Yeah, I am in.” She stated that when she began to do it, she wasn’t totally positive whether or not it could be the correct challenge as a result of she simply noticed a (dancing) skeleton.
The extra she wrote for (Quantum Witch) and the extra she performed the sport, she went, “Yeah, that is my wheelhouse,” and she or he poured her non secular trauma into it, which occurred to simply match completely completely. It is like I couldn’t have requested for a greater group of individuals to work with, and that is form of what I need to say to indie builders who’re solo. You are not alone. You may simply need one identify on the credit score, however it takes a village to lift a toddler.
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VG247: I used to be greatly surprised by simply how cosy the sport is. Admittedly, even with the subject material, I didn’t count on – largely given the artwork type – for this to be all doom and gloom, however I undoubtedly didn’t count on one thing so jovial and actually, straight-up humorous. How did you resolve that this was the method you wished to take when creating Ren’s story?
Nikki: (Stardew Valley), Chrono Set off and Paper Mario: Thousand-12 months Door are my three most performed video games. I really like the type of Stardew Valley and I really like that there is some darkness hidden in Stardew Valley. I actually preferred the humor in it. I imply, if you happen to thought I should not be laughing at this, however I’m, then that’s an achievement. That is precisely what I wished. My essential coping mechanism is humor. I am not saying it is a wholesome coping mechanism, however it form of works. And I imply, I used to be closely influenced by studying lots of Douglas Adams. and he was capable of finding humor in essentially the most bleak conditions.
And the graphical type… After I began this, I could not draw a convincing stick determine. I take a look at the artwork that I did 4 years in the past after I began messing about with this concept and it is simply embarrassing. Objectively horrible, however my essential influences had been Stardew Valley and The Darkside Detective. I beloved the low-resolution type artwork, however there was a lot character in them. So, I took a pixel artwork course on Udemy and a coloration idea course and… then simply discovered, hey, I can do that now. That is bizarre.
VG247: Whereas trying into Quantum Witch and your self, I discovered a beautiful quote of yours from The Guardian: “Quite a lot of faith is about giving up autonomy to some mystical energy that you just’ve by no means seen, heard or met. Over the course of the sport, Ren takes that company again… It’s a queer emancipation story.” Might you develop on this?
Nikki: The consequence of being your self in a gaggle that claims ‘no, being your self is flawed’ is that you just simply get thrown out. It is bizarre as a result of I consider my experiences as distinctive, however the themes they actually do appear to be common. Stephanie Sterling from The Jimquisition: she wrote a chapter of the later a part of the sport. I initially stated to her, are you able to write these three scenes? She got here again and stated “I could not cease writing. I simply love this universe” It is bizarre, since you would not understand it was a distinct writer. The non secular oppression of queer folks is identical wherever you go.
I am actually hoping simply that I’ve obtained that stability proper between a sport that is enjoyable and comfortable and humorous, – that there’s a dancing skeleton who can see via time – but additionally has that deeper which means and that message that you just take again management.
Lots of people would take a look at this and assume ‘you have to be anti-religion’ and I am 100% for freedom of faith, however that additionally means I am 100% for freedom from faith. Whether or not you’ve got obtained religion or not, no person needs anyone else’s religion pressured on you. You’ll be able to’t have freedom of faith with out freedom from faith.
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VG247: How lengthy is Quantum Witch set to be, and what number of endings will there be? I do know you additionally talked about some aspect quests having varied conclusions, in addition to the sport’s essential endings being totally different relying in your selections.
Nikki: I watched a tester play from starting to finish. It took him about three and a half hours, and he obtained my second favourite ending. He had questions in regards to the lore and I stated, “play it once more and make totally different decisions, and you will get a distinct ending, which can most likely reply that for you.”
It is troublesome to say what number of endings there are. There’s three particular classes of endings. There’s bleak. There’s fascinating, the place you form of get a bittersweet ending, after which there’s the tremendous glad ending, and there are variations on every of these. (These rely) on the characters you’ve got helped. There’s additionally little puzzles that you may go and resolve which may improve the glad ending. It is form of like an open-world choose-your-own journey e book, however in pixel format.
If I will do a full playthrough of all decisions and all tales, I’ll simply put apart six or seven hours to do it and I wrote it. So, I am not attempting to find it. I feel it is like The Stanley Parable in that sense.
VG247: I additionally realized that Quantum Witch may have been a novel. It may have initially began out that method and also you then clearly determined to show this right into a sport. How did that come about?
Nikki: One among my pals was doing the Nationwide Novel Writing November. I believed, I’ve obtained this story in my head which could match, so I began writing it. I do not know if anyone’s realized this, (however video video games) are fairly troublesome to make, and novels are very straightforward since you simply sort… I used to be flawed and I actually didn’t get pleasure from writing it.
I made a decision, pondering again on my childhood, I need to make this right into a sport. I need to make this interactive. Alternative is an enormous theme. I need to give the participant a alternative. And it did find yourself as a degree and click on (sport) for some time, reasonably than a plotformer. It doesn’t matter what you do, it’s a legitimate alternative. There aren’t any sport over screens in Quantum Witch. Something you do is simply part of the story and the sport is over if you get the credit.
Quantum Witch is a surprisingly cosy and jovial tackle subjects of non secular trauma and queer identities, but when your curiosity about this sport is piqued, it’s as much as you to seek out out all of its secrets and techniques. NikkiJay stresses that there’s a lot to find for many who are desperate to discover the sport and uncover all of its varied paths, endings, and dialogue.
For individuals who need to attempt Quantum Witch out, you will discover a demo for the sport on Steam, and it’ll even be taking part in Steam’s Subsequent Fest throughout June.
