MADiSON Will Drive You Mad With Terror – Exclusive Indie Dev Feature
Every now and then, we come across a game that makes us go: “why didn’t I think of that?”. MADiSON is such a game. It’s being developed by Nosebleed Games, a joint venture between Alexis Di Stefano from Argentina, and David Lovera from the Dominican Republic. It’s had its ups and downs, but MADiSON is nearing completion. Before it terrifies you to within an inch of your life, we bring you the story of how it came to be. In all its gory detail.
YOU HAD ME AT ITCH.IO
MADiSON‘s development story started in 2016. By 2017, the team released a demo on itch.io, which promptly became viral. It was played by streamers and YouTubers in droves. It was downloaded by over 50 thousand people, receiving rave reviews. An extended version of the demo was launched on itch.io at EXPO EVA 2018, where it won the Choice Award. It was apparent that people were in love with the game in which you must shake a Polaroid to see into the netherworld.
RELATED: Download and play the MADiSON 2017 demo for free, on its itch.io page.
In 2019, development took a sad turn and it needed to start anew.
Far from being discouraged by this, Alexis Di Stefano, now working with David Lovera (whom he’d met in Argentina before the latter returned to the Dominican Republic 3 years ago), embraced it. Seeing it as a new beginning. A new opportunity. And did they ever capitalize on that!
REBIRTH FROM CHAOS – BIGGER, BETTER, SCARIER
Starting from scratch meant that Nosebleed Games could do what they wanted with the game. They kept what worked, discarded what didn’t, and added a whole bunch of stuff. The player now had arms to perform various tasks. The picture-taking and shaking mechanic changed completely, too. A whole new collision system enabled MADiSON to be far more interactive than its previous incarnation.
RELATED: Saibot, Doorways, and Hellbound: When Argentinian Horror Went to E3
You can now walk and run freely. There’s no stamina system. Di Stefano says he doesn’t want to frustrate players as they try to traverse the world. I can see the reasoning behind that. I am, after all, a Fallout player. There will also be varied artificial intelligence for enemies. They will not all behave the same, making behavior feel fresh and unpredictable.
You’ll play through 3 separate storylines, all feeding into the central plotline for the game. The player will also traverse a variety of scenarios, including underground tunnels and a church. Ah, I love me some Christian horror!
TO KNOW MADiSON‘S FUTURE, YOU MUST LOOK TO THE PAST
MADiSON has no set release date, but we do have a 2021 release window. If you want to know what you’ll be in for, Alexis Di Stefano mentions the filmography of James Wan (creator of The Conjuring Universe, Insidious and co-creator of SAW), as well as the video game Clock Tower 2: The Struggle. The latter, Di Stefano says, is the game which, at 8 years old, made him realize what we wanted to do with his life.
Does that sound good? I bet it does. So, head to the Steam page for the game. Wishlist it. Be ready to get spooked. And don’t forget to shake that Polaroid. You never know what it might reveal. See you all soon!
