Indie game maker aims to develop Disney-like game

Seen is a screenshot of mobile game “Fuzzy Seasons: Animal Forest.” / Courtesy of FatherMade

By Baek Byung-yeul

FatherMade CEO Lee Chan-su

Game developer Lee Chan-su made a big life decision two years ago.

Working for the local game developing company Bluehole, Lee had participated in developing online games such as “Tera,” but he chose to leave the company and create his own studio FatherMade in 2016 in a bid to make a game suitable for the whole family.

“While I took part in making popular games such as Tera, one day I found my wife didn't enjoy the games I made,” Lee told The Korea Times, Aug. 1. “When I was in my 20s and 30s, I was an avid fan of role-playing and action games but after becoming a father I realized there are no mobile games I can enjoy with my wife and daughter.”

After creating his studio at home, Lee aimed to develop a Disney animation-like mobile game that both adults and children can enjoy.

“I set my sights on making a Disney-like mobile game so adults and children can enjoy it together. In Japan, fathers who are video game fans play Nintendo's Mario Brothers together with their children,” Lee said.

After spending 14 months as a one-man studio, Lee launched the online mobile game “Fuzzy Seasons: Animal Forest” here last November and in the global market in June.

The easy-to-play game revolves around furry and cute animals. Players are encouraged to raise the animals in their virtual garden, and after a certain time period the animals will eventually “graduate” and leave the garden after having an emotional graduation day.

“With this game, I wanted players to experience the feeling of parting and separation. Since I released the game, I found many players feeling this kind of emotional weight after playing this game,” Lee said. “When the game was introduced at an indie game conference in Japan this May, I saw an adult player burst into tears after graduating the animals the player raised.”

“Fuzzy Seasons: Animal Forest” was well-received. The Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) chose it as “Game of the Month” last month and the number of downloads via Google Play Store has surpassed 200,000.

“The number of downloads is not enough for a big company but it is a competent figure for a one-man studio. Also, it was given good ratings between 4.8 and 4.9 stars on a five-star scale,” Lee said.

Lee developed the game mostly at his home studio. Excluding his salary, he spent about 40 million won ($35,602) to complete the game.

“I thought I could do everything by myself, but I had to outsource the sound-making part as I couldn't make the animal sounds,” Lee said.

Lee said his next game will be for the whole family. “Like games based on popular children's animation Pororo the Little Penguin, we do have games for children in Korea, but there are no games of the Mario franchise here. I would like to keep developing games for the whole family,” Lee said.