Creator Spotlight: Matt Gilgenbach

            Usually, when I talk about creator spotlight candidates, they have a special connection to me.  I talk about both their past, accomplishments, and my personal story in regards to how I came to be acquainted with the developer.  However, this week is a bit different.  I've only played one game by this man and it's not the one I intend to talk about.  So, why am I talking about him?  What gives me the right?  Well, because even if I never played his games, I'm glad that they exist.  Ladies and gentleman, this is Matt Gilgenbach.

Meet Matt Gilgenbach of 24 Caret games

            Been a while since I did one of these, huh?  Well, I wanted to talk about this particular developer because recently, I gave up on a game called Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth.  Gilgenbach didn't make this one, but hear me out, I'm going somewhere with this.  Call of Cthulhu...is just awful.  It had a spark of brilliance in it, as it stayed relatively true the idea of alien horror invading the world we know and our mind slowly eroding to compensate that is a hallmark of H.P. Lovecraft's work.  It very much matched the pulp fiction culture of the time, with the hero being a noir-esque detective investigating strange goings on that led to the discovery of alien nightmares beyond all imagining.  I'd even go so far as to say the muddy graphics helped in this regard, giving a bleak feel to the game, and the atmosphere was both very alien and lonely in places, but also claustrophobic and paranoid when it needed to be.  The story is also really amazing too, mixing Dagon, Call of Cthulhu, Shadow out of Time, and Shadow Over Innsmouth together in a blender.  However, it is hampered by incredibly poor controls, level design that is frustrating to deal with, a huge number of game breaking bugs, and a frustration factor that makes the game nigh unplayable as a horror title, as the first time a mob of sick, cultish townsfolk chase you, it's scary, but the fifteenth time you deal with it, it becomes annoying.

The Alien horror of the deep ocean mixes with the great atmosphere of Lovecraft...at first.  It quickly gets frustrating though.

            Slowly, I grew to hate Call of Cthulhu, as it was a frustrating game that I was unwilling to slog through for the tiny, MICROSCOPIC bits of quality I could find.  However, I love the work of H.P. Lovecraft...and after giving up on the game I realized that while I hated it...I was glad that it existed.  Because it meant that Lovecraft COULD be done in game form...hopefully it could be done better next time.  It showed that something had value in being created.

Meet Call of Cthulhu's game breaking glitch.  If you don't know exactly where to point and shoot this scope, the game is unwinnable.  Problem is, there's no indicators of where to shoot.

            This brings me to Matt Gilgenbach.  Gilgenbach has a rather skewed view of the world, having near crippling OCD which have led to nightmares when sleeping and difficulty adapting to normal life when awake.  This led to Gilgenbach having depression, even prior to his entry into the game's industry.  Despite this, however, Gilgenbach got his start in the AAA industry, making games such as Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters for the PSP.  Ironically, this is the only Gilgenbach game I have ever played.  It was a decent enough title that, while fun, basically did nothing new and I didn't care whether or not I played it.  Gilgenbach would have fallen off my radar completely if not for the fact that he ditched the AAA industry to go indie.  On the indie scene, Gilgenbach basically defined games that, whether you love them or hate them, you can't help but be glad that they exist.

While fun, the only Gilgenbach game I've ever played is...kinda generic and forgettable.

            After leaving the AAA industry, Gilgenbach created Retro/Grade, a shooter that played in reverse.  You have to basically intercept and unshoot your shots, while avoiding the shots you originally avoided so that the enemies can unfire them, in a mind bending bit of temporal paradox.  Interestingly, it is also a rhythm game, which adjusts the music based on the shots you intercept to create different tunes.  I was both visually stunning and an interesting twist on a tired formula.  There are plenty of shooters, even rhythm based shooters like Rez, however it was an interesting idea to have the game playable in reverse.  What's more, you could control the game with a guitar controller from Guitar Hero.  The game was, sadly, a commercial failure, but looking back, I can't help but approve of the experiment.  Gilgenbach created a game that he had passion for and, rather than following the leader and trying to make the next Minecraft or a retro 16-bit throwback game, he created something wholly original and interesting.  That's admirable, even in the indie scene, and it provides an interesting point of reference to designers in the future to play around with.

            Unfortunately, the failure of Retro/Grade alongside Gilgenbach's OCD caused him to spiral into a period of even greater depression.  However, like a true artist, Gilgenbach tried to take what he had experienced, the hell of his OCD, his nightmares, and his depression, and make something out of it.  Make a game out of it.  And this is the reason I decided I wanted to talk about him.  The game he made...is Neverending Nightmares.

Oh...oh wow...so...anyone else not sleeping tonight?

            Confession time.  I have an odd fascination with horror games.  I don't really like being scared, but I think that horror titles can explore a part of the human experience that few other games can and thusly are unique, powerful experiences.  This has drawn me to a few select ones, like the Silent Hill or Clock Tower games...and it's what drew me to Neverending Nightmares.  The game appeared on Kickstarter when I was looking for fresh new experiences to support and fund.  While I didn't fund the game, I kept an eye on it, just in case...because like with many games, I wasn't sure if I wanted to play it...but I DID want it to exist.

Yes, I'm glad this to exists.  The hell is wrong with me?!

            Well, Neverending Nightmares reached its goal and recently released an alpha build for backers, which I got to see through the Let's Player, Lotus Prince.  The game is sublime.  It features a beautiful black and white art style with highlights of red for blood and with a number of brilliant mechanical and storytelling ideas. 

            The game's basic focus was on Gilgenbach's OCD nightmares, which frequently had him waking up, only to still be asleep and trapped in a nightmare, a cycle which would continue until he eventually did wake up.  Here, this is how you handle both progression and death.  Dying will return you to a bed where you wake up from your nightmare...only to realize you're still trapped in an entirely different nightmare.  When you complete a section, you either die or wake up...only to find you are worse off than before.  It's an interesting idea that gives respawning a very organic feel and allows the players to explore the world without feeling like they're doing the same sections over again, since each nightmare is, in the context of the game, new.

Waking up provides no escape from the nightmare that is life.

            Neverending Nightmares does what all good atmospheric horror games do.  It will create an aura of unease around the player, without the need for musical stings or jump scares...at least not as much as other games.  During Lotus Prince's play through, he found a room filled to the brim with creepy dolls, many missing their eyes, all staring at you.  There are no musical stings or camera changes...the game lets them sit there.  The player believes something bad will happen...but doesn't know when.  This is the feeling of true terror and helplessness, making us want to run from the section.  Also, only objects highlighted with red blood can be examined, meaning that to advance in the game...you have to subject yourself to the horror and the threat of bodily harm or mutilation that is forthcoming.  The trailer even shows a large degree of disturbing imagery, including a man prying a bone out of his cut open arm.  The art style is not meant to be realistic and is hand drawn, but because of the 2D and black and white aesthetic, it is suitably unsettling, especially during the death and mutilation scenes.  The lighting however is one of the game's best features as the darkness really feels alive, chased away only by a candle you can hold or the few lights on in the game...it feels oppressive, crushing...and absolutely perfect.

Oh god...why did it have to be dolls?! O_O

            I've only seen two of the proposed six sections of the game, the first being a house in the woods where things are...a bit tense, to say the least.  The second is a mental asylum, with creepy patients roaming the halls.  I adore Neverending Nightmares.  However, I don't know if I will ever actually play it.  The game is scary.  Scarier than almost any game I've seen in a long time.  It draws on a primal fear, born of Gilgenbach's own human experiences and uses that fear as both a storytelling medium and a driving force for the player.  I don't know if I can handle that.  But even so, I am still so glad that Neverending Nightmares exists.

Have I mentioned this game gets DARK...

            I first encountered Matt Gilgenbach as a developer trying to sell a dream.  He basically laid out that if he couldn't get Neverending Nightmares funded, he'd have to give up on it, not having the time or the money to do it otherwise.  He wanted to turn his fear and his experience into something constructive, that others could understand and enjoy in the form of a game.  And, I was captivated by it.  I didn't want to play it, but that didn't mean I couldn't recognize quality, passion, and something truly amazing.

By surviving our nightmares, we can grow stronger.

            I am glad that Neverending Nightmares exists because like Retro/Grade or Call of Cthulhu, it offers something unique and interesting to the world.  By extension, I'm glad we have developers like Matt Gilgenbach.  Someone willing to take a risk on a dream and work towards making their own nightmares something others can actually see and enjoy.  I've heard that sometimes art merely exists for art's sake and I believe that Neverending Nightmares is definitely art.

Regardless of your stance on art, the game has polish.  Look at that...I didn't even notice that at first!

            I do believe that I will buy Neverending Nightmares at some point.  It's an interesting game that has captivated me with it's art, story, and tone.  However, that is a ways off yet.  For those who want a more immediate interaction with Matt Gilgenbach, you can find Retro/Grade here, the completed Neverending Nightmares kickstarter here, and the Steam Greenlight page, with playable demo, here.

Well done, sir.  Well done.

            As a final word to Gilgenbach, I'd like to say congratulations.  In spite of struggling with your nightmares and your depression, you've created something truly amazing that, no matter how well others receive it, is marvelous simply because it exists.  And so are you, sir.  I look forward, Mister Gilgenbach, to seeing what else you can come up with in the future.

Dream on, dreamer.