08-31-2018, 01:24 AM
Why Donut County changed halfway through development
<div style="margin: 5px 5% 10px 5%;"><img src="http://www.sickgaming.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/why-donut-county-changed-halfway-through-development.jpg" width="200" height="200" title="" alt="" /></div><div><p><em>Donut County</em> was finally <a href="https://twitter.com/donutcounty/status/1034497005656002561">released today</a> after six years in development– but it was originally supposed to be an entirely different game.</p>
<p>Initially a game <a href="https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/312142/How_Donut_County_shifted_its_focus_on_Los_Angeles.php">centered around Hopi culture</a> titled <em>Kachina,</em> <em>Donut County </em>developer Ben Esposito discusses why he decided to switch gears and center the game around Los Angeles instead. </p>
<p>It’s common practice for developers to create games that draw inspiration from the histories, stories and cultures of people around the world, however, there’s a delicate balance.</p>
<p>Respecting those people’s feelings while exploring their cultural touchstones is incredibly important, and as a game maker it can be easy to make mistakes, especially as a solo dev.</p>
<p>Esposito actually gave a talk as part of the Failure Workshop during GDC 2015, which addresses the mistakes he made working on <em>Kachina</em>, which drew from Hopi folklore, and his journey to understand and learn from what that really meant.</p>
<p>Developers interested in learning from Esposito about important issues underlying cultural appropriation in game development can watch his portion of talk <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWadgcbtFe4&feature=youtu.be">here</a>. </p>
</div>
<div style="margin: 5px 5% 10px 5%;"><img src="http://www.sickgaming.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/why-donut-county-changed-halfway-through-development.jpg" width="200" height="200" title="" alt="" /></div><div><p><em>Donut County</em> was finally <a href="https://twitter.com/donutcounty/status/1034497005656002561">released today</a> after six years in development– but it was originally supposed to be an entirely different game.</p>
<p>Initially a game <a href="https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/312142/How_Donut_County_shifted_its_focus_on_Los_Angeles.php">centered around Hopi culture</a> titled <em>Kachina,</em> <em>Donut County </em>developer Ben Esposito discusses why he decided to switch gears and center the game around Los Angeles instead. </p>
<p>It’s common practice for developers to create games that draw inspiration from the histories, stories and cultures of people around the world, however, there’s a delicate balance.</p>
<p>Respecting those people’s feelings while exploring their cultural touchstones is incredibly important, and as a game maker it can be easy to make mistakes, especially as a solo dev.</p>
<p>Esposito actually gave a talk as part of the Failure Workshop during GDC 2015, which addresses the mistakes he made working on <em>Kachina</em>, which drew from Hopi folklore, and his journey to understand and learn from what that really meant.</p>
<p>Developers interested in learning from Esposito about important issues underlying cultural appropriation in game development can watch his portion of talk <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWadgcbtFe4&feature=youtu.be">here</a>. </p>
</div>