Motoviti took (at least) 11 years to make point-and-click adventure game Elroy and the Aliens
Elroy and the Aliens recently debuted on Steam this month as a new hand-drawn point-and-click adventure that was inspired by classic LucasArts titles and sanguine storytelling from the 1990s.
What’s remarkable is that two friends, Tadej Gregorcic and Jernej Kocjancic, got the idea for the game back in 2009. They started it and worked on it on and off, and really got going in 2014. And 11 years later, after self-funding the title through co-dev work, they’ve launched it as an $18 Steam title.
It’s amazing to see something as complex as a game get built by a small team of developers over 11 years. In this age of triple-A games with hundreds or even thousands of developers on a game, it’s hard to work on games with a tiny staff.
Yet it’s not so rare an event among the passionate people in gaming. Stardew Valley was made by a single developer, as was the award-winning Balatro. Billy Basso, the creator of Animal Well, told me at the Dice Summit that it took him seven years to finish the game, largely by himself or at his direction. He won best game direction at the Dice Awards this year. And for his talk at the Game Developers Conference, there was a big line waiting for Basso to speak.
Elroy and the Aliens is getting a good response. It has a 97% positive rating on Steam, 4.8/5 on GOG, and positive reviews from relevant sites, Gregorcic noted.
“We grew up on ’90s point and click adventure games from LucasArts and Sierra (Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle, Space Quest, The Dig, etc.),” Gregorcic said. “I love the feeling of exploration, story focus and puzzles in these games. Little to no action scenes, just a cosy experience, like watching a season of an adventure TV show.”
He added, “As the writer, I also drew a lot of inspiration from science fiction books that I loved (Commonwealth Saga by Peter F. Hamilton, Dune by Frank Herbert, Hyperion by Dan Simmons), and movies and TV shows like Stargate, Contact, Indiana Jones, Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”
The game is modeled after adventures like Indiana Jones, Stargate and The Goonies, as well as sci-fi book classics by Peter F. Hamilton, Dan Simmons, Frank Herbert, and Terry Pratchett. Elroy and the Aliens offers a nostalgic trip back to the heyday of adventure games. Gregorcic said that some of those old LucasArts and Sierra point-and-click games helped him learn English, as he grew up in Slovenia.
Set against the backdrop of the charming Slope City in 1993, players step into the shoes of Elroy, a young, rocket-obsessed engineer haunted by the disappearance of his archaeologist father. Joined by Peggie, a sharp-witted investigative journalist with a particular knack for languages, Elroy will embark on a galaxy-wide odyssey across two richly detailed planets, featuring over 60 meticulously crafted locations and fully-voiced characters, some of which will talk in a mysterious alien tongue designed specifically for the game. On the search for his missing father, Elroy explores themes of love, loss, and regret.
Players have to decipher ancient legends, befriend (or outwit) a quirky cast of humans and aliens, and solve intricate puzzles to unravel the truth behind Elroy’s father’s disappearance. But a conspiracy spearheaded by Slope City’s troublesome mayor could derail their investigation.
Their quest begins with the discovery of a secret crystal and an enigmatic message, launching them from their hometown of Slope City on a journey through the cosmos to find Elroy’s long-lost father, all while unraveling a lurking threat to the very existence of the universe.
Elroy and Peggie face moral dilemmas that each player might experience differently, culminating in a final choice that leads to several distinct endings. How far would you go to bring back the ones you love? In a demo, Gregorcic mentioned one of the characters is named Sierra. And she mentions in the script that she was working on a game and got screwed by a publisher.
In a developer chat, Gregorcic, who happens to be in my science fiction book club, said the idea came after his mother passed away, and he said the game has a kind of duality. It is whimsical at its heart like Indiana Jones and Goonies. But it also tackles serious and dark topics, as Elroy’s father disappears and is presumed dead while he’s young.
As for why it took so long, Gregorcic said the game is entirely self-funded and bootstrapped by Motiviti. A lot of time was spent on client projects to fund the studio, lately especially with Supercell.
“The game is a passion project with high production values. Hand-drawing and animating high-res art takes a long time. It also has around 10,000 lines of fully recorded dialog, an original music score with original songs, etc.,” he said.
And he said the team decided to change direction after the first couple of years, expanding the scope of the game and pivoting to another platform (see below).
“Our passion and determination helped us stick with the project. We believed in the project and wanted to share it with the world,” Gregorcic said. “Early play tests showed us that we were onto something, and they also helped us hone the design, story and balance of the game.”
He added, “When we first started, our target was iOS with smaller scope, but we soon saw that this game has more potential and pivoted to a full-length adventure game with longer playtime. It might still make it to iOS eventually, as it already works well on Steam deck with touch-screen input, for example. At times, it felt really hard to finish the game, but I’m very glad that we stuck with it and managed to realize our vision. I think both players and critics agree that it was worth it.”
Gregorcic said he was able to meet Tim Schafer, the indie game dev who created many of the point-and-click games at LucasArts.
“That was an inspiration,” Gregorcic said.
More than just a nostalgic throwback, Elroy and the Aliens tells a poignant tale of a son’s search for his lost father, seamlessly blending heartfelt emotion with witty dialogue. Featuring an original score that perfectly captures the era, look forward to a cosmic quest like no other when it launches on Steam today.
Key features
The game is a nostalgic point-and-click adventure with a modern twist. Players can experience a true-to-form adventure game with a captivating blend of ‘90s nostalgia and unique sci-fi narrative.
With a rich narrative, players can uncover a deep mystery filled with humor, ancient legends, and alien languages. They have to solve challenging puzzles across two planets and over 60 bespoke locations, brought to life by 60 fully voiced characters.
The game has dual protagonists, as you can play as Elroy and Peggie, experiencing the story from multiple perspectives.
You can immerse yourself in a world of high-resolution, hand-drawn 2D art, fluid animations, and an evocative original soundtrack.
And players can dive into the adventure with full English voice acting and text translations in Spanish, French, German, and Brazilian Portuguese, with more languages planned.
The game let’s players experience a seamless adventure with thoughtful accessibility features, including helpful captions for color-based puzzles, comprehensive subtitles, and additional input options.
Elroy and the Aliens is available to download on Steam from April 2nd for $17.99/£15.99. The game studio, Motiviti, is an indie studio from Maribor, a medieval Slovenian town with the world’s oldest grapevine.
Motiviti is entirely self-funded through the studio’s co-development arm. Gregorcic started the studio Motiviti with his cofounder and best friend Jernej Kocjancic back in 2009. Later, they found the talented Urban Breznik, who did most of the art and animation on the project. All of them went to high school together in Maribor, Slovenia, at different times.
Tomi Goljevscek joined as lead developer and Robert Megone as QA and gameplay programmer later on. For audio, they worked with friends at Epix Soundworks. But everybody spent time on other projects while working for Motiviti.
All of the above full time, although spending time on other projects as well. Gregorcic said halfway through the project, I stopped working full-time at Motiviti and cofounded Coherence with Dino Patti.
“But I kept working on Elroy and the Aliens as a passion project, directing, writing, designing and coding in my ‘free time,’” Gregorcic said. “We also had other help along the way, mostly contracting. The full credits list is available in the game.”
