Update at 10:08, 07/09/2013:
The Kickstarter campaign for Elementary, My Dear Holmes has been suspended. For further details, please see our follow-up article.
Original article at 06:00, 03/09/2013:
We were recently made aware of an excellent new project on Kickstarter for point-and-click adventure Elementary, My Dear Holmes. Victory Square Games first title sees Dr John Watson decide that it’s his turn for the spotlight rather than the attention-hogging detective Sherlock Holmes.
In Elementary, My Dear Holmes, players take on the role of Dr Watson as he travels around 20th century Europe. A cryptic message from Afghanistan, a lost heiress, a cunning noble family and the birth of an organisation that will come to be known as The Illuminati are just some of the elements that he’ll be facing. The game features all the best-loved characters from Arthur Conan Doyle including Sherlock Holmes, Irene Adler, Inspector Lestrade and Professor Moriarty, as well as a cast of unique new faces.
At the time of writing the questions below, the Kickstarter campaign was almost fully funded at just $5,000 away from its target of $50,000. We’re pleased to say that it has now achieved this aim and, with still over a week left to go before the deadline, we’re looking forward to seeing some stretch goals smashed. Sam Chandola heads up Victory Square Games and we’d like to thank him for taking some time out of his busy schedule to give us his answers.
How did the Victory Square Games team meet and what made you decide to make Elementary, My Dear Holmes?
“The idea for Elementary, My Dear Holmes came to me a few years ago when I was living in Germany. It was there in the back of my head for a few years while I worked on other projects. Then I went to school at Vancouver Film School and met some great, talented people there. I founded Victory Square Games after graduation and hired some of the best and brightest young talent in the city. We all have a love for point-and-clicks, so making Elementary, My Dear Holmes was a no-brainer!”
You mention on your Kickstarter page that you’re big fans of the point-and-click adventure genre, citing titles such as Monkey Island and Grim Fandango. How have these classic games inspired your work?
“Our design and narrative strength is heavily inspired from old point-and-clicks! We love the classic storytelling these games had, as well as the whimsical, tongue-in-cheek nature of the narrative. As our Kickstarter video probably hints at, we love that same whimsical humour tone.”
Your promotional video for Kickstarter is hilarious, it’s obvious that Victory Square Games has a great sense of humour! How far has the team’s humour influenced Elementary, My Dear Holmes’ plot and what made you decide to make Sherlock Holmes the villain?
“I’m proud of the fact that my team is a crazy motley crew. The team’s ridiculous but funny sense of humour has a huge impact on Elementary. We do writers’ room sessions, where we sit down and bounce ideas off each other, and with each pass, they get crazier and crazier (and hopefully funnier and funnier). Someone writes a scene, then passes it around the office and everyone else adds in their jokes and inputs. It’s a great way and works well.
“Also, I wouldn’t necessarily call Holmes the villain – just the sidekick. That idea came to me when I was re-reading Sherlock Holmes and thinking, ‘Poor Dr Watson. He has spent his whole life glorifying another man’s career and brilliance.’ That’s not nice for anyone’s ego and sense of respect, and I wondered how he felt about it. That’s when I decided to turn the tables!”
You say that the adventure genre ‘had been given a death sentence’. Why do you think these games are making a resurgence now and where will your project fit into this comeback?
“I think the adventure genre was given a death sentence by big publishing houses, who viewed it as a niche market when compared to mass market AAA titles. The audience for the genre was always there – they were just fragmented and it was difficult to bring enough of them together to pitch a viable product.
“But thanks to digital distribution crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter, that key problem has been solved. It is now possible to get a community of point-and-click lovers who are willing to spend money to get those games, and digital distribution means that logistics of shipping and distribution to this niche, spread community has been solved as well!
“As for where our project fits… well, we all dream and hope of becoming the next cult classic in point-and-click, don’t we? ;-)”
The Kickstarter campaign so far has been very successful, with the game almost funded and still eighteen days left on the clock (at the time of writing). What challenges have you faced going down this route and were you prepared for them when starting out?
“Yes and no. Being a no-name developer, we kind of threw out a prayer when we pitched the idea without a lot of gameplay footage. But we were hopeful that the humour in the video would stand out and convince people to give us a chance. Thankfully, that’s been the case so far.
“The biggest challenge, of course, has been getting the word out there. I am not kidding when I say we have been monitoring dozens of forums hour after hour telling people about the game, replying to their queries, addressing their concerns and what-not. Letting people know we are making a game like this is our biggest challenge, and we’re grateful for any media coverage we can get (thanks, 1001-Up.com!).”
You’re looking to build a community around the title and take advantage of player feedback; how are you going to encourage this? Do you think it will be difficult to meet player expectations and keep everyone happy?
“You can’t please everyone, all the time. But it is possible to facilitate a participatory decision-making process. We believe game development is not a one-way process. We are making games for the people, and so it’s important to keep in mind what appeals to them and what not.
“There will be conflicts, of course, but the key is that we be aware of them. As long as we know what is resonating with one section of the community and what is not, we can make better, more informed choices. As opposed to just making what we think or feel will resonate, and then finding out we thought wrong (for better or for worse!).”
In order to be a match for OUYA’s #FreeTheGames Fund, it’s necessary to make Elementary, My Dear Holmes a console exclusive for six months. What would you say to someone who’s thinking of backing the Kickstarter but is put off by the fact that it won’t be immediately available for other platforms?
“I’ll say that judging from the comments, almost 80% of our backers don’t have an OUYA, but are supporting us to get the game once the six months period is over. We are promising to take those extra six months to put upgrades in the game, including additional content, HD graphics, back stories to the characters and a few extra surprises.
“For any BBC Sherlock fans – you guys already know that patience brings sweet rewards!”
Is there any advice you’d give to someone making an indie game?
“That’s a very broad question. A lot depends on the genre they’re targeting and the resources they have, but here goes:
“Believe in yourself. Believe in yourself and your ideas. There was a time when I thought no one would care about a story for John Watson and I was considering dropping the idea. Thank goodness I did not keep thinking that way!
“Also, pitch your game out there. Gaming is huge now and there are many people looking to make investments in the sector. Victory Square Games has a small amount of funding for our other projects, and it really, really helps.”
Can you tell us which component of Elementary, My Dear Holmes you’re currently working on? How are you feeling about its release?
“Story is king in a point-and-click adventure game. And I’m happy to say that we have just finished the script and story, in full. We feel good about it now (got lots of little jokes and what not) and I look forward to see how it will change during implementation, hopefully for the better.
“And we are now just moving on to finalizing the art style. We’ve released a bunch of concept art today and asked our backers to tell us what they think about it. I’m looking forward to hearing from them!”
Do you need any additional voice actors? The 1001-Up.com team is from London and we actually work around the corner from Sherlock Holmes’ fictional address on Baker Street , so…
“Haha, that’s great! We’re actually accepting demo reels from anyone and everyone who’s interested at admin@victorysquaregames.com. Look forward to your guys’ as well!”
Once again, thank you to Sam and the rest of the Victory Square Games team for taking the time to answer our questions. The Kickstarter campaign for Elementary, My Dear Holmes is due to end on 13 September 2013 so make sure you check it out as soon as possible – it looks like it’s going to be one hell of a hilarious ride.
1001-Up.com 
Care to write a follow up regarding their Kickstarter funding irregularities?
Could you provide some more detail on this please?
As requested, a follow-up article can be found here: http://1001-up.com/2013/09/06/double-trouble-for-ouya-game-kickstarters/