Tonda Ros is the visual artist, filmmaker and game developer
at the helm of DOGUBOMB, a film and video game studio located in Los Angeles.
For the past eight years, Tonda has been working on the studio’s debut game, Blue
Prince: a first-person atmospheric strategy puzzle game inspired by MAZE.
If this all sounds familiar, it might be because you read about this game eight
years ago on Into the Abyss.
Blue Prince is launching on April 10th and DOGUBOMB has officially confirmed Christopher Manson’s involvement in the project.
ARIA: When did you first encounter MAZE? Can you talk about your experience with MAZE then and now?
TONDA: My first encounter with MAZE was in a Target store over thirty years ago, somewhere between the ages of seven and nine. I remember first seeing the book on an endcap shelf featuring books for children. Amid the colorful caterpillars and Berenstain Bears, MAZE stood out. The tone of the illustrated cover was unmistakably dark, yet the open door seemed inviting. I was immediately drawn to the book and I remember my mother having the good sense to leave me to my own devices in the book aisle while she continued shopping. Having been an avid reader of the Choose Your Own Adventure series, I instantly understood the rules that govern the MAZE. And I suspect my first-ever journey into its mysterious rooms was completed sitting cross-legged on the cold floor of Target.
I don’t remember much of that first journey, save one mental image of ending my session in a room with a broken-down brick wall and a caged bird. Which was, without a doubt, Room 32, despite its not having the cage from my memory. It’s not the easiest room to reach, so I do have some doubts that I reached it authentically. Perhaps as I heard my mother return, I flipped to a random page in a desperate attempt to glean more of the house.
Regardless, I was absolutely determined to leave the store with the book on that very day. I do not recall whether I had to make a deal with my mother, whether I employed the use of my child-sized allowance, or threw a strategic tantrum to get my way. But leave with the book I did. And with it, my life was forever changed.
ARIA: How has MAZE influenced your artistic goals and
outlook?
TONDA: In the years that followed, MAZE became a full-blown obsession, which
blossomed into a wellspring of creativity, and eventually settled as the
primary influence of my latest work and the foundational core of my own
artistic taste. It is still to this day my favorite work of art.
Like many of us, I see the world through the lens of MAZE. I cannot see a ladder in a room, or a statue in a courtyard, or a bumbershoot leaning against a wall without immediately thinking of Christopher Manson’s work.
ARIA: What other works, by Christopher Manson or other creators, have influenced you?
TR: Manson’s “big three” all have a special place in my heart, starting with MAZE, of course. That goes without saying. The Practical Alchemist, while lacking the narrative elements and mysteries of MAZE, more than compensates with its equally amazing illustrations and, in my opinion, the best puzzle of all time. I love that the book is actually, secretly, a maze of a different nature, and one that is somehow twenty times larger than its predecessor. I think it’s fair to say MAZE occupied much of my childhood, and The Practical Alchemist has occupied much of my adulthood.
My estimations of these two books are much, much closer than I would imagine they are for most MAZE fans. This leaves The Rails I Tote, a book that I absolutely adore, but one that is destined to stand in the shadow of the aforementioned first and second titles of this spiritual trilogy. I do, however, consider all three books masterpieces and, in descending amounts, all have contributed to the profound influence Christopher Manson has had on my life and my work.
ARIA: From your beautiful Word Sculpture animation, you are clearly a fan of wordplay. Are you a regular solver of traditional puzzles? What types of puzzles do you enjoy?
TONDA: For me, wordplay was a huge part of growing up. My father, an ambigramist in his own right, first introduced me to the world of palindromes, anagrams, acrostics, and ambigrams. Oh, and word squares. Oh god, so many word squares. So yes, I have a particular fondness for word puzzles. But my taste leans a little away from knowledge-based, trivia-centric puzzles like crosswords, and more toward creative puzzles utilizing letters and words. Puzzles that don’t necessarily require outside knowledge, other than, of course, a robust vocabulary.
To conjure up some examples, the work in recreational linguistics of Dmitri Borgmann and the logic puzzles of Raymond Smullyan are among some of my favorites. Speaking of logic, I do enjoy the intersection of mathematics and language. For example, the children’s book Sideways Arithmetic from Wayside School was a favorite of mine as a child.
However, as one might guess with my current occupation, the majority of puzzle games I now play are ones found in the digital space, starting of course with my love of Myst and Riven, representing the true beginning of discovery-based games and foundational entries in the first-person puzzle game genre. A genre that I now find myself working within.
These games, including my own, have players exploring a
world, observing, finding clues, drawing their own conclusions and making their
own discoveries. These are the types of puzzles and games that I enjoy the
most.
ARIA: The MAZE community first heard about Blue Prince
in 2016 when some teaser images were posted on the
fansite Into the Abyss. Based on the trailer and from beta tester reports, it
has changed a lot since then. Can you talk a bit about how the project has evolved?
TONDA: In 2016, the project was known as Bequest. This early prototype of the game was created using store-bought assets and 3D models. By the end of 2016, I was experimenting with different art styles, including some of those you can see in those early screenshots previewed on Into the Abyss.
By the autumn of 2017, I had scrapped the prototype version of the game, including all the stock models and code. I wanted to start over from scratch. Our art director, Davide Pellino, joined the team and together we developed a brand-new style and vision for the game’s visuals. The game was then built back up, brick by brick and room by room. It took us several years to design and model the world of Blue Prince.
Though the game’s visuals have changed since that first year, the core gameplay has remained unchanged. You, as a player, are still exploring a house of shifting rooms. The game still involves strategic planning, a lot of secrets, and a bit of resource management. And of course, puzzles of all variety.
ARIA: Based on the trailer, Blue Prince looks dark,
mysterious, and deliciously MAZE-like. What type of experience are you hoping
to create for players with Blue Prince? How is it like and unlike MAZE?
TONDA: MAZE and Blue Prince share a few striking similarities and many superficial ones. They both involve exploring a large estate of forty-five rooms. They both center around the player choosing doors and exploring rooms. The game and the book both feature many hidden secrets and cryptic clues. Observation and discovery are the core experience of both titles and they both have an underlying logic in the way the rooms connect. I think that’s where the similarities end, and while, yes, Blue Prince is certainly inspired by MAZE and The Practical Alchemist, I never set out to make something that felt derivative.
The gameplay is heavily inspired by board games, and involves a fair bit of strategy as you choose rooms, because each one has its own unique effect on the house. Some provide you with useful items to help in your exploration, while others give you gold that you may spend in shops you find on the estate. In addition, each time you play the game, the house is a little bit different. You should not expect to find the same room behind any particular door from one day to the next.
ARIA: “It changes--sometimes slowly, imperceptibly… sometimes suddenly.” Another similarity to the House that Christopher Manson imagined, even though he could only provide us with a static version in book form. Speaking of Mr. Manson, I understand that he himself had some involvement with Blue Prince. Can you tell me a bit about working with him?
TONDA: I first spoke with Christopher Manson in 2016 and was beyond honored when he agreed to work on Blue Prince. I don’t want to completely spoil the contributions he made to the game, but I will say that he worked for several months on the project, and designed four illustrations/puzzles for the game, over which he was given full creative control. But rest assured, even without specific details, you will know with certainty when you discover the area of the game that he contributed to. Though you may not come across that area until you are well into your adventure.
Being able to work on a project with Mr. Manson and speaking with him about his work and process is an experience I will always cherish. I’m not sure he expected the project to take eight years to reach completion, but I am super proud of the finished product. In many ways the house in which the game takes place is a tribute to MAZE, and the game is, in fact, dedicated to Christopher Manson.
ARIA: Is there anything else you’d like to share with the
Mazecast audience?
TONDA: Eight years ago, the very first preview of this game was shared with the MAZE community. It therefore feels fitting, at the end of this long development process, to celebrate the impending launch of the game by sharing one last preview with that same community. (You may have noticed some similarities in the screenshots previewed in this interview and our original preview.)
In addition to the eternal thanks I owe Christopher Manson, I would like to thank a few people from the MAZE community who contributed to this project: first, White Raven, for creating Into the Abyss, rekindling the world’s passion for MAZE, and putting me in touch with the aforementioned author, architect, and guide of MAZE. To Diane (Factitious) and Vincent (vewatkin), who were both playtesters for the game, my eternal gratitude for the time and insights you gifted to this project over many, many months. I’ve been a fan of Mazecast since the earliest days of my project, and so I must thank Alex (sp) for keeping that flame alive and maintaining the channel and this site for future generations to discover. Lastly, to Sara (Aria) for being patient with me as I finished up my game, and for conducting this interview, allowing me to close the loop.
