See a Different Side of RPGs in Holy Potatoes! A Weapon Shop?!
Anyone who has ever played an RPG knows that one of the most entertaining aspects of them are the non-playing characters. The best games are the ones where you can interact with these colorful folks and learn about their unique backgrounds. Some games, like Skyrim, will even let you follow them around and see what they’re programmed to do when they’re not talking to you. Eventually, though, even the most compelling NPCs will run out of dialogue and start performing repetitive acts. But what must it be like to be an NPC?
Daylight Studios, in Singapore, decided to make a game which explores this. “One day, we sat down and wondered: What do NPCs do when they’re not repeating the same lines over and over again?” Realizing that there was an untapped world to be investigated, they decided to bring it to life, and out of that came Holy Potatoes! A Weapon Shop?! – “a look at an RPG from the other side.”
In this PC game, everyone kinda looks like a potato – even the dogs. You play as a potato blacksmith, who has the potential to discover and craft hundreds of unique weapons. Instead of being the hero walking around talking to NPCs, you’re the NPC who gets visited by questing heroes; Players can then talk to them, learn their stories, fulfill their special requests, and earn their customer loyalty. Players must also explore in search of materials and enchantments to use in weapon crafting, research blueprints for new designs, upgrade the workshop, and hire other potatoes. Workers can be trained or sent on vacation, or hired and fired on a whim. Players can even adopt a potato dog of their own.
Holy Potatoes is designed for PC and Mac, and can be played in English, German, or Japanese. The game’s score was composed by Kimura Masahiko, best known for the original score to the Genso Suikoden and Castlevania series. It’s currently up for votes on Steam Greenlight, and attendees at next month’s GDC will have the chance to try it for themselves. See what else Daylight Studios is dreaming up when you like them on Facebook or subscribe to their YouTube channel.
