Wholesome Games is set to launch developer Poti Poti Studio’s new puzzle game, “Is This Seat Taken?,” through the company’s Wholesome Games Presents label.
The game, which is described as “a heartfelt puzzle adventure that will have you wondering, ‘Does this person really smell that bad?’,” will launch a public Steam demo Feb. 10. It will later debut across Steam (Windows, MacOS, Linux), Google Play and the App Store.
Per the synopsis for “Is This Seat Taken?”: “When aspiring actor Nat finally sees a shape like them on the big screen, a globetrotting adventure of self-discovery kicks off. Whether it’s a crowded movie theater, a wedding reception, or even a cramped taxi cab, you’ll need to find the perfect spot to seat people with clashing quirks before advancing to the next level. Be careful not to seat someone blasting their music next to a sleepy passenger because they won’t be too happy. This cozy puzzler is full of charm, humor, and a whole lot of heart.”
“Originally, we were not looking for a publisher because with the state of the industry, most publishers just give you money and then kind of forget about you, and they take a huge cut of your earnings after the game is released,” “Is This Seat Taken?” developer and Poti Poti Studio co-founder Ausiàs Dalmau Roig told Variety. “So we were not looking for anything, but we were kind of interested in marketing guidance and having some kind of guidance, because it’s our first title alone, like not in an studio. So I went to Gamescom and I spoke with one friend that we have in common and said we were looking for publishers, and they spoke about Wholesome and how it could fit us because we started the game, but we need that other part, with the marketing and a little guidance overall. We thought it would be a good idea because we also follow them from their showcases and from all the stuff that they do.”
Fellow Poti Poti founder and “Is This Seat Taken?” developer Sergi Pérez Crespo added: “We didn’t need an injection of money at that time. And their kind of publishing is what works for us for now. So why not, if they see our game, that it can work for them, we’re happy with that. So it’s win-win.”
As the publisher in this case (a conventional label the Wholesome team initially fought for a while following the company’s 2019 launch, but has since embraced with its Wholesome Games Presents publishing arm), Wholesome Games is looking out for the indie developer in a way it says many big publishers aren’t willing to.
“I think for me it’s a matter of wanting to really build something sustainable, and that is for both sides,” Wholesome Games founder and director of Wholesome Direct Matthew Taylor told Variety. “Obviously there’s sustainability that we have to make money, so we can keep doing it, keep offering these services to other people, but also making sure that the deal is such that the developers, even if they don’t work with us on the next game, can continue. And that that’s kind of unique. Some developers are in a situation where they need a lot of money right away, right, and they’ll pretty much have to do whatever the publisher wants them to do because they need money to make their game. So it’s sometimes rare that games are in that situation, but we really just want to do the things we’re good at, and we’ve gotten a lot of practice over since 2019. And whether it’s the showcases or social media curating the games, I think we’ve gotten practice at what we’re good at, and then everybody on the team brings something different to it.”
Wholesome Games is known for just that — wholesome games. The kind that have been label “cozy games” in recent years. But what draws the team to that particular genre in the first place?
“What I love about wholesome games, about cozy games, is this idea of expanding upon really mundane and everyday moments, and then finding ways to make it delightful,” Wholesome Games host and developer Jenny Windom said. “So seeing this game that took this very, very mundane thing of sitting on a bus and finding your seat and then making it really joyful and in a lot of ways magical and fun and memorable, I think, it utterly charmed me. And I remember playing it and thinking, ‘I can’t wait for the next levels. I want to see more.’ And that initial just charm was really what attracted my attention.”
Wholesome Games exec James Tillman added: “On a very practical level, I think something that’s been a common thread among the games that we’ve worked with is that when we play tested them, I felt compelled to get out my phone and text Matthew and Jenny and say, ‘Hey, look at what just happened in this game! Wasn’t this cute?’ or ‘Wasn’t this funny? And that was something that happened a lot with, ‘Is This Seat Taken?’”
The Wholesome Games team is a small one, made up of Taylor, Tillman, Windom and Wholesome Games organizer Victoria Tran. But their respective backgrounds as developers gives them an edge in helping publish indie titles.
“We have this experience as developers as well,” Windom said. “And I think one of the things that we struggle with as developers, or at least I know I have, is the unavailability of options. So in addition to sustainability, it’s just providing additional options for developers to explore to find that right path for them. Because right now, I think one of the threads is that there aren’t very many options in the industry, so just trying to help, again, build sustainability through that avenue.”
Watch the trailer for “Is This Seat Taken?” via the video below.
