Young Josie-May has been found dead, a violent animal attack they say, but FBI trainee Logan is unconvinced - especially when it resembles an already solved kidnapping and attempted murder case.
'The Big Hollow' is a mature rural noir murder mystery inspired by FBI procedures where evidence must be sifted through, pieced together and reasoned with to solve the question: who killed Josie-May? Delve deep into the perilous corners of the cold and dreary patriarchal mining town of Culditch Creek to find information on corrupt police, drug dealers, convicted murderers and dog-fight ringleaders in this traditionally 2D animated detective enigma.
Please introduce your studio and the members working on The Big Hollow. How did you come together and why did you decide to get into indie game development?
Hi, my name's Dane Krams, the solo designer and developer of The Big Hollow. I got my start as an indie dev when work like the Blackwell series and Machinarium inspired me to see what was possible with small, creative teams, and I quickly directed my Master's degree towards what would later develop into 'Anna's Quest'. I started out in film but, having always grown up with games, I was always excited over ways I could create something that borrowed the best from both worlds. To 'make something I would enjoy playing' is always a driving force for me.
How did you land upon the concept and design of The Big Hollow? What were your inspirations?
There's a lot behind this project! I'm a huge fan of crime stories, true crime or fiction, and started this the day after finishing True Detective. I was really driven and motivated by its ability to integrate the murder mystery with the philosophies and themes behind the characters. I also drew a lot from Silence of the Lambs, Mindhunters, Sweet Virginia, books from David Joy who examines sympathetic ideas in difficult rural noir circumstances. Games like The Case of the Golden Idol, Return of the Obra Dinn and the Frogwares Sherlock titles have really inspired me to find ways players feel more effectively involved in the mystery too, not to mention a number of textbooks and podcasts on FBI procedures. A lot of Logan's story as she progresses through the game comes from some very personal experiences too which I think are quite universal but hard to articulate, so I hope players will enjoy connecting with how I'm hoping to convey it.
What are your future plans and goals? (Feel free to mention how the grant will aid in achieving these, if applicable.)
Funding for full production is my main focus, and this grant is absolutely key. I pitched an earlier prototype in 2022, and it gained a lot of positive support from publishers, but too much focus had been on story and the 'solving' element of gameplay needed to be more engaging and snappier. With Dangen Entertainment's help, I went back to the drawing board on this, getting a much more invested, closer look at emulating FBI serial murder investigation processes, that's been hugely inspiring. After time researching, paper prototyping and a mad amount of flowcharts, work has now begun on what I think is a much more complex and engaging evidence solving process, all thanks to this grant!
Any final thoughts or message to the gaming world?
Keep supporting indie developers! For some people I think it can be overwhelming because there's a lot being produced, but that also means there's more opportunity to find a game that carries genuine human experience and expresses it in a way that you haven't seen before. Keep leaving comments and sharing work from the people who make things you appreciate, every sign of support can have a huge impact on mental health and motivation. Grants like these, the passion for smaller teams and projects from publishers, are the lifeblood for these projects getting made, and they only exist with the players there to support them.