How Not To Draw (in a good way) with Sloppy Forgeries
I love to check out the work that independent developers are doing because they often have fewer self constraints when it comes to being creative, innovative, or just having fun. And one of the best ways to find out what they’re working on is to ask them directly! With Hello, Indie! I’ll be popping in to say “Hello!” to the devs and ask about their latest projects.
Each mini-interview is a series of the same-ish questions that I hope bring a little insight into the developer, their project, and what we can look forward to. This week I’m excited to chat with Jonah Warren, the developer behind Sloppy Forgeries. As an Art School Kid this has been one of my more anticipated game releases in the last few years, because not only do I see strange versions of masterpieces but I also find them weirdly endearing — and Jonah is capitalizing on that quirkiness with this multiplayer project.
Hello, Jonah!
Who are you, and where are you (or your studio) located?
I’m Jonah Warren, a professor of Game Design and Development at Quinnipiac University, and solo developer. My studio is called Playful Systems. I’m in North Haven, CT.
What’s the name of your game or project?
The game I’m about to release is called Sloppy Forgeries.
If you could summarize your game/project in a 140-character tweet, how would you describe it?
Sloppy Forgeries is a fast-paced competitive painting game where players race to copy famous paintings as quickly and accurately as possible.
What are you trying to achieve with your game? Is it specific gameplay? Style? Homage to another game?
At first, I just wanted to make a game about drawing fast. That was the whole idea. Over time, it grew into something more: a game that celebrated artists and real drawing ability. Where artists, not gamers, would dominate the leaderboard. The lack of a small brush was a little wink to them and to the old adage: consider the whole canvas.
The premise, which came quickly, made realize it could be something else too. A drawing game that welcomed non-artists, with a premise so ridiculous that failing would be half the fun. For a while, I thought I had to choose between the two. Eventually, I realized they could happily coexist.
How long have you been working on this project, what platforms are you aiming for, and do you have a release timeframe?
I created a prototype for the game in 2018 and showed it widely over the next two years (Day of the Devs, GDC, E3). Plans to release the game were put on hold due to COVID and personal / professional obligations. In 2024 I picked it back up and have been working on it steadily ever since. A free demo arrives October 19th, the full game launches on Steam November 13th, and a Nintendo Switch 2 version is coming next.
Check out Sloppy Forgeries on Steam
