Local game developer Dan FitzGerald (@Dorkus1218) has been busy this winter. Tucked away in his Logan Square apartment, FitzGerald has been developing a soon-to-be released game called Dog Sled Saga. In the meantime, he also developed another winter-themed game called Dawn of the Plow.

Both Dawn of the Plow and Dog Sled Saga use technologies used by game systems of the bygone era like Nintendo and Gameboy.

“Do I actually want to limit myself to the technical limitations that were on Nintendo and NES or on the Gameboy?” FitzGerald asks. “Or do I kind of just want to evoke it and break some of the rules?”

Logan Square resident designed the computer game, Dawn of the Plow, which uses technologies similar to those used by Nintendo and Gameboy developers. Photo: Dan FitzGerald

Crowdfunding Sets Release In Motion

The release of Dog Sled Saga became a certainty after a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2013. Obtaining the funds only set in motion the creative, grueling and rewarding process of indie game development, according to FitzGerald.

Back in December of 2012, FitzGerald and his girlfriend Lisa Bromiel began, as FitzGerald says, “a much bigger game than we have any right to be making as beginners.”

A pixelated promo video he created with Bromiel caught the attention of interested parties beyond their circle of friends. One weekend, they launched a Kickstarter campaign that resulted in more than $14,000 from 1,000 backers, (more than double their original goal).

Dog Sled Saga is set to be released soon. Photo: Dan FitzGerald

“It looked like so much money and felt like so much money. But after you budget it out it’s just enough,” FitzGerald says.

While he is still working on developing Dog Sled Saga, he hopes to release it by late April. Dog Sled Saga will be bigger, more complex but subtler than Dawn of the Plow, he says.

The object of the game is is to guide your dogs to pull your sled faster than everyone else and win the race. However, the core themes are animal-human codependency, influence without direct control and picking up on each dog’s personalities with non-verbal signals. You have to keep the dogs happy. If you win a race you can buy more gear, hire new dogs and join more advanced leagues.

“Dawn of the Plow”: A Game To Save Christmas

During the last two months, he took some time off to develop a side project called Dawn of the Plow (@PlowFacts).

Perhaps it was the one of the polar vertexes or the Winter Olympics in Sochi that inspired himto create another snowy game.

FitzGerald says he came up with the idea for what he calls “a game to save Christmas” after a holiday themed game jam, an event where developers create a game in a short amount of time. In Dawn of the Plow, players have to successfully plow mounds of snow so cars can make it across the board.

The incredibly unapologic winter inspired FitzGerald to develop a side project called he calls Dawn of the Plow. Photo: Dan FitzGerald

Although the game sounds simple, FitzGerald says, “[I] wanted it to be abrupt failure.” LoganSquarist tested the gameplay and found it to be as challenging as advertised.

Dawn of the Plow took about a month and half to complete and was released on Jan. 27. So far, FitzGerald and Brumiel have sold 1,100 copies of the game.

Chicago Gaming Culture

FitzGerald joins the ranks of other developers in Chicago, such as the Men Who Wear Many Hats (@HatsProductions), which opened up a shared office space for local game developers. FitzGerald says he found inspiration to become a developer from Chicago companies including Robomodo (@Robomodo) and High Voltage Software (@HVSGames).

“Right now, the Chicago game scene is something I feel really proud to be a part of,” he says.

FitzGerald also has some advice to aspiring new developers.

“Start small. Don’t be afraid to rip stuff out. Be ruthless,” he says. “It seems daunting to nuke everything. I usually start out being way too neurotic and then find a way to do it simply.”

You can pre-order Dog Sled Saga and buy Dawn of the Plow on Windows, Mac, Linux and Android.