From YouTube to indie development: Daniele Selvitella, aka "Daniele Doesn't Matter", talks about his Lost Alone in our interview
Make the player experience a nightmare with Lost Alone, For Daniele “Doesn't Matter” Find out, is a real dream come true: this is the fulcrum of ours interview to the youtuber. Born in 1987, the Casale Monferrato content creator is one of the web stars active on the platform for the longest time, alternating his design studies with a career started in 2009 with a friend. The desire to put the public on the first floor (and a musical quote) earned him the stage name "Daniele Doesn't Matter", as many of us know him, and has extended to the radio program he conducted, Kisskissenefrega of 2013. In short, the web has never been a constraint for his creative vein.
The author of the interactive autobiography How to become famous while comfortably seated in an armchair (2013) and of the novel E buonanotte: The story of the boy without sleep (2017) officially lands in the videogame world with the Lost Alone project, born as an episodic title. We wanted to ask a few questions to the multifaceted Piedmontese "bat", now that the first episode (Lost Alone: Little Sister) is available on Steam (for five euros). There is a lot to talk about, and the author has kindly decided to give {marca_origen} even more answers than we expected. Between a Twitch stream and another, of course.
Odd one out
Our interview starts with some simple ones presentations, and we take this opportunity to ask Daniele Selvitella what prompted him to enter the field of video games with Lost Alone. His response was surprisingly straightforward.
Alex: On behalf of the {marca_origen} staff, I would like to start from the beginning. You were born mainly as a youtuber and as a graphic designer, so ... how did the idea of landing in the world of videogame development come about?
DDM: I like the world of communication… I was born as a youtuber, but before that I am an art director and web designer. I have experimented with all the means of communication: radio, TV, publishing, web… video games were missing.
One man show - Lost Alone: interview with Daniele “Doesn't Matter” Selvitella
Continuing our interview with Daniele, we asked him who is dealing with Lost Alone from a technical point of view. We have thus discovered that it is he who is "lost and alone": in a similar way to great promises in the indie sector such as Undertale, everything is being born from the efforts of one person.
Alex: Can you briefly tell us about the development team that is supporting you in this endeavor?
DDM: There is no development team. I'm doing it all by myself. This is the biggest challenge.
Like Hitchcock's hardcover with his finger on the dial - Lost Alone: interview with Daniele "Doesn't Matter" Selvitella
At this point, it's time to get to the heart: the game is a psychological horror with a first-person view, where George, the protagonist, has to face his stormy past. The player will experience hours of nightmares and despair, having to change things by solving the various puzzles. What must have been the youtuber's muse?
Alex: What were the main inspirations that led you to choose the horror genre? Does the theme of the nightmares of the protagonist George find some roots in the dream trend like Yume Nikki or LSD: The Dream Emulator? Or maybe you went more to parry on more famous exponents like Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem?
DDM: Horror cinema was my biggest inspiration. I have always been a big fan of the horror genre, and the elements that inspired me the most are taken from the great classics of cinema. On the gaming side, on the other hand, I looked for inspiration in the horror psychology seen in Silent Hill.
"I have competence, and patience: a man can do everything with these two things" - Lost Alone: interview with Daniele "Doesn't Matter" Selvitella
Creating a video game on your own is a challenge, and we dare not imagine how much time Selvitella had to pour into this project the fruit of a very evident passion. And where the imagination does not reach, questions arrive: intrigued by the verve of the author, we asked him how to organize when there are many commitments.
Alex: Given your multifaceted talent, this project must have been in the making for some time. When did this nightmare odyssey start, and how did you fit it into your huge agenda?
DDM: I started almost two years ago… like everything that I'm passionate about, I go to “steal” the time from the hours of sleep and free time. But this attitude has never weighed on me… when I do something I like, it becomes my hobby. Consequently, it is not a problem to do it in your spare time.
The pride of the Italian flag
To say goodbye, we could not have concluded the interview if we did not leverage onSpanishness by Daniele, who makes Lost Alone an indisputably (and not partially) Italian project.
Alex: One last question for listening gamers: given the recent successes of the made in Italy videogame, such as the indies Slaps & Beans and Milanoir or even mainstream games like Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, are there any console ports in the future?
DDM: Porting to [Nintendo] Switch and PlayStation would be a great dream to fulfill. Clearly the time is not yet ripe to say if it will happen or not… but I will certainly try!
We thank Daniele for his availability. Now it's up to you to tell us yours: what do you think of the project? Let us know below, and as always don't forget to stay on {marca_origen} for all the most important news for gamers and more. For your purely gaming needs, you can instead find the best discounts in digital format on Instant Gaming.
