It originally started as a joke made from someone on the team accidently typing “hooting” in our design doc. I laughed at it initially, then had the “wait a minute” moment. I proposed that we build our rogue-like game around a novel idea: the real life ecosystem of an owl. During my research, I discovered so many parallels to the owl’s ecology that lined up with our design goals. It made sense and enabled us to present a unique perspective of the genre.

Prey would serve as our stat boosts and resource for stamina and health. Predators would serve to grant abilities and present the real danger of an owl to the player. Of course, we took some liberties (a bear boss that summons lightning), but kept it grounded enough that everything felt believable. Using real world research on owls kept the project grounded in reality and enabled our creativity to present a compelling product.