The Stanley Parable originally started life as a Source mod before it was remade for release on Steam by its original creator Davey Wreden and Source modder William Pugh. While both creators recognize that they are incredibly lucky to have their game do exceptionally well for itself, both Wreden and Pugh have struggled to adapt to life post-release.
In Pugh’s case (who told his story to PCGamesN), The Stanley Parable’s success meant that he no longer had to worry about future woes, like short-term employment or financial costs on ideas. He was disorientated by the game’s reception after spending so long developing it–he had even spent 16-hour days working on the game during the last few months of development. Even though he was working with Wreden on the project, the two had never met until after the game’s launch. Before that, Wreden was living in shared accommodation in the United States while Pugh still lived with his parents in England.
The release of The Stanley Parable also affected Pugh’s social experiences. After the first week of launch, Pugh attended GameCity, where he was promptly introduced to other indie developers. Despite describing them as “very lovely,” he admitted that he wouldn’t have wanted to spend his free time with them for fear of going “absolutely insane.” Pugh added that being with other developers left him feeling personally under pressure, and conclude that the success of The Stanley Parable also left him feeling paralyzed.
After the long period of time game’s reception instigating emotional stress on him, Pugh has found footing again in other projects. Instead of wakring on sound and texture editing like he did in The Stanley Parable , he’s wanting to do writing instead. Although confirming that both him and Wreden are working on different projects, the two are “still very much in touch,” and still help each other out. “If another thing comes up where we want to work together on stuff, that’ll definitely happen,” he added.
Pugh admitted that there were points when he wished things were back to normal; that he didn’t quite feel like himself due to how The Stanley Parable’s success changed him. Even when the game finally launched, he preferred to spend time with his family and friends rather than celebrate, which Wreden did with his flatmates. You can read PCGamesN’s full interview with William Pugh via the source link below.
[ Source: PCGamesN ]