Sokpop runs a Patreon that gives
subscribers two games a month for
$3, instead of the $3 each they
normally cost. It’s approaching 1,300
patrons now, earning the studio just
over $4,587 a month. The deadline
informs the scope of most Sokpop
games, which is why they’re typically
bite-sized. “That definitely influences
my ideas,” says Koning. “This is
roughly what I can do in four weeks.”
“We really struggle with
deadlines,” explains Van den
Boogaart, laughing.
SPEEDRUNNING
ThePatreonensurestheyfinishtheir
up on games, while Sokpop can quickly move onto
something new or iterate on older ideas that have the
potential to be developed further.
Between the smaller games, each developer is working
on a larger project. Tio made a new, bigger version of
Simmiland, a card-based god game; Naus recently released
a ‘deluxe’ version of his train tycoon game, Soko Loco; and
Koning is making a more ambitious version of Skidlocked,
the urban biking game. They work on their smaller game
for four weeks, then they switch to the bigger one.
“The big projects don’t usually go that fast, at least not
as fast as you’d expect from a regular studio, because we
also have to make a new game every two weeks,” says
Koning. “That’s the trade-off.”
Since the smaller games are the ones with the deadline,
the others do end up taking
a backseat. And after
getting so used to always
having something new to
create, it can be a bit
dispiriting to return to
something they’ve been
tinkering away on. “It’s
pretty hard to combine
them,” says Naus, adding
that he’s always ready to
move onto something new.
They’ve all got the itch. And
it’s also what the collective
TOP: Pupper Park
has excellent dogs.
Look at him.MAKE CHANGE The many styles of Sokpop
2
On the other side of
the spectrum are the
moody experiments – a
strange alien city, a lonely
night time drive, an
evening in the North Sea.3
While art often plays a
central role in Sokpop
games, it can also be
understated and
minimalist, creating more
space for the mechanics.4
And sometimes it
gets weird, with
potato men playing a
game of dodgeball; or
jumping inside some fruit
to catch grinning worms.1
Sokpop’s games are
often wholesome,
whimsical romps bursting
with colour. They’re fun
experiments with an
equally playful style.games, however, because normally they wouldn’t. “Now
we have to,” says Tio. “So we did it on purpose. When you
have a deadline, you just have to do it. It doesn’t really
matter if it doesn’t work out, because all the patrons and
fans know that if the game is released in two weeks, it
might not be the best game.”
It sounds like a lot of pressure, especially keeping it
going for more than two years, but this is where doing
solo projects works in their favour. They each take turns,
so every developer has a two month gap between games.
That’s still intimidatingly close, but significantly more
than you’d get in a game jam. Sometimes ideas get
scrapped and delays happen, but there’s not nearly as
much room for either as there is in conventional game
development, where delays of months or years are
common, and the cutting
room floor is full of
discarded ideas.
These self-imposed
limits and deadlines actually
free up Sokpop to pursue
new, weird ideas and just
stick with them. Maybe they
don’t always work, but
when a game doesn’t quite
come together, there’s
always another one coming
in a fortnight. It keeps
patrons and players stocked
“WHEN YOU HAVE
A DEADLINE
YOU JUST HAVE
TO DO IT”