TVGB had this kind of laid-back chat with Mike Monroe and Scott McKie from Belief Engine, this indie game studio that sounds like a wild mix of creativity and cozy chaos. They’re buried up there in the Pacific Northwest—well, they were, but now they’re soaking up inspiration in Japan (which, let’s be honest, is a pretty cool place to hang out and daydream). So, they’re there now and it’s been fun to get inside their heads about their game, DEAD LETTER DEPT., a thing that messes with your mind a bit and makes typing spooky. Seriously.
You’d think, 12 years into this game dev stuff, they’d have it all figured out, right? But here’s Mike, having made a leap of faith to Washington to go to some trade school called DigiPen from Colorado back in ’04. Why? Because game-making had him hooked. Scott, on the other hand, took a detour through Fine Arts in Boston. Eight years in school and still uncertain. I mean, who can blame him, right? So, he lands in Washington too, hunting for something stable, but, you know, student loans and dreams don’t always match up.
Watch this… they start tinkering with game ideas together. Lots of duds before finding their groove. Scott chips in, mentioning how they built Belief Engine as a creative outlet, right? DEAD LETTER DEPT. is mostly Mike’s brainchild, but Scott’s hands-on too. It’s like watching two completely different artists jam together.
Talking creativity and games, TVGB asked if any specific game sparked their journey. Turns out they share expected interests, but diverge too—totally normal, right? Honestly, their partnership sounds like a symphony of nerdiness and innovation. For Scott, inspiration oozed from an actual overnight gig he had in Boston. Imagine this: sketchy industrial vibe, silent night shifts—perfect fodder for a game with eerie tones.
I gotta pause here, because Mike’s trying to tackle this “flow state” thing in games. Getting your brain to relax and wander while you’re typing away, like in DEAD LETTER DEPT. Think doing dishes while daydreaming. He wanted to slap in a Tetris kind of feel into horror—bold move! And here’s Scott all “zone in,” reminiscing about how weird it got as they mashed up old ideas, creating something hauntingly new. There were even moments with rogue code doing its own thing—kinda like having a digital ghost—or maybe, more like a raccoon in the attic you didn’t know about.
First-person perspective seemed an accidental genius move for immersion. I guess they considered other options but sticking with a straightforward view just kept things… I dunno, personally gritty? They raved about wanting the experience to be raw, almost paper-cuts-on-your-fingers real, avoiding extra characters or cutscenes.
Fast forward, now they’re working on some language-learning game, slice by slice. Scott’s on this personal cultural journey through games—constantly mining these top-down RPGs from the ‘80s and ‘90s for inspiration. And as for adventures in Japan, they’re living the life, exploring tunnels straight out of a macabre fairytale. It makes perfect sense why their games have this edge. Haunted places, surreal staircases… if these guys ever invite you on a road trip, be wary of the metaphoric ghosts!
Despite their ongoing projects, they’re planning more releases, but keep getting sidetracked by all these inspirations. I mean, who wouldn’t? Anyways, if you’re into quirky indie games or mysterious soundtrack vibes, definitely peep DEAD LETTER DEPT. on Steam. And maybe—just maybe—you’ll glimpse some of Japan’s mystical energy in their future endeavors.
