October 09, 2024
Chris Compendio/PhillyVoice
Developer Mike Strollart points at the screen as a player tries out his studio's game 'Below the Stone' last month in the Localhost Philly center during the PHL Gaming Conference.
A game about mining dwarves that Mike Strollart started with friends went on to earn more than $40,000 in a crowdfunding campaign that caught the attention of several publishers, causing the South Jersey developer to realize that not all big companies in the industry are "blood-sucking vampires."
Strollart, of Hammonton, is the founder of Strollart Studios, which comprises six members from New Jersey, Philly and New York. The team created "Below the Stone," in which players control dwarves as they descend into a network of caves to mine for materials and embark on quests.
"Below the Stone" is available in "early access," meaning consumers can purchase and play the video game while it remains in development. Strollart Studios is still adding new features and plans to release the full game in late 2025 or early 2026.
Strollart's own descent into the mines of game development led to several lessons, including how to take feedback from players and how blocking every big name in gaming trying to get your attention might be a bad idea.
In his middle school days, Strollart messed with tools like GameMaker, a program designed for all levels. Those experiences made Strollart curious about the people behind the games he loved.
"I thought I was just playing around with (these tools), but I was actually making games. And then eventually I said, 'Well, you know, why don't I extend this hobby a little further, and then start working with people?'"
He then contacted a programmer in Pennsylvania that he met while playing zombie survival game "DayZ," asking about recruiting other friends and creating games together.
Through the mid-2010s, Strollart and his friends would create several "half-finished" hobby games that would never see the light of day, including "Lawnmower Simulator: Time to Mow Down the Lawn," where the player uses machine guns and rocket launches to cut the grass. But these silly concepts contributed to a foundation for what would become "Below the Stone."
"If I pulled up a picture of 'Lawnmower Simulator,' you would see certain similarities. All the ancestors to 'Below the Stone' fit like little pieces," Strollart said. "It's almost like a family tree from before we started selling our big game."
By 2019, Strollart and his friends were in the early stages for "Below the Stone," a game starring dwarves (inspired by Strollart's love for a fictional race in "World of Warcraft") exploring the deepest depths of an underground system. That year, the team launched a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter for the project.
While Strollart expected friends and family to support the funding effort, he was surprised how many people outside that base backed it.
"For people to be complete strangers, believing in our project, believing in what we can create, was a big transformative moment for us," Strollart said. "There's a difference between a friend saying, 'Oh man, this is so cool,' versus somebody that's a stranger saying, 'Wow, this is interesting. I really like this.' Because a friend might be just playing nice with you. It's like when your mom compliments the spaghetti art that you made and hangs it up on the fridge."
While the initial campaign didn't reach its goal of $10,000, the "Below the Stone" team launched a second Kickstarter in 2021 with a new goal of $20,000, which they exceeded with a total of over $40,000. The success attracted the attention of about a dozen video game publishers.
"I had always thought publishers were blood-sucking vampires," Strollart said. "Every time a publisher reached out to me, I would almost immediately block them or tell them I'm not interested, which is probably the worst idea you could have when somebody's waving money in front of your face."
One company, Apogee Entertainment, was quite persistent, with its founder Scott Miller messaging Strollart on social media. Despite blocking him at every turn, Strollart relented after receiving a Facebook message.
Miller, who has credits in prolific titles including "Duke Nukem," "Wolfenstein 3D" and "Max Payne," won Strollart over with a humble attitude and his body of work.
With the backing of a publisher and hundreds of people he didn't know, Strollart found himself engaging with prospective players eager to give feedback. Strollart thought this was "intimidating but exciting."
The Discord community server for "Below the Stone" has nearly 1,800 members, many who regularly interact with the developers.
"We try to not be the developers who like gatekeep and say, 'Well, this is my vision, and I don't listen to players,' and all that," Strollart said. "If you're interested in actually playing this game and you're interested in what we're making, why wouldn't I want to listen to you?"
The game has nearly 20,000 digital copies sold, according to Strollart, but he and his team are still taking feedback to heart. The next update for "Below the Stone," releasing on Oct. 16, will have player-recommended improvements to the game's combat and the ability to save characters in the game world who can assist you later in your quest.
"Below the Stone" is available on Steam, and Strollart plans on bringing the title to PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch consoles after its full release.
One title that Strollart naturally gravitated toward was "Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor" — another game that centers around dwarven miners.
The original "Deep Rock Galactic" in 2020 was a first-person shooter game. "Survivor," which was released in February, has the camera at a top-down perspective.
Strollart enjoys the "endless replayability" of "Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor," which has players fight endless waves of enemies and upgrade their dwarf character.
"I also have a huge love for games that give players many, many options with what to do in the game, so ('Survivor') is my jelly to my peanut butter," Strollart said. "Dwarves are also just awesome, who can deny that?"
"Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor" is available to purchase on Steam. It is still in early access, yet it sold over 1 million copies, and the completed game will be playable in 2025.
