As some of you might still remember, I’m a huge fan of point-and-click and horror games. So I tend to keep my eyes open for game titles of that kind.

Well, not so long ago I heard of a little indie game called “Saint Kotar” (which just happens to be a psychological horror point-and-click adventure game), and since I really like what I saw from the game I decided to reach out to Red Martyr Entertainment for an interview.

Long story short, Red Martyr accepted our interview request =) So I sat down with Red Martyr’s CEO (Marko Tominić) and talked about everything from “Saint Kotar“, “Saint Kotar: The Yellow Mask“, horror games, Red Martyr’s Kickstarter campaign to their plans for the future.

So, with that said, please enjoy our “Saint Kotar” interview with Red Martyr =)

saint kotar interview with red martyr entertainment

Red Martyr Entertainment (formerly known as Tanais Games) is an independent studio that’s based in Croatia, and “Saint Kotar” is their very first commercial video game project.

Robin TGG
I’m going to kick-off this interview by having you introducing yourself to our reader. So please, go right ahead and do so =)

Marko – Red Martyr Entertainment
Hi, I’m Marko and I’m the CEO of Red Martyr Entertainment. I’m also the game director, writer and narrative designer of Saint Kotar.

Robin TGG
Could you perhaps tell us a little bit about how everything started off with Red Martyr Entertainment? Like, when, where and why did the game studio get created?

Marko – Red Martyr Entertainment
I founded the studio in 2017. At the time it was named Tanais Games. We were very young and inexperienced, we worked remotely, and frankly, the members weren’t the right ones. So fast forward to 2019. I decided to rebrand the studio into Red Martyr Entertainment as a symbolic way of a new start, of turning the page.

The core team started working in one place, full time, and with the right people. We are from Croatia, a small city in the south of the Istria region. The reason why I founded the studio is pretty simple – it was something I dreamed about from the day my parents bought me a Commodore 64, back at the end of the 80s.

saint kotar a very creep yroom

“Saint Kotar” is a psychological horror point-and-click adventure game, and a very creepy one at it judging by what I’ve seen from the game so far (a mix of “Alone in the dark”, “Silent Hill”, “Sanitarium” and “Broken Sword” comes to mind).

Robin TGG
For those who don’t know what your very first commercial game “Saint Kotar” is all about, could you maybe give us a brief introduction of the game?

Marko – Red Martyr Entertainment
Saint Kotar is a psychological horror adventure game. It recounts a tale set in a small rural town plagued by macabre murders and strange phenomena, allegedly related to devil worship and witchcraft.

Robin TGG
You don’t happen to remember how it all started with “Saint Kotar”? I mean, how it all went from an idea to an actual full-blown game production? 

Marko – Red Martyr Entertainment
Well, I just wanted to start telling stories and the first genre that came to my mind was the point & click. And when it comes to stories I like them mysterious, sometimes creepy, but above all dark.

The True Detective Season 1 vibes come to mind. So we just jumped in, did a lot of mistakes and learned along the way. And here we are now, with the prologue released and the Kickstarter campaign launched.

saint kotar a very creepy shop and shopkeeper

Red Martyr Entertainment went with a psychological horror adventure game as their first commercial game title simply because they love games of that kind (yep, there are no fancy reasons or stories behind why Red Martyr made that decision).

Robin TGG
How comes that you went with a psychological horror adventure game as your first commercial game title? Not that you will hear any complaints from me, because I love horror and adventure games. I’m just curious as it’s a rather niched game genre for the most part.

Marko – Red Martyr Entertainment
Yeah, but I like psychological horror and mystery stories. Not so much the blood and gore horror, those I don’t like to be quite honest. I like it when you’re uncertain about what’s going on.

And what’s important as well, is the horror stories that are told in the point & click genre, because they truly are a rarity nowadays. It’s not strange that most people tell us that the game reminds them of the original Black Mirror.

saint kotar a very ghoulish place

“Saint Kotar” needs to raise 39,000 Euros via kickstarter to become fully funded, and as of the publishing of this interview, Red Martyr Entertainment are very, VERY close to reaching that goal.

Robin TGG
I couldn’t help to notice that you plan to launch a Kickstarter campaign for “Saint Kotar” on June 18th this summer. So is there anything that you could tell us about the camping in terms of goals, backers bonuses and such?

Marko – Red Martyr Entertainment
The basic goal is set at 39.000 EUR. I can’t disclose the fees for the stretch goals but I can say they include voice acting, a free for all backers DLC with an additional playable character, localization to other languages, ports to consoles, etc.

Bonuses backers get are quite some. From the digital key for the game, interactive animated comic book, artbook, soundtrack, physical copy of the game, t-shirts, real-life replicas of a mysterious mask (in-game item), real-life replicas of the statue of a priest, opportunities for the backers to become NPCs, to have their own shrines and statues as one of the Seven disciples. Rewards are designed to be an extension of the game’s story.

saint kotar the yellow mask

There is a free prologue to “Saint Kotar” that’s called “Saint Kotar: The Yellow Mask”, and you can download and play it right now for PC if you want to (of course you do! Especially since the game has received a lot of positive feedback and reviews on Steam).

Robin TGG
Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong now, but isn’t “Saint Kotar: The Yellow Mask” (the free prologue to “Saint Kotar”) dropping on the same day as you launch your Kickstarter campaign for “Saint Kotar”?

Marko – Red Martyr Entertainment
Correct. The prologue was released on the same day. We wanted to give the players an opportunity to play the beginning of the full game in order to see our vision for the full game. Of course, the full game will be even better, in technical and all the other ways, bigger and longer.

Robin TGG
Is there anything that you could tell us about the game’s story, setting and theme that hasn’t already been told? For example, what was it that made you take the decision to let the game take place in Croatia out of all places?

Marko – Red Martyr Entertainment
Well, I decided to place it in the mountain region of Croatia out of respect for my beautiful country. The game, in some way, is a love letter to Croatia.

And when it comes to Croatia, aside from my lovely region of Istria, Gorski Kotar is the most charming and beautiful place thee is. At the same time, it is somehow also foreboding. And that makes a powerful combination and a perfect place, at least for me, for a horror story.

saint kotar a rather creepy room

Red Martyr Entertainment had quite a lot of different sources of inspirations while creating “Saint Kotar”, and some of those inspirations includes everything from the “Broken Sword” video games, “Black Mirror”, “Twin Peaks”, “H.P. Lovecraft to the “Gabriel Knight” game series.

Robin TGG
What were your main sources of inspiration while creating “Saint Kotar”? I for one can feel quite a lot of “Broken Sword”, “Alone in the dark” and “Silent Hill” vibes from the game.

Marko – Red Martyr Entertainment
For one thing, my own imagination and creativity. But, yes, in terms of gameplay mechanics, the “Broken Sword” series really was an great source of inspiration. The Alone in the Dark and Silent Hill comparisons are great, and we’re happy people see it that way.

saint kotar some dude and a huge house

So, what is it that makes “Saint Kotar” stand out from the horror adventure game crowd? Well, according to Red Martyr Entertainment, it’s the game’s atmosphere that makes “Saint Kotar’ so special and unique.

Robin TGG
From your point of view, what is it that makes “Saint Kotar’ stand-out from the horror/adventure crowd?

Marko – Red Martyr Entertainment
The atmosphere, I guess. But also the fact that Saint Kotar is above all a story driven game, and it is a choice driven game. Character development is the most important thing in the game, but also the choices the player can make.

For example, playing with one character and deciding to do one thing can give some benefits to that character. But, it can also influence the storyline of the other character the player controls, giving him a much harder time to solve something. Consequences can be very small, but they can also be very big and fateful.

saint kotar a very creepy town

There are quite a lot of “Alan Wake” and “Twin Peaks” vibes going on in “Saint Kotar”, and that’s perfectly fine in my book at least, because I really like those two series.

Robin TGG
Could you give us some reasons as to why gamers should be excited about the upcoming release of “Saint Kotar”?

Marko – Red Martyr Entertainment
The full game will have everything which the prologue has to offer, but everything is done at an even higher level. It will also have up to 20-hours of gameplay time and over 70 locations to be explored. There’s a long and exciting ride the players can expect.

Robin TGG
From what I understand, there are two playable characters in the game? And each one of them plays differently with a unique story and everything? It’s also said that the decisions that you make in the game will affect the storylines of each character?

Marko – Red Martyr Entertainment
Yes, that’s correct. Each character has it’s own path through the story. In fact, what Saint Kotar gives are two stories in one game. One story is more detective, while the other one is more psychological horror. But there also elements of drama, crime and mystery.

saint kotar a very creepy fireplace

Every decision that you (the player) make with either one of the two playable characters in “Saint Kotar”, will heavily influence the outcome of the game.

Robin TGG
If true, then I take it that there’s quite a lot of gameplay value to be found in the game?

Marko – Red Martyr Entertainment
Of course, I mean, just like I mentioned before. Decisions that you make in the game are heavily influenced based on what the players experience and what happens to other characters and the story world itself.

Robin TGG
Is there any chance at all that we could get to see “Saint Kotar on other platforms than just PC in the future? (PS5, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and so on)

Marko – Red Martyr Entertainment
Yes, but it depends if the Kickstarter campaign will reach the ”Console ports” stretch goal. Since the full game will come out in the summer of 2021, then there’s a high possibility the game is gonna be ported to the new generation of consoles and the Nintendo Switch.

Robin TGG
Do you have a rough idea of when players can expect to get a chance to play the full version of “Saint Kotar”?

Marko – Red Martyr Entertainment
August 2021. I predict that summer to be very cold and dark 🙂

saint kotar a very creepy church

“Hopefully”, “Saint Kotar” will reach it’s 39,000 Euros goal on Kickstarter, because Red Martyr Entertainment got a lot of plans in stores for “Saint Kotar” and its players.

Robin TGG
Now, as for the very last question of this interview. What are your plans, hopes and expectations for the rest of this year? And is there anything else that you would like to say to our readers?

Marko – Red Martyr Entertainment
I really hope we get funded on Kickstarter. We’d love to create the game for the players, with the players. Then, after the Kickstarter campaign ends we will jump into the trenches and work hard to make the best possible adventure game.

I invite your readers to back us on Kickstarter as that can give them a possibility to play the game before it’s official public release but also to be involved in the process of the development. Thank you!

tgg author avatar robin ek
Robin “V-Act” Ek
Editor in chief
The Gaming Ground
Twitter: @TheGamingGround

More by Robin Ek:

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