Battered Pizza and a Monster in the Basement: Talking Chip Shop Horror with Developer James Muirhead

Indie developers dream of exposure, and few have enjoyed the coverage that James Muirhead and his game, Grease Trap '99, have. Back on the 26th February, BBC Scotland featured a story on James and his new game, a retro-styled horror set inside a Scottish fish-and-chip shop. Having spotted the story as a part of my regular trawl of the internet for new horror games, I caught up with James to discover the origins of Grease Trap '99 and what we can expect in the finished game.

Hello James! Let's start with your gaming loves growing up.

Hi! My first console was a beat-up old PlayStation One. I played a lot of classic titles such as Metal Gear Solid, but initially, it was probably more kid-appropriate games. Then, at 13 years old, I got an Xbox, kickstarting a lifelong obsession!

Is that why Grease Trap '99 utilises the PlayStation look that's so popular right now?

Absolutely – I'm very nostalgic of that time, and I think nostalgia helps with horror and linking back to that memory of playing the PlayStation for the first time.

Do you work in the games industry?

Yes, for three years after I left university, as a designer. I left around six months ago to become a full-time indie developer.

You've been able to do this in part thanks to funding from Creative Scotland. How did that happen?

So, when I decided to make indie games full-time, I was looking for funding via grants and applied for a few different things. It was a big surprise when Creative Scotland one came through. They don't do a lot of videogames, so it was quite exciting, and I'm really grateful for it.

Why do you think they chose to help with Grease Trap '99?

Obviously, they thought it was very cool and interesting [laughs]! I think they were also excited about it being in Gaelic and about the idea that I was a games industry professional looking to make a career change.

Have you worked in a fish and chip shop? Has this informed your game at all?

Yeah, I did, just out of university in the gap before I got a job in games. It was a nice place to work, but personally, there was this frustration: it was that weird time in life when I'd just graduated and wanted to do something else, but I was stuck at home. But it was a big shock working there – I didn't batter a single Mars Bar!

Haha, yes, you said in the BBC interview that battered Mars Bars was more a tourist thing, and that the locals prefer… battered pizza?!

Yeah, that's actually a normal thing, and not a joke, like the Mars. It's a lot of people's dinner! But the layout is inspired by the chip shops I've been to and by where I used to work. Where I live now, Fife, has many famous fish-and-chip shops—they win awards and are considered the best in the world. So I'm drawing on that and places that people might recognise.

The 'late night service' trope is popular these days—are you a fan?

Oh, definitely. It's funny, because I had the idea for the game a long time ago, and in the time it's taken me to do something, it's really taken off as a trend. If I'd made it a few years ago, I'd have been right at the start of this trend. But I can see why they're popular—it's a sort of vehicle for the horror, a gamey element. So, doing a job gives you a stable routine that can make a solid core loop for a game. Plus, you can make it an environment that you have to remain in and do something in, rather than just exploring a creepy location.

And chip shops tend to remain open quite late…

Yeah, I had a few nights working late, and it's raining out, which really adds to the atmosphere. Working late is when you get the drunk customers with the best stories. It's a weird time of night, and it can be kinda creepy, but also fun.

Where is the game set?

It's a seaside town, and it's implied by the fact that everyone's speaking Gaelic that it's on the west coast [of Scotland] somewhere. Outer Hebrides, that kind of area.

Can you explain why you chose that name?

I don't know! I just threw around a few ideas for names when I applied for the Creative Scotland grant, and I thought I'd just throw that on it. Then, all of a sudden, it was being published in the news, and I thought, 'Well, I'm definitely calling it that!' Actually, I was torn between Grease Trap '99 and Chip Shop 2000. That's why there are retro graphics, because this is a retro time, and I feel there's a lot of nostalgia for that time right now.

Can you give any hints about what we'll see in your chip shop?

So, the idea is that something is growing in the basement. It's an entity, and you have to find out its origin and what it wants. It's going to make demands and want things from you, which is going to affect the local village, too. In fact, it influences the entire village and wider community.

That sounds like where your Lovecraftian influence is coming in, but it also reminds me of the Eighties animation, The Trap Door. But definitely Shadow Over Innsmouth vibes.

I love that story, and Dagon is definitely a massive inspiration. I even toyed with the idea that customers would slowly change over time, becoming more fish-like.

Ha! How is development going?

With the funding, I can do this full-time, hopefully until release. I've made horror games before as small projects for myself. I've been doing that for a long time, so at the moment, things are moving quickly because I'm getting to reuse a lot of systems, and using the PlayStation style means there are tools and stuff out there. I've taken some available tools and tweaked them to build my own render pipeline, which gives it a look I quite like. That's why people are using the PlayStation style as well; it's nostalgic and really easy to make 3D models for, especially when you're working on your own. Although it can be a trap too, where you just take a screenshot of something and slap it on the object—there's a balance to it, to make it feel right. Otherwise, we're aiming to get a nice demo of the build and actually get people playing it sooner than release, and I'm going to be looking for voice actors soon. That's the next big thing.

You mentioned the game will be in Gaelic. What's the reasoning behind that?

I've always wanted to learn it and have friends who can speak it. I asked them if I should do a Gaelic horror game, and they thought it was a fun angle. A lot of Gaelic games focus on the educational space, so I thought it would be cool to make something that definitely can't be considered educational and definitely cannot be used in schools.

It's great to see you get some publicity on the BBC. If Grease Trap '99 is a success, what's the plan?

The dream is to make enough money to make the next one, and so on. I've got three games in my locker that I've been wanting to make for a while, in a similar space. I'm being quite careful about building Grease Trap in a way that lets me reuse a lot of systems and stuff, to give me a bit of a jumpstart on the next one. And when you're a solo indie dev, there's so much business and marketing to consider, that it eats into the day until you're 'OK, when do I actually make the game?'

My thanks to James for his time. Grease Trap '99 finally has a Steam page, and James has a tentative release planned for the summer. Stay tuned to Indie Horror Gamer for further updates. We can't wait to start battering that fish!