Welcome back, Buds!
Last time we went down memory lane of being a student. The student bubble is nice while it lasts, but what happens when it bursts and real life kicks in? Let’s continue the story of how Glueplant Games came to be.
Schools’ out
After graduating from the University of Inland Norway, we went our separate ways. We knew Arídea was too ambitious for a team of two, and after the intense push through our bachelor’s, we both needed space to recover and rethink. I (Adrian) was also about to become a dad, and needed more time with my wife (she truly deserves credit for powering through this hectic spring while pregnant!!).
But even as we shifted focus, games never truly left our minds.
Over that summer, Mathias kept exploring ideas he’d started during school and I finally wrapped up a 7-year-long board game project. But it wasn’t until six months later that we reached out to each other again, and things began to stir.
A Fall in Dormancy
Coming out of school, I faced a harsh reality: the job market in programming was tough, especially for those without industry experience. After a season of rejections and burnout, I hit a low point. But at my core, I still wanted to build games. So I dug up an old prototype for a small puzzle idea called Steps.
The concept was simple: you only had 7 steps to reach your goal in a grid-based 2D level. It was inspired by a clever flip-book dungeon game that had found success on Kickstarter, and I wanted to see how far the idea could go in the flip-book game genre.
But something didn’t quite click. New ideas kept pulling the concept toward the 3D space. Eventually, I gave in and rebuilt the prototype in Unity. The game instantly felt more dynamic, expressive, and alive.
A few weeks later, in classic “shower thoughts” fashion, a new idea emerged: “a lonely cube searching for its rightful place”. That single thought sparked a flood of inspiration, with early level designs, tone and even the emotional arc of the story. With a small demo taking shape, I sent it over to Mathias.
He jumped in to playtest, and came back a few hours later, brimming with ideas. Tweaks, improvements, deeper connections between the mechanics and story. Something clicked between us again. And just like that, the spark was back.
The Roots of Glueplant
With no roadmap and zero experience running a business, we decided to leap anyway. On January 16, 2025, we officially founded Glueplant Games AS.
We still don’t have all the answers. But we’re building this studio with the same values that brought us together in the first place: curiosity, creativity, storytelling, and a whole lot of heart.
Thanks for sticking with us through our backstory. From here on out, it’s real-time! We’re excited to share what’s happened over the last months.
See you next month ^^