Thirsty Suitors started out as a concept surrounding a playable card game, its director has revealed.
The brilliant action-RPG just launched earlier this month in December, but the concept surrounding the core themes of Thirsty Suitors was first discussed all the way back in 2018. That's according to a tweet thread from game director Chandana Ekanayake, reflecting back on the game's development.
It turns out that when Thirsty Suitors was first discussed, it was envisioned as a card-based game. It would play out like something akin to Slay the Spire, the hit roguelike card game, with a story focusing on arranged marriage. You can even see Ekanayake's message to writer Meghna Jayanth pitching her on the concept.
First concept for Thirsty Suitors back in 2018 I pitched @betterthemask. It was initially going to be a card based game about arranged marriage that would play something like Slay the Spire. I registered the domain right there cause the name sounded good. pic.twitter.com/WepWVauSLvDecember 11, 2023
A follow-up tweet reveals that Ekayanake actually pitched the concept, pretty stealthily, at the Game Developer's Conference in San Francisco that month. The feedback to the game, which was slotted in during a talk from Ekayanake, was received well, which helped spur on the game itself.
Obviously, Thirsty Suitors eventually evolved from a card-based game into a turn-based strategy RPG. I can sort of see the through-line, though - card-based games are played out in turns, and so too are RPG battles. I'd be interested to know if there was an exploration feature in this iteration of Thirsty Suitors.
Additionally, Ekanayake reveals the development team scrapped the core theme surrounding arranged marriage. It turns out none of the team had actually been through an arranged marriage, so they understandably felt like they couldn't really tackle it properly in the overarching plot.
The development team also got concept artist Vijay Krish to do some early artwork for Thirsty Suitors, but revolving around a late-90s setting. You can see the artwork below, which is a really lovely blend of comic book-style effects surrounding the characters, with old-school outfits to boot.
First piece of art of Jala and her exes that @VJKRSH5 did once we had somewhat of an idea of late 90s setting for the game. Still figuring out the style but dad's stache survived the iteration. pic.twitter.com/i4t5E3LKRGDecember 11, 2023
But now, Thirsty Suitors is a turn-based game with RPG elements about fighting off evil exes, and it absolutely slaps. Our full Thirsty Suitors review lavished it with praise, calling it a "witty, heartfelt adventure about going home."
You can also read our upcoming indie games guide for a look at some other small-time games soon to release.
