Exploring the Belief Engine with Mike Monroe & Scott McKie

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So, I had this chat with the brains behind this quirky game DEAD LETTER DEPT. Ever heard of it? It’s like typing meets indie horror. A real head-scratcher, right? Mike Monroe and Scott McKie, the masterminds from this team called Belief Engine, are nestled somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. Well, normally. Right now, they’re in Japan. Makes you wonder what they’re cooking up over there.

TVGB: So, how did Belief Engine come to life?

MM: Yeah, we’ve been at it for like 12 years. Decided to turn this wild idea into our full-time gig back in 2020. Felt right. You know you get that itch to dive back into indie games?

I took a leap from Colorado to Washington in 2004 to attend this techy art school, DigiPen. Didn’t know how that would pan out, but here we are.

SM: Oh man, school — what a time. Went through eight years of grinding, fine arts in Boston, then realized whoops, money doesn’t grow on trees. I had to rethink the whole “seven degrees” thing in Washington.

MM: While studying, I got hooked on video games and 3D art. We had this crazy thought: “Let’s build a game!” Fast forward — tons of prototypes, weird experiments. We’re still alive.

There’s this image with a ton of weird sizes — no clue why this sticks in my brain. Anyway, moving on.

TVGB: What about your inspirations for DEAD LETTER DEPT.?

SM: Belief Engine was more like a platform for our intense personal projects. DEAD LETTER DEPT.? Totally Mike’s thing. I chipped in, but he’s the captain here. Funny, we cross paths in our tastes, yet steer different ships.

MM: It’s fun because, while we don’t always vibe with the same games, we still swap ideas like bees pollinating flowers. Um, yeah, something like that.

TVGB: James Alcock, a “belief engine” — cool guy. Did his work seep into the game?

MM: Actually, no. This game’s more about finding a sense of home. Sort of like reflecting anxious moving experiences. It’s a real conversation starter on how and why we feel at home. Especially when, you know, housing stuff’s a mess.

I’ve floated around. Watched friends hustle through relocations and whatnot. Thought it could make for an interesting narrative. Called away from a military town’s clutches for something diverse — like tasting a rainbow, you know?

Did I say colorful things? Visuals are struggling, but the idea’s grand.

TVGB: Scott, you had a college gig that sparked the game idea? Sounds sketchy.

SM: Totally. Late-night data entry was my jam, riding out to some spooksville warehouse beyond the train tracks. Not a creepy coworker in sight, though. Weird, right? Leaving at dawn left its mark in the game, too. Silence ruled — was it a no-chatter rule? I forget.

MM: Ah, the flow state, like dishwashing or zoning out playing Tetris. Hit me that horror could snatch players from that mental bubble. Mentioned a “typing horror game” to Scott. Just went, “Let’s prototype and trash if it bombs.” It didn’t. Go figure.

TVGB: What’s with the weirdest game-making tidbit?

SM: The weirdest part? The Frankenstein mishmash of random code that molded DEAD LETTER DEPT.

MM: Before DEAD LETTER DEPT., we dabbled in moving cities and surreal secret rituals that played on your senses. Sound design borrowed notes from that, some atmospheres too. This game? It kind of absorbed spooky artifact code — a haunted codebase! Weird, but thrilling.

TVGB: Why’d first-person POV stick? Ready for some “deep philosophical insights”?

MM: Uh, first-person was just… convenient? Also, replaying P.T. reinforced the “immersive” itch. Third-person’s fine but doesn’t hit home like first-person. Designing characters felt like a drag. Trim the fat — anything breaking that immersion got the axe. Good call, I think.

Some post-it note instructions made their mark, keeping players from drowning. Nice touch while a Japanese game brews up next. Expect language quests — RPGs joined the feast, drawing from early Japanese gems. Monsters chat in Japanese; how’s that for immersion?

TVGB: Game dev joys? Any neat twists?

MM: Oh, sound design’s my playground. Pure bliss getting hands-on with that.

SM: Crafting complicated systems is my jam — my downfall too. Fleshing out puzzles, pre-play tests — fascinates me. Wish for a project manager sometimes. I winged it with cookies as pay currency. Revolutionary? Maybe not. Effective? Totally.

TVGB: What’s brewing for DEAD LETTER DEPT. or your Japan escapades?

MM: Currently aiming to wrap up the game’s soundtrack. Crunch-time for the Steam summer sale. It’s getting there. Or, like, hopefully hitting ears soon.

SM: Been teasing the soundtrack early on — it sticks. Heard it while wandering. Random autoplay gems. Good stuff.

Back to Japan, where creepy tunnels call to us. Weird places with concrete and eerie echoes — an inspiration haunt, for sure.

SM: Photographing unique houses. Wood and tiles jump out in quirky patterns. Way cooler than cookie-cutter suburbs we’re used to.

Planning wild escapades and cultural dives at the Japan Oni Museum — a tad remote, but worth the hike. Renting a taxi ain’t an option, but we’ll figure something out to avoid getting stranded. High hopes for that!

Felt like unraveling a mystery with Mike and Scott as we nosedived into DEAD LETTER DEPT. Can’t wait for more. Oh, right, it’s available on Steam if you’re curious — soundtrack incoming. Who knows what next adventure they’ll embark on?