If most Vietnamese-made games released so far have been action or platformers, Thần Trùng stands out as one of the few local projects diving into supernatural themes, focusing on the eerie phenomenon of linked deaths in the same family.
Although the nearly 5-minute trailer for Thần Trùng has been called amateurish by many gamers, the game still earned positive feedback for its authentic Vietnamese setting.
Viewers can easily spot familiar details like patterned tile floors, the old-style balcony ‘cage’ of a communal apartment, and vintage propaganda posters lining a narrow alley, all carefully crafted with 3D graphics.
The most ‘DIY’ game studio in Vietnam!
Behind Thần Trùng is DUT Studio, a team of three well-known streamers in the gaming community: Dũng CT, Vũ Hay Ho, and Đạt Óc.
It’s safe to say DUT Studio is one of the most ‘DIY’ game teams in Vietnam, living up to their name. The studio was born out of a spontaneous idea when these streamers decided to make a horror game just for fun, proving they could build a game like anyone else!
Unlike the fancy offices of top Vietnamese game studios, DUT Studio operates out of a small room on the second floor of a casual office lunch spot.
Interestingly, before starting Thần Trùng, none of the members had backgrounds related to game development. For example, Dũng CT studied nano physics at Vietnam National University, Vũ Hay Ho was in mechanical engineering at Hanoi University of Science and Technology, and Đạt Óc was a top student at the University of Pharmacy.
Even more surprising, none of them had any experience with programming, scripting, 3D modeling, animation, or level design. One anonymous member even just recently signed up for a 3D modeling course to help with the game’s development.
Thần Trùng is being developed on an ancient PC setup, including two outdated 4:3 ratio monitors.
DUT Studio chose Unity Engine for Thần Trùng because it’s beginner-friendly, has a large user community, strong official support, and a vast asset library.
With a team that’s inexperienced but fearless, development is very much trial and error. For example, it took them five hours just to figure out how to animate the main character picking up and inspecting objects. The trailer scenes alone took a month of sleepless nights to complete.
At this stage, DUT Studio is learning as they go, working on the game mostly during their free time.
Contrary to online speculation, the team openly admits they still don’t know exactly how Thần Trùng’s gameplay will shape up. Since they’re still figuring things out, the game’s mechanics and features aren’t fully defined yet. This means Thần Trùng might look very different from what the trailer shows when it’s finished.
DUT Studio’s main goal is to complete the game on schedule for a Q4 2021 release. They also hope to launch Thần Trùng on Steam, the biggest PC game platform right now.
