Meet Your Maker: Harriet Cody, Minty Noodles // Interview

This week, I catch up with Harriet Cody, Head of Creative at Minty Noodles and Lead Designer for the company’s debut game, Interstellar Adventures: The Sincerest Form of Flattery. Harriet shares her inspirations behind the game, which she has been working on for the past two years, along with what players can expect. She also touches on working with illustrator Adrian Iglesias and other creators she’d love to collaborate with.

(Meet Your Maker is an interview series featuring creators of puzzle and mystery games and experiences from across the globe. We aim to shine a spotlight on both established creators and those who are just setting out on their journey. Stay tuned for more interviews coming soon.)

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When did you decide to pursue game development?

My husband and I have always really enjoyed escape rooms. Cole is a video game designer and has a company called ColePowered. He released Shadows of Doubt, a sandbox stealth detective game, in 2024. After the release, we had the opportunity to start a project together. Originally, we toyed with the idea of a physical escape room, but eventually decided to lean on my graphic design background to co-design an escape room-style board game. Shadows of Doubt has always remained his priority, so I have been the lead designer for Interstellar Adventures since the beginning.

For those unfamiliar with Interstellar Adventures, what sort of game is it?

Interstellar Adventures is a puzzle adventure game. It includes a lot of the classic mechanics of an escape room in a box, but the focus of the game isn’t to escape a room. We have also included other mechanics, inspired by tile-laying and dexterity games, as well as cyphers, logic puzzles and hidden objects.

Players can expect three thrilling episodes of a retro sci-fi adventure. They will face challenges that the crew of The Atlas come across, from missiles to hungry plants and moral decisions that will impact the future of a distant planet.

We aimed to create a game that has ‘win’ moments for everyone in the group. A chance for each individual to feel super smart and a bit smug. We have done that by using a variety of puzzle and challenge types, which appeal to different kinds of brains.

With the player experience so key for you, how do you tap into what your players want or need?

I think it helps that my family and I are the target market. We love escape rooms and found ourselves playing a lot of them over the years. I think this project is the result of making the game we really wanted to play. That, and playtesting, playtesting, playtesting.

I made testing a priority for development. Different group dynamics affect this type of game, so making sure I tested with a variety of people, brains, and experience levels was key. I often find that the best insights from playtesting come from the things that people don’t say rather than the things they note on the feedback sheet. Watching the way people lay out the cards, which cards get ignored or forgotten and which cards get hogged by one person. From these insights, I can adjust the game. I’ve made some unexpected improvements based not on how I think things should go but on watching the player experience.

When you set out to create the game, what was the most important guiding principle for you?

It needed to be fun. What that meant to us was to make puzzles that weren’t repetitive or felt like homework tasks. We also wanted to create puzzles for all different types of brains, so that there would be something for everyone in the group to be good at. This is one of the main reasons we have included dexterity elements: to broaden the range of challenges in the game.

Did you draw on any existing games or designers for inspiration?

Absolutely yes! I went down a deep and winding rabbit hole of getting a range of escape room games; some were amazing, others were really lacking. It was useful to determine what worked, what didn’t, and where Interstellar Adventures could fit into the market. I also made sure to look at the indie games as well as the mainstream ones. It was very interesting to notice the difference in approaches. An observation would be that often, the indie games are much more narrative-led, while more mass-produced games are puzzle-led, probably a symptom of practicality and deadlines for releases. I would say Interstellar Adventures firmly falls into the narrative-led category.

The diverse characters in the game are key to driving that narrative. How much fun was it coming up with these, and were there any big changes?

SO much fun. I think it might have been my favourite bit. The big shift was moving away from human characters to more alien characters (although Guy was always a mushroom-based lifeform). That was a game-changer in terms of creative freedom and really made space to be able to develop their personalities alongside the physical characteristics.

Marty was called Henry at one point, but that had to change because he really suited Marty. Other than that, the initial illustrations were pretty much on point. Adrian Iglesias “El Santa”, our illustrator, was amazing at capturing the characters and bringing them to life. I decided to make Eugine less cool-looking than the original sketch, and to make Guy more grumpy, but after that, they have been pretty much set.

What has changed is the players’ opinions about the characters. Guy has always been a player favourite, but after he got his proper illustrations and four arms, Marty has quickly become more popular. Which I’m pleased about… not that I have favourites.

I love the comic book art style. Did you always envisage the game with this aesthetic, or did it come through work with the illustrator?

We specifically looked for a comic book artist for this game. It was important to us that Interstellar Adventures had a narrative that felt interesting, compelling characters and smaller blocks of text to help reduce the need to read long passages out loud in a group. The comic book art style has allowed us to do this in a way that keeps up the pace of the story and makes the characters feel dynamic!

We were so lucky to find Adrian; his art really makes the game. He’s a great guy to work with and also a fan of Star Trek, so he understands my inspiration and references. His comic book background means he really understands how to get the most out of the characters and composition, while quickly communicating to the player what’s going on. He has been a vital part in making the game work, as well as look pretty.

You employ a unique episodic structure, with evolving gameplay mechanics and play styles. Why did you opt for this approach?

We really wanted to make it feel like a TV show. There are cliffhangers and cinematic moments throughout the game. Practically, we also wanted to create an extensive storyline and provide the players with natural breaks. Nothing is stopping them from bingeing all 3 episodes, though!

How do you get from the spark of an idea to a fully functioning prototype?

Very slowly it seems! My main battle was getting over the idea that it needed to be perfect or even look presentable at every stage. With this kind of game, testing needs to happen so often that it is impractical to make it any kind of good-looking in the initial stages. I was so pleased to finally get the artwork in!

For us, the process started with creating a storyline and identifying issues and challenges that the characters face. We then created puzzles to fit those challenges, so that the answers feel logical and the player feels like they are helping to progress the storyline.

Playtesting is a huge part of the process. I really enjoy playtesting and getting feedback on how to improve the game. I’ve met so many lovely people who have said complimentary things about the game and made brilliant suggestions. I now run the Playtest UK session in Bristol with Jo Kelly. That’s been an amazing resource and great to be part of a design community in person.

Adding the artwork was a real highlight of the process. It makes it feel so real. The game goes from a scrappy set of ideas to something that really feels playable and polished. Of course, adding the final touches with graphic design completes the package and gets it print-ready.

The main takeaway for me after almost two years is to expect changes, challenges, and to really take the saying “kill your darlings” to heart.

Do you have ideas for future instalments set in the same universe?

Absolutely! We have a whole lot of ideas for this universe. One I am particularly keen on is mini episodes that follow a particular character and develop their personal story. We also have ideas for print and plays that feature training manuals from ‘The Guild’, the organisation that funds and briefs the missions for The Atlas. There is so, so much we could explore. However, we are really using this game as a litmus test to see if the interest is there and if people connect to the characters and the world-building. I, for one, really hope they do!

If sci-fi was off the table, what other genres would you like to explore?

A historical period drama would be right up my street, or maybe fantasy. I love the idea of researching a particular period for a game. What I really enjoyed about the sci-fi theme was the freedom to create objects, characters and challenges that would allow players to suspend disbelief. And also craft interesting challenges and solutions. The fantasy genre would have that too…

You mentioned physical escape rooms. Were you toying with something in a similar vein to Interstellar Adventures?

No, something very different! I had some interesting ideas for an Alice in Wonderland theme. Having said that, I think a similarity to Interstellar Adventures would be the use of materials and finishing techniques to create surprises and reveals. Obviously, on a very different scale, though.

If you could team up with any other creators in the puzzle world, who would you most love to work with?

This is such a hard question. I’d like to work with a lot, for different reasons!

I would love to work with Inka and Markus Brand (from EXIT! The Game) to see what their process is like. With Dave Neale (Who worked on Unlock! and Sherlock Consulting Detective, to mention a few), his writing style and experience would be great to get an insight into. Also, Rita Orlov from PostCurious. How she has developed her games, the Kickstarter campaigns and the business side of things is impressive; I really respect her work. Mairi Nolan is another designer whose process and practice I would love to learn more about. I admire how much she seems to get done!

Basically, I would love to work with a range of creators. Hopefully, Interstellar Adventures is the first of many games in the puzzle space from me, so I am all excited to soak up all the knowledge and skills that will help me to be successful.

If someone is looking to dip their toes into the world of game development, do you have any key advice you’d give them?

It’s so easy to get overwhelmed. There are so many different aspects of developing games and self-publishing. My key advice would be to find your community. The board game and puzzle space is so welcoming, and for the most part, people are so approachable and willing to share their knowledge and experiences. Reach out, ask questions, and you could end up making great connections along the way.

When you aren’t designing games, what do you like to do in your spare time?

…Play more games? It’s a double-edged sword when you make your hobby your work, but I do love playing games with my family; it just comes with even more note-taking than it used to! I am finding myself more drawn to co-op adventure board games as opposed to puzzle games or escape rooms in my spare time. But these types of games definitely inform my puzzle design too, so I’m not sure if I ever fully switch off.

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Thank you

A huge thank you to Harriet for agreeing to share some really interesting behind-the-scenes insight into her debut game. After two years of working on a project, it must be hugely daunting to bring it into the light and rely on strangers to determine if it will be made or not.

Interstellar Adventures is available to back now on Kickstarter. If this game sounds like something you’d enjoy, and/or you want to help Harriet bring her project to life, please click the link below. You can pledge for the full game, or for a smaller amount if you just want to help support the campaign. Every little helps.

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