In a somewhat unexpected way Manor Lords has become the hit of the moment, achieving great success among players. The medieval-style management system is becoming very popular and, among other things, it is a product created by a single person, Greg Styczen . But is it really like that?
In reality there would be many more people involved in the development of Manor Lords, as confirmed by the game’s rather large credits. Despite this, Styczen considers himself ” the sole developer ” of the management system, a statement that has made many of his colleagues turn up their noses. The author therefore wanted to comment on the criticisms received through an intervention on the work’s official Twitter/X page.
” I want to respond to some developers who are upset that I’m considered the only developer of Manor Lords even though the credits are quite long. I agree, more or less. I’m facing enormous pressure to grow and hire people, and it’s slowly happening. But this is also the mocap department, my best friends in a children’s photography studio , “says Styczen quoting another post in which he showed behind the scenes of the Manor Lords mocap shoot.
The author then explains how the team has expanded: “ The extra programmers joined in April because we encountered problems with the builds for the individual stores, and the publisher and I wanted to minimize the risks. Now they are working on a port to Unreal Engine 5 and more. Will find a better term to refer to it as we go forward, but I think I’ve earned the reputation as the sole developer .”
Styczen therefore reiterates that he can legitimately consider himself the only creator of medieval management, and to strengthen his thesis he responds to the criticisms received from Arthur Bruno , author of the city builder Farthest Frontier and head of Crate Entertainment , who does not consider it correct to consider Manor Lords as developed from a single individual: ” His are fair criticisms and I understand them, but I don’t think he understands that if I leave it’s over, Manor Lords ceases to exist. If instead he left his office nothing would change .”
Do you agree with Styczen’s point of view? Meanwhile, not even the publisher of Manor Lords expected all this success , and who knows how much more the project will grow in the coming months.
I want to address some devs being angry that I call myself a solo dev even though my credits are so long. I agree! Kind of. I face a huge pressure to grow and hire and it's slowly happening. But also, THIS is the "mocap department". My best friends in child photography studio. https://t.co/fOLZtLEJWg
— MANOR LORDS (@LordsManor) May 4, 2024
The extra programmers joined in April because we faced issues with builds for different stores and me and the publisher wanted to mitigate risk. They are now working on a UE5 port and more. I'll think of a better term moving on, even though I think I earned the solo thing.
— MANOR LORDS (@LordsManor) May 4, 2024