The journey is more important than the destination: a saying that is often repeated. In the case of Keep Driving, a game by Swedish studio Y/CJ/Y, it is taken literally. This indie title, set in the early 2000s, follows a protagonist who has just bought a car. The goal? A cross-country road trip to attend a festival. The road ahead is long, but it is also full of unexpected events waiting for both the character and the player. Hitchhikers looking for a ride, odd jobs to earn some cash, upgrades and repairs for your car, and plenty more to discover, mile after mile. To overcome the constant challenges the game throws your way, you will need ingenuity, skill, and the many items you will pick up along the way. In other words, Keep Driving is a management RPG that lets you experience the thrills of a classic road movie, all wrapped in vibrant, detailed pixel art.
Excaliber interviewed Josef Martinovsky and Christopher Andreasson, founders of Y/CJ/Y as well as the artist and programmer behind the studio, to talk about their experience as indie developers and to find out what led them to create such a unique game as Keep Driving. But let’s start from the beginning: Josef and Christopher met at university, where they started playing together in a band. Between 2012 and 2014, they decided to take a new path and form a development studio to focus on another shared passion: video games. “We are Y/CJ/Y Games, where the ‘C’ stands for Christopher and the ‘J’ for Josef. As for the ‘Y’s in the name, it’s like we are standing next to each other making the peace sign ” the two devs tell Excaliber. “We have been making games together for over ten years now.”
Keep Driving is a rather unique experience in the video game landscape, blending moments of complete calm with others that are unsettling and surreal – filled with eccentric characters and unpredictable situations. The idea of combining all these elements into a single project came to the duo after the release of their first video game, The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human, in 2016. “For the initial concept, we were inspired by FTL and Oregon Trail, as well as my own experience hitchhiking through the Balkans and road-tripping across Norway with a friend and an old dog in a Volvo 240” Josef explains, reminiscing. The core idea behind Keep Driving, however, did not take shape right away and needed a few more years before it could become a reality. “ We took a long break and came back to it in 2020. At that point we had changed the game quite a bit and even prototyped by making a physical card game. Then it just took a long time now knowing it it’ll work out, laying puzzle pieces in the dark, and hoping it’ll turn out well. ”
Those familiar with cinema will surely notice the influence of road movies in Keep Driving, but personal experiences also played a major role. “The main influence is probably just life” says Josef, echoing Christopher’s thoughts. “Traveling a lot and meeting people, both here in Europe and in the US. I used to have a volvo 240 and I’ve taken a lot of trips around Sweden with my friend in an old muscle car as well. Lots of traveling really.” The big screen still played an important role in the development process. “Besides that we were heavily inspired by the movie Two-Lane Blacktop and other movies like Paris, Texas and Dazed and Confused. I like these kinds of non-classic road trip movies that are take the viewer along for the ride. ”
As already mentioned, Keep Driving is a mix of RPG elements, narrative-driven moments similar to visual novels, and even mechanics typical of strategy games where players must use the skills they have acquired by giving rides to hitchhikers in order to overcome various obstacles and challenges. As you might guess, balancing all these very different elements wasn’t an easy task. Josef seems to joke about it. “The fact that it worked is kind of a mystery to me. But we did try to make it work by weaving gameplay and story as much as possible. Giving hitchhikers skills and combos that acted on their character development as much as on the strategic level. ” This process required a great deal of dedication, and throughout development, Josef and Christopher kept adding new elements while removing those that didn’t quite work. “We worked on the game for five years so I think it was just a lot of trial and error and puzzling it all into place.”
Atmosphere plays a central role in this indie production. And how could it not? After all, it is set in the early 2000s, a transitional time in history. Technology had not yet reached today’s levels, and overall, there was a different feeling in the air compared to recent years, which have been marked by tension and uncertainty. “One of the key pillars to the game is ‘nostalgia’ so we wanted to make people feel that sense of nostalgia that maybe a lot of people our age or a little older or a little younger can feel. A time without smartphones and GPS. A time where your parents maybe even had a 240 or car from the 80s to sell to you. ” Today, it is very likely that passengers on a road trip will watch a movie, spend time on social media or messaging apps, or play video games. But in the years when Keep Driving is set, it was much more common to simply watch the landscape pass by and change along the way. “It was really important to instill a naturalistic wonder to the backgrounds. I love watching the world pass by when driving. The fields, the hills, the parallax and of course the majestic beauty of clouds lingering above the horizon ” rivela Josef. “This lead to that naturalistic pixel-art style of a heightened realism where picture perfect vistas were seemingly everywhere” Early 2000s music also has its place in the game, with a soundtrack that borrows songs from bands that may not be particularly well-known, but offer a unique style and sound.
Y/CJ/Y has several games under its belt: The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human, Sea Salt, and Post Void. Each belongs to a different genre, making it clear that Josef and Christopher enjoy experimenting. “We are quite proud of having made such different games. The process is very different as well. It depends on what interests us at the time. It also comes from curiosity. We are continuity curious if we can make this or that game and how to explore styles and gameplay. ” Despite their differences, all of these projects have something in common. “I think the only common thread is that we focus quite heavily on atmosphere. Making sure each game has it is on distinct atmosphere. ”
Without a doubt, Keep Driving is the biggest project Y/CJ/Y has ever worked on. This brings many challenges, both in terms of the artistic side and in structuring the gameplay. “The biggest challenge on Keep Driving is to stay motivated and focused on the greater project as a whole. It was an incredibly difficult game to make for us. ” Between the two, it was naturally Josef who focused on the visual side. “For me it was keeping the art style at a high quality consistently and making the environments work and look good.” Christopher, on the other hand, gave his all during the programming phase, explaining: “I worked hard to make sure all the systems work in harmony, keeping the design of it all elegant and intriguing.”
Keep Driving hit the digital shelves on Steam earlier this year, in February. As their story shows, it took a lot of time and effort to bring it to life. That is why Josef and Christopher plan to focus on something less demanding in the near future. “We just don’t want to work on five year projects again. We will probably come back to more Post Void like styled games. Shorter, more direct, and with a personal art style. ” The core features of their next title, however, will remain the same as always. “It will probably still be pixeled and highly atmospheric but probably something completely different from what we have made so far. ” We will have to be patient for more news, as the work on Keep Driving is not quite finished yet. “We will be releasing controller support soon and then localization and console ports by the end of 2025. There won’t be a new game from us until 2026 however. ”
The video game industry has grown significantly in recent years, with more opportunities emerging, but also more competition. Before wrapping up the interview, Excaliber asked Josef and Christopher what they think about this. “There are so many games being made now. It is brutal that you pretty much need to be the top 2% within a genre or style to make a decent living. ” It is not just about quality: visibility also plays a fundamental role, especially in the long term. “Worst of all, if you don’t have a continual stream of marketing by yourself or by your fans and streamers you will be buried in no time.” However, this evolution has also brought several improvements that make development easier. “There are much better tools to make games and the algorithms are much better now to promote games to the right audience. So maybe that cancels out. ” Y/CJ/Y also faced several challenges early on. At least until the release of Post Void in 2020. “Our first two games didn’t cut it in the competitive market.” Still, this hasn’t discouraged Josef and Christopher, who remain optimistic about what has yet to come. “I think there might be less risk now to test things than before. People seem more open to weirdness and self expression. ”
The indie market is strongly driven by the public’s desire to constantly try something new, also thanks to the fact that ‘failing’ a game does not involve the massive investments typical of AAA productions. Y/CJ/Y seems to fully embody this spirit, and Josef and Christopher are always ready to unleash their creativity with complete artistic and conceptual freedom, one of the defining traits of independent developers. All that is left is to wish them continued success, with eager curiosity about where their originality will take them next.
