Interview with the Team Behind A Heavy Morning

It’s that time of year again! The Six One Indie Showcase is in full swing and that means loads of amazing indies being shown off and, of course, we’ve got more developer interviews for you. We sent some questions over to the team behind the hand drawn visual novel, A Heavy Morning, and they were kind enough to send over some answers.

A huge thank you to Mays and Ashraf from the Saf Interactive team for being a part of our September showcase and for allowing us to show off A Heavy Morning.

• Can you tell me about the team behind A Heavy Morning and how you all got started working on the game? 

  (Mays, Lead Developer and Art Director): It’s been quite a journey, with many talented people contributing along the way until we formed our core team, all working remotely. The project began when I reached out to Fawzi Mesmar, who generously shared his expertise and connected me with Bright Gambit. They helped us create our first demo and still support us with promotion, festival applications, and guidance. 

  In the early days, we had trailer animators and a short-term programmer help shape the project. The current team includes Myself as the lead dev and art director. Ashraf, the main developer and game designer. Hadi, our full-time programmer, Lana and Talah, our animators, plus Moutaz on sound effects and the Masar team; Sami and Faisal, composing the original soundtrack. Together, we’re bringing A Heavy Morning to life.

  (Ashraf, Main Developer and Game Designer): I got into the project after Fawzi reached out to me to tell me about “A game that MUST exist”, and after he shared May’s trailer with me I found myself in total agreement. I’m a fan of story-heavy games, especially ones that shed light on concepts and emotions important to me, so I immediately hopped onto the bandwagon to start creating the game.

• What inspired the story that takes place in A Heavy Morning and what made you decide to tell this story in the form of a video game? 

  (Mays, Lead Developer and Art Director): A Heavy Morning began as a small challenge that grew into my Master’s diploma and eventually became a true passion project. The story took root during the long, quiet months of the COVID lockdown, when I was searching for ways to help myself navigate isolation and pressing responsibilities.

  I have always been fascinated by the space where art, storytelling, and audience agency overlap, and by how giving someone the power to interact with a story can transform the experience. Turning this concept into a video game felt like the perfect way to break down the barrier between art and its audience. In a game being an interactive medium, the player is not just watching, they are taking part, making choices, and feeling the weight of the experience.

  My aim with the gamewas to create something that could be fun and visually pleasing, yet also serious, heartfelt, and deeply personal. I wanted it to be a game that not only tells a story but also touches the player in a meaningful way.

  (Ashraf, Main Developer and Game Designer): Video games have always been a medium for self expression and reflection, so we wanted to give people a chance to see and experience our interpretation of what depression can manifest as. It won’t be the same for everyone, but if we can help one person empathize with this heavy topic through our interactive experience, then the game would have served its purpose.

• Can you tell me a bit more about how gameplay works? How do things work differently in “the reality” versus the “mind space?” 

  (Mays, Lead Developer and Art Director): The gameplay centers on controlling two elements: actions/behaviours and thoughts. Actions take place in the colorful, detailed reality space, representing the external world. From there, the player’s choices guide the character step-by-step, similar to a “choose your own adventure” experience, moving between short animations until reaching the mindspace.

  The mindspace is an abstract, symbolic environment reflecting the character’s inner emotional landscape. Here, the focus shifts to navigating and managing thoughts through puzzles that represent dysfunctional thinking patterns. Solving these puzzles allows the player to work through the character’s mental state and emotional challenges.

• What are puzzles like in the game (if you can say without spoiling too much!) and how are they guided by Cognitive Behavioral Therapy techniques?

  (Mays, Lead Developer and Art Director): The puzzles mainly reflect the character’s inner dialogue and are inspired by Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Players work to identify negative thoughts and gradually transform them into more positive, balanced ones by interacting with puzzle elements. This process mirrors how CBT helps people challenge and reframe their thinking, making the puzzles both meaningful and emotionally engaging.

  (Ashraf, Main Developer and Game Designer): CBT focuses on reframing thoughts, reframing behavior, and choosing healthier coping mechanisms. The puzzles we’ve created play on these sections and encourage players to take a step back, breathe, and then attempt to tackle the problem at hand.

• Struggling to get out of bed when we’re having a difficult time is something that many of us can relate to. On the bad days, what’s something that you try to do personally to motivate yourself and try to cheer yourself up? 

  (Mays, Lead Developer and Art Director): On tough days, I make an effort not to linger in bed too long after waking up, because starting the day actively helps shift my mindset, and I generally try to push myself to break the cycle of procrastination by tackling the smallest tasks first. Other times, setting clear goals for the day keeps me focused and gives me a sense of purpose. Personally, being productive even in a small way is the best way to motivate myself and lift my mood, this could be as simple as taking a walk, having a good meal, or spending time with loved ones

  (Ashraf, Main Developer and Game Designer): Sometimes I decide that a mental health day is what I need, and I let myself rest a bit longer and forgive myself for not doing as well as I would on a better day. One danger of doing this is slipping into an extended timespan of downer days, and that’s when I reach out to friends and surround myself with community.

  I started doing this after realizing that the burnout from over exertion simply ruined my work instead of helped it get better. Having said that, there are unavoidable, time-sensitive tasks that just need you to “get on with it”, and in cases like these I try to reward myself by putting a prize at the end of the goal.

• What does “indie” mean to you?

  (Mays, Lead Developer and Art Director): To me, “indie” means creative freedom and personal storytelling. It’s about making games driven by passion rather than commercial pressures, where the team has full control over the vision and message. Being indie allows us to take risks, explore unique themes, and connect with players on a deeper, more meaningful level. It’s a space for authentic voices and innovative ideas that might not fit the mainstream.

  (Ashraf, Main Developer and Game Designer): What constitutes indie has changed over the years (and I’m sure my answer will be agreed and disagreed with as well), but at the moment it’s the space to be fun, to be goofy, to try new things, and to be yourself. Sure, there might be restrictions from publishers (and funding as a whole), but as an indie developer, YOU create the ideas, YOU set your risk appetite, YOU make what you want to make, especially if you believe in your project and can prove to yourself that your game has market interest in it. Indie is the place where you’ll not only find new markets, it’s also the place where you can open your own, so let’s keep making amazing things and throwing concepts together to see what hits!

A Heavy Morning does not have a release date just yet but players can wishlist the game on Steam to stay up to date on future news.