Interview with the Developer of Building Relationships

Personally, I’m a huge fan of dating sims. I love an opportunity to go on dates with and embarrass myself in front of people/characters/things that I never have to see again. And Building Relationships from developer Tan Ant Games takes some of my favorite things about dating sims and makes it truly unique.

We can’t wait to play the full version of the game and romance these awesome buildings. A huge thank you to Tanat Boozayaangool for answering my questions about the game!

• Can you tell me about yourself and how you started working on Building Relationships? 

My name is Tanat Boozayaangool and I’m an indie developer from Bangkok, Thailand with a background in corporate burnout. I love exploring bizarre and unexpected combinations, like a mix of genres that have no reason being together in one game. I’m often drawn to the surreal, I love seeing what kinds of stories can emerge from the weirdest of settings.

The game idea actually first started back in 2015, in a game jam under the theme “Construction / Destruction”. I couldn’t decide whether to make a game about buildings or a game about relationships and suddenly, something clicked in my brain: why not combine the two? Back then, the game was more of a visual novel (taking inspiration from Hatoful Boyfriend), but I couldn’t really write something meaningful because I didn’t consume enough of that genre.

Then in 2020, I came across another jam called Unexpected Jam and thought it was the perfect time to breathe new life to Building Relationships. This time I took inspiration from A Short Hike, having just played it and becoming obsessed with exploration as a mechanic.

Then towards the end of 2023, I was burning out from my day job and wanted to switch careers into games. I needed a portfolio piece, so I decided to spend my time outside of work bringing Building Relationships onto Steam. Next thing I knew, I announced the game at Summer Game Fest and am now working on it full time. It’s been bananas, but I’m eternally grateful that I even get the chance to try any of this out.

• I played through the demo of the game and during the demo, you can take a few buildings on a date involving putting together a piece of furniture. Can you explain more about how dating will work in the game? Will there be different kinds of dates you can take potential love interests on? 

So the game has a main storyline that progresses through each date. In the demo, you get to meet the Bachelorx Pads (the single and available structures), but in the main game, you’ll end up picking between the two and taking them on a series of dates to get to know them better. Each encounter is different -- some are freaky, some are wholesome, but all of them will hopefully leave you with a smile on your face. I’m really excited about what happens during the second half of the picnic date, in particular. I think people are either going to love it or be entirely scarred by it.

As for how many dates and what the end-goal looks like… you’re going to have to wait for the game to find out.

• Can players romance multiple characters? Can they choose just one character? 

So there’s two structures to pick from in the game: Millie (the tall seductive windmill) and Tenet (the hot himbo tent). I wanted to focus on a small cast and make sure each building feels grounded and that each interaction feels novel. Building Relationships was planned to be a small game from the start -- with how tough the industry is, it’s hard for a new developer to justify taking such big swings.

Honestly, I REALLY wanted the option for the player to be able to pursue both at once, but had to unfortunately cut it early on…

• Can you tell me more about the music in the game? 

So the music is composed and designed by the talented Gina Loughlin who was the composer on Mail Time and the upcoming Wax Heads and Mythmatch!

Funny story is that I met Gina at a picnic where we were playing and singing a track together from Parappa the Rappa (Instructor Mooselini's Car Rap). It was absolutely ridiculous but also a ton of fun! The experience really stuck with me, it meant a lot to have friends who are willing to explore something weird and absurd with me.

And Gina has such a wide range when it comes to composition, I’m always excited when I listen to a new track from her. Whenever I bring the most odd-ball, jarring concepts, she just knocks it out of the park each time. The second half of the picnic in particular, I really do owe a lot of the scene’s voice and perspective to Gina. She brought so much life to that scene, and I honestly could not have asked for a better collaborator!

• What’s your favorite building in the game if you had to choose one? (Not to romance, just in general. But if you want to pick which one you would romance that’s okay too 😀)

I am partial to Docktor, because they were one of the first characters I wrote in the game! I found this voice and tension for them that ended up shaping the dryness and sarcasm for the rest of the game. It’s the first time I wrote dialogue and went… “There’s something here.” Though some might argue that I’m only picking Docktor because I just want someone to talk to me in the same way they talk to the player.

Between Millie and Tenet, I do have an answer. But much like my mother, I can’t just publicly state which of my children is my favorite. Though I think players might be able to guess when they play through the game…

• Are there any games that helped inspire you while you’ve been developing the game? 

Aside from the aforementioned Hatoful Boyfriend and A Short Hike, I tend to play lots of games and end up taking lots of notes.

I’m someone who has trouble focusing and reading in games, but ended up finding it easy to get into the story of Baldur’s Gate 3 (at least compared to Divinity: Original Sin 2). So I wanted something engaging and dynamic like the cutscenes in BG3, but with a budget more suited for an indie dev. I play around a lot with camera and text placement, taking inspiration from how emotionally impactful they felt in The Wreck and Psychotic Bathtub. I also took notes from how the cinematography was constructed in Stray Gods and Goodbye Volcano High and even media outside of games such as the editing in UNHhhh and Drag Race.

The list goes on and on: from particular comedic beats in Thank Goodness, You’re Here to impactful moments in Welcome to Elk and the narrative flow of DDinosaur with Double D’s. Though I think the biggest inspiration behind the game’s identity comes from outside of games, particularly from the improv comedy featured throughout the shows on Dropout. Particularly, A Crown of Candy laid the groundwork for how I now approach worldbuilding within the game.

• What does “indie” mean to you?

To me, indie as a category is one that is constantly evolving, but generally describes games that’s born from a certain struggle -- whether it's a desire for expression or a desire to flow against the current. 

I don’t think I have the authority to dictate what is and what isn’t indie, but I tend to connect most with titles that involve some kind of performative aspect. Whether it be through gameplay or narrative, it's an act of expression that feels authentic to its perspective. Maybe from how streamlined a game is to its vision or maybe it’s how visible it struggled in telling its story. Playing through it tends to feel transformative: a conversation between the player and the game turning into a dialogue between the player, the game, and its creators.

The shape and feel of indie tends to differ from region to region, with different cultural expectations and economic structures shaping each struggle differently. And so, I find it hard to really distill “indie” into several bullet points. I’m just continuously excited to keep discovering what these new and different perspectives feel like.

You can wishlist and play the demo for Building Relationships on Steam.