Spooky Doorway is an indie game development studio based out of Ireland that focuses on gaming experiences filled with puzzles and meaningful narratives. Their latest installment in their point-and-click mystery adventure, The Darkside Detective: Backside of the Moon, finally has a demo available on Steam, and I had the opportunity to interview with Paul Conway, Lead Artist and CEO of Spooky Doorway. Get to know how Paul’s approach to the nostalgic pixel art style and how he lends his talents to bring The Darkside Detective to life!

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[Author’s Note:  Dave McCabe (Narrative Lead of Spooky Doorway) also answered a couple of questions, as appropriate. Thanks, Dave!]

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Q: Hi, Paul. Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions. Looks like you wield two hefty roles at Spooky Doorway: CEO and Lead Artist. Could you describe how and why you founded a gaming studio?

PAUL: We (Dave, Treasa and I) founded Spooky Doorway shortly after we released a small demo of the first Darkside Detective. The short demo came from a game jam we did just for fun, but when we posted it online, the people who discovered it began to connect with our funny characters and spooky world.

We had all previously considered setting up our own studio to make our own games; we’d all worked on other peoples’ games, but we really wanted to try to build something that was our own. The early interest in The Darkside Detective felt like the right moment to pull the trigger. It was a game that connected with people. Thankfully, we were right and ten years later we are still going strong. 

Q: Your website describes your studio as an “…Irish game studio focused on delivering narrative-based experiences, with exploration, puzzles, and big hearts”. Could you detail the importance of a narrative-driven game to Spooky Doorway and how your team delivers this experience?

DAVE: The games that have impacted and inspired us most are narrative games, so they are naturally the games that we’re most drawn to making. We’re a nation of storytellers, and everyone in the team has a good head for tales – everyone is encouraged to chip in and critique that aspect, as well as offer suggestions for content and improvements. We have roundtables, and we kick things about until they are ticking all the boxes for us. We’ve a strong sense of what kinds of stories we want to tell and what kinds we want to avoid, as well as how, why, etc we want to tell them. Having a diverse team means they see stories through a lot of different lenses, which helps us make sure we’re staying true to that vision – a lot of the heart comes from all those good people doing good work to make sure we’re telling tales we can be proud of.

Q: The Darkside Detective series is made beautifully with nostalgic pixel art. So, I few questions here. Firstly, what led you to this art direction? Your previous game, The Seance of Blake Manor that released in 2025 is a completely different style. Also, did you have any inspiration behind the pixel art?

PAUL: I was definitely inspired by the classic point and click adventures from the 90s – the Lucas Arts games in particular. They captured a lot of charm and character. I was also inspired by the art of many modern indie games, too. I’m a bit of a magpie; I collect my inspirations from anywhere and everywhere that catches my eye.

Q: I personally think pixel art is timeless. While realism is improving by the minute in some recent gorgeous AAA titles, but in the end, I feel pixel art ages the best. Do you think pixel art will always remain relevant in the gaming industry?

PAUL: I think pixel art is the art style that was born in video games (no shade to cross stitching);it is the style that brought games to life and will continue to evolve again and again. I have no doubt it will always be relevant. Those little squares are a visual shorthand to players for the unique magic of video games.

Q: I agree! Now, as Lead Artist, how do you ensure that the pixel artwork stands out from that of the 80s and 90s?

PAUL: I think pixel art evolves constantly. The motivations for using pixel art are not the same as they were at the beginning of the medium. Displays are different now, resources aren’t as limited, the sky is the limit on how you can present pixel art in games.

For the Darkside games, atmosphere and mood are the main elements I want to convey. I want players to feel the vibe of the scene at a glance. I’ve tried to keep everything clean and simple and let some of the modern lighting effects help set the mood. I think of each character and object in Darkside as an icon, reduced to the most minimum amount of detail needed. It’s kind of like looking into a tiny world of pixels, but everything is instantly clear to the player.

Q: From a gameplay perspective, what led your team to go with point-and-click?

PAUL: I think it’s different for each of us. We all certainly enjoyed them growing up and still have an affinity for them. One of the main factors that draws me to the genre is that most point-and-clicks are instantly about character, story, and world building. The uncomplicated mechanics of P&Cs allow players to get straight into the meat of the adventure, and as developers, we get to focus on the things we like.

Q: The Darkside Detective: Backside of the Moon is the next installment in this series. Did you envision The Darkside Detective to have several installments from the start, or was this something you decided after the launch of the first title?

PAUL: We considered the idea of it being a series while working on the first game. The multiple mini-adventures format of each game lent itself well to a TV-like seasonal format. However, we weren’t certain Dooley and McQueen would find their audience to justify making more adventures for them, so it wasn’t something we were actively aiming for when we launched The Darkside Detective.

When the game was a success, we knew we wanted to go back and make more. We had more silly adventures to go on with the Darkside Division and thankfully people wanted to join us along the way.

Q: Is there anything you’ve learned with the first two Darkside Detective installments that led to changes/improvements in Backside of the Moon?

PAUL: As a team, we’ve learned to trust each other more and more as the years have passed. Things we would have nit-picked each other over on the first and second game don’t seem to come up so much. I guess we defer to each other’s experience.

In the past, we used to redesign and rebuild cases until we got the balance of puzzles and humor right, but we seem to be getting there more quickly these days. We know the shape of a good Darkside case these days since we’ve made over 20 of them now. We don’t take it for granted, we work hard, but we seem to be better at it now.

Q: For the new players: can they play the Darkside Detective in any order?

DAVE: You can, but it’s a better experience if played as released so you can see the characters’ lives change and so the callbacks will make more sense. The world is, if not alive, progressing – it’s not essential to the experience but it certainly enhances it. 

Q: What do you envision for Spooky Doorway in 2026?

PAUL: 2026 has already been super busy for us. Right now we’re in the thick of making The Darkside Detective: Backside of the Moon. It’s going strong, and we’re looking forward to finishing and polishing it. It’s great to be back with the lads on the streets of Twin Lakes. We’re also exploring a demo for a new point-and-click world we’ve been thinking about for a few years. We’re not sure when (or if) that will see the light of day, but it’s a lot of fun trying something new.

We’re also figuring out our next big game to follow up the ideas we explored in The Séance of Blake Manor. It’s been nice taking a break in the fun pixel-y worlds of point-and-clicks before jumping back into something more considerable like Blake Manor.

STEPH: That sounds super exciting! Congratulations on the demo launch of The Darkside Detective: Backside of the Moon, and I will keep an eye out for the full release. We also look forward to your next point-and-click title!

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Everyone, please check out The Darkside Detective series by Spooky Doorway, especially the free demo of the latest installment, Backside of the Moon. If you need more convincing, check out my review of the demo HERE.

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What is The Darkside Detective: Backside of the Moon?

The Darkside Detective is a point-and-click mystery series in a nostalgic pixel art style, developed by indie studio, Spooky Doorway, based in Ireland. There are currently two installments: The Darkside Detective, and The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark. The series follows Detective McQueen and his partner, Officer Dooley, who are charged with solving mysteries behind the supernatural in Twin Lakes.

The Darkside Detective: Backside of the Moon is the next installment in this detective series. The darling pair have six more cases to solve in Twin Lakes!

The Darkside Detective: Backside of the Moon is developed by Spooky Doorway and published by Akupara Games. It’s demo is live on Steam, and the complete release date is TBD.

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Featured Image Credit: Spooky Doorway