Double Fine Productions Talks Kiln and Keeper at BitSummit PUNCH
The interview shows Double Fine Productions maintaining its distinctive creative process-starting from a single playful image and building outward through hands-on research-even as it operates under a major platform holder.
Reporting from 2 sources: Inside, Game Spark.
At BitSummit PUNCH, held May 22-24, 2026 at Miyako Messe in Kyoto, Double Fine Productions gave a rare interview in Japan. Project lead Derek Brand discussed the studio's upcoming multiplayer title 'Kiln', which departs from their usual story-driven single-player games. Brand explained that 'Kiln' began from the concept of letting players create their own characters and fight with them, with pottery and ceramics chosen as the medium after the team found a photo of pots and drew faces on them. The team took pottery lessons for several months during pre-production. Creative lead Lee Petty spoke about 'Keeper', a wordless single-player adventure released last year about a lighthouse that grows legs and walks. Petty said the idea came from a walk during the pandemic, thinking about what becomes meaningless after humanity disappears. Both developers noted that since joining Xbox in 2019, the studio has gained resources without restrictions on their creative freedom. They expressed gratitude to Japanese fans and said development on 'Kiln' continues.
Brand said the game began not from a system or a story, but from the simple idea: "I want to fight with characters I created against characters others created." The team researched various arts and crafts before settling on pottery after Brand drew faces on a photo of pots. The team took weekly pottery lessons for several months during pre-production and incorporated what they learned into the game.
Brand described a design philosophy he called "Your shape matters." A large, wide pot moves heavily; a tall, thin pot moves accordingly. The lead animator, credited only as Miyuki, created animations that reflect the individuality of each player-made pot. The game's mythological world setting came from the team noticing that pottery connects to ancient cultures worldwide, leading them to place gods and pottery side by side as ordinary things.
Petty said "Keeper" originated from a walk alone in the mountains during the pandemic, when he thought about what becomes meaningless after humanity disappears. He said many recent games "prioritize ease of play and give detailed instructions on where to go and what to do," and the team wanted to create an experience where players interpret meaning themselves. Petty said the studio plans to expand hint functions so the game is not too difficult.
Petty described his creative philosophy: "I strongly feel that games are art, and people express something through the medium of games. So I firmly believe that creators should make games that are meaningful to themselves."
Asked about Japanese localization for older titles, Petty said the studio receives many requests but has nothing to announce. He said Double Fine has secured more resources than before and hopes to increase them further.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.