With the first-ever ROBLOX Game Creation Challenge in the books, we’ve played some of the best, most original horror games on ROBLOX yet. The Game Creation Challenge winner, Confined, a Story of Death and Shadow, blew us away. How did this game come into existence in a mere week and a half, and who are the minds behind its creepy tale?

Confined is the product of a three-person team: level builder Legoman654, and coders Tyridge77 and Stroudie. The trio had been working together on yet-to-be-released project when the Game Creation Challenge started — and they paused to make their entry.

“We had been working on a project prior to Confined,” recounts Legoman654. “[Tyridge77] instantly came out of the blue saying, ‘Lego, let’s do this GCC contest.’ My instant response was ‘Let’s do it’ because I could tell he was already dedicated and what he had planned so far instantly drew my attention.”

What really stands out about Confined is the story, something that feels unique among all the other horror games we’ve seen before — on ROBLOX and elsewhere. Tyridge77 crafted the narrative, which deals with death and facing deep-seated fears. His inspiration came from an interesting source.

“I’ve always been a horror enthusiast,” Tyridge77 explains. “I enjoy writing poetry, dark poetry to be specific. Confined was quite literally a few pages of poems out of my notebook.”

He went on to tell us about the themes of his story (which we won’t spoil because you should definitely go experience it yourself).

“I wanted a unique story; a story to approach fear and the dark from a different perspective. Unlike most horrors, where you run from the dark and spend your time trying to avoid it, I wanted Confined’s poetic moral to convey a personal message, stating that sometimes the dark is the only way we can see reality.”

Spectres haunt the hallways of the house you’re trapped in.

A large part of Confined’s appeal is the lack of jumpscares and other horror gimmicks you’ve come to expect from games in the genre. Most of the time the suspense is built slowly, with music and atmosphere.

“We wanted it to be somewhat different to your standard horror game, by trying to make it successful without the need for so many jumpscares,” explained Stroudie, who coded and also lent his voice to the main character.

“Tension was key.”

And that tension is palpable all throughout Confined, thanks in no small part to the building work of Legoman654, who made the creepy house feel like an actual living place that’s saturated in dread.

So, what’s the hardest part of working on a three-person team? According to this team of developers, it’s coordinating time to work together. Tyridge77 hails from Oregon, while Legoman654 resides in Tennessee, and Stroudie is all the way across the ocean in the United Kingdom.

That makes it all the more impressive that these guys, and other ROBLOX dev teams, create games while living thousands of miles from each other, in multiple time zones. Unique experiences can be crafted in the age of the internet, where devs can collaborate with others all over the world. That’s a big part of what we’re about at ROBLOX: creative collaboration.

It almost seems cozy, and yet still dark and foreboding.

The team has words of encouragement for new and aspiring developers and builders looking to get a start.

“Use every resource around you to better yourself both in modeling and scripting with ROBLOX Studio,” said Legoman654. “It’s a great, user-friendly tool that can create some amazing projects that are worth showcasing and fascinating yourself by. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and dive into every possible idea that you could transfer to ROBLOX space. It is a place for sharing and creativity, so let that show through your talents and dedication!”

For Tyridge77, game development is a passion, and he encourages developers who are passionate to put in the time. For him, game development “comes from the heart.”

“It’s a form of art. And ROBLOX is simply the easiest easel to paint on.”