The Day Before Developer Wants Others to Create Maps for Its New Game

I know that it's probably not the best idea to give Fntastic, the developer behind the infamous 2023 survival shooter The Day Before, any more media attention, but their increasingly baffling feats keep getting more entertaining by the week – and this week is no exception.

For context, last week, the developer announced the cancellation of its new game, Escape Factory, along with its Kickstarter campaign, where they attempted to scam the community out of raise $15,000.

While the campaign's failure to get anywhere near the required amount was to be expected, what was surprising was the reveal of yet another game – an action-horror prop hunt title dubbed ITEMS, which Fntastic plans to fund with revenue from their currently non-existent mobile games, set to be released alongside it. Having unveiled its latest project, the team has now begun putting its new mind-boggling strategy into action, launching what it described as its "first-ever contest" to encourage other people to produce map designs for ITEMS.

In the announcement shared exclusively on Discord, Fntastic outlined the competition's rules and participation details, stating that users can create map designs in any format they like, whether it's a 2D concept, a 3D model, or something entirely different. Participants are also required to name their creations and describe the submitted maps down to the minute details, including aspects like theme, balance, and more.

The design that garners the most reactions on Discord will win, with Fntastic promising to reward the champion with fantastic prizes such as having the map added to the final game, featuring the winner's name "somewhere" on the map, and giving the winner a free Steam copy of ITEMS – in other words, nothing of real value. Speaking to TheGamer, the studio further confirmed that there wouldn't be monetary prizes for the contest's winner, emphasizing that "all the prizes are written in the announcement".

While having one's playable map in a game they didn't specifically work on can indeed be exciting – especially for aspiring Level Designers – it all comes down to reputation. If Rockstar or Nintendo were to launch such a contest, I doubt it would attract any negativity whatsoever, and instead, the community would likely praise these AAA studios for allowing beginners to prove their worth.

In Fntastic's case, however, the most logical assumption is that the "contest" is simply an attempt to save money on Concept Artists by making others do the work they're supposed to handle, with the studio hiding its true intent behind the façade of a competition. The concept, no pun intended, of utilizing unpaid labor in production isn't unfamiliar for Fntastic, as they faced criticism in 2022 for using unpaid volunteers to manage certain aspects of The Day Before's development and marketing, offering "cool rewards, participation certificates, and free codes" instead of cash for their efforts.

So, what do you think about Fntastic's contest? Is it just another scam, or is it a genuine attempt to make a positive change, and we're all just evil game journos and haters who refuse to give the team another chance? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

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