Good News Gaming: an incredibly sweet story from the Untitled Goose Game team

If you've got time for a very lovely story, let the team behind Untitled Goose Game make your day

By Rob Leane | February 14, 2019 | | 0

Welcome to our new-ish ‘Good News Gaming’ column! In this series of articles, we’ll amplify the nicer side of the gaming community that maybe doesn’t always get the attention it deserves. This time, we’re retelling a very sweet story from the upcoming indie Untitled Goose Game…

One of our most highly anticipated games of 2019 is Untitled Goose Game, from the Melbourne-based developers at House House, which is a playful stealth title that puts you in the role of a mischevious goose that terrorises a village with its disruptive antics. We can’t wait to play it, basically, and there is also a very sweet story to be told from behind the scenes on the game.

A bit of context, then: Untitled Goose Game has been picked up for a release on Nintendo Switch, which turns out to be a very big deal for one particular person who’s involved in the indie game. That chap is named Cabel Sasser, and he’s a co-founder Panic Inc, the company that’s publishing the title.

Sasser took to his own Twitter feed last autumn to share some personal thoughts and feelings on what it means to him for Untitled Goose Game to be launching on the Switch. The result was one of the sweetest Twitter threads in recent memory, that we’re still thinking of months later, so we’ll hand over to Sasser now to tell his story in his own words…

A story. When I was 13 years old (pictured), my family planned a road trip to Seattle. And all I wanted to do, more than anything else in the universe, was visit Nintendo in nearby Redmond. pic.twitter.com/rFXENWMyIn
— Cabel (@cabel) September 7, 2018

Nintendo was everything to me as a kid. Their games changed the way I looked at the world — they’re why I open every door and press every button and spot every detail. I couldn’t eat without having a Nintendo magazine to read while eating. And…… heck yes I was a Fun Club member pic.twitter.com/c2UxmRov7z
— Cabel (@cabel) September 7, 2018

I also called Nintendo Customer Service… a lot. (1-800-422-2602. Still memorized, and still works.) So before our trip, I called them up to make sure they gave tours. "Uh, I'm sure someone can show you around!" the guy said. Awesome!
— Cabel (@cabel) September 7, 2018

But when we got there, and the whole family walked into the customer service/repair depot…

Well, of course they didn't give tours. "It's Insurance risk," they said. "Sorry." pic.twitter.com/hLPXxj3Mqb
— Cabel (@cabel) September 7, 2018

I was devastated.
— Cabel (@cabel) September 7, 2018

Two weeks ago, cleaning out the basement, I discovered something long forgotten: I was do devastated, apparently, that I wrote Nintendo a letter.

And, of course, Nintendo wrote back. pic.twitter.com/4cymXfhn1U
— Cabel (@cabel) September 7, 2018

"We were pleased to receive your recent letter. First of all, let us apologize for not being able to give you a tour of our facilities. We understand that this must have been a great disappointment after you drove so far." pic.twitter.com/LxxNL5UubL
— Cabel (@cabel) September 7, 2018

(Page two starts with this incredible sentence: "Your speculation on the relationship between Tengen and Atari was correct.") pic.twitter.com/wdANJXvHvC
— Cabel (@cabel) September 7, 2018

I can still remember the feeling of getting this letter, the feeling of being taken seriously as a kid, of having my feelings addressed, and my nerdy questions answered. I felt so much better, and I loved this company even more.
— Cabel (@cabel) September 7, 2018

Cut to 2018. My company is publishing Untitled Goose Game, and after a lot of discussions with a lot of nice people, we decided to debut the game on the Nintendo Switch. And when they showed our trailer in the Nindies Direct, and our logo followed theirs… it hit me hard. pic.twitter.com/AZD4lJL7ze
— Cabel (@cabel) September 7, 2018

And when I walked down to the Nintendo booth at PAX, turned a corner, and saw our game sitting right there… it also hit me hard. pic.twitter.com/gwxE2xmhVP
— Cabel (@cabel) September 7, 2018

And after nearly 30 years…
— Cabel (@cabel) September 7, 2018

I finally got my tour. pic.twitter.com/FrUbpSMoSe
— Cabel (@cabel) September 7, 2018

We told you it was sweet! Isn’t it just lovely to see such a passionate Nintendo fan quite literally living his dream and getting the tour that he’d been denied all those years prior? Whose heart wouldn’t melt at that!

And, as a happy by-product, knowing this real-life anecdote makes us even more hyped for Untitled Goose Game. The title doesn’t have a release date, at the time of writing, but we can’t wait to check this game out and we’ll be sure to let you know as learn more about it.

Thanks for reading, and, if you like, please feel free to let us know your own sweet stories about gaming in the comments below…