Trivia / Silver Falls Gaiden: Deathly Delusion Destroyers and Ruby River

• Absurdly Short Production Time: Jerrel got this and the rest of the 3DS and Wii U games done in one year, which required him to work constantly to the point of exhaustion. Deathly Delusion Destroyers took only 4 weeks, even required Nintendo's direct intervention to make it playable on time. He wryly noted this post-release, saying that Nintendo agreed to him making all these games despite probably not expecting him to pull off finishing all 7 games. And technically, they were right. Jerrel only managed to make 6; Vicarious Brothers was never released.
• Development Hell: Getting all these games done in one year was a gargantuan task, and the sheer amount of work and stress wore Jerrel down. He also got sick a few times, and made some mistakes on the initial submission of Gaiden. Normally, this would have doomed it to be unfinished by the time the 3DS eShop shut down. In February 2023, Jerrel even made a video saying that the game might not come out. But in a surprising inversion of the usual Executive Meddling, Nintendo directly stepped in at the last minute and actually helped in making the game playable by its deadline. As a result, Gaiden launched on March 9, 2023, a mere 18 days before the shutdown.
• Doing It for the Art: In his video, "why I did it," Jerrel explains that he wanted to give gamers some positivity and something to look forward to amidst the closure of the 3DS eShop. He also talks about how he lost someone he really cared about. His processing of that loss led to him writing the Silver Falls series. He also discusses video games as a medium, how much they mean to people, and how he wants his games to help others figure things out about themselves.
• Inspiration for the Work: Jerrel Dulay based much of the Silver Falls setting on his own experiences, such as years of driving along rural and mountain roads in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and the overall PNW. The sense of loneliness he felt while driving at night or camping alone in the wilderness became the core inspiration for the series.
• Keep Circulating the Tapes: Just like the other games in the series, Deathly Delusion Destroyers and Ruby River are on only one platform: The New Nintendo 3DS, and can only be bought on the soon-to-be closed eShop.
• Line to God: The Silver Falls Twitter account is here. Jerrel is reasonably easy to contact, because he spends a lot of time interacting with his fanbase either via direct messages or streams. Also, the Sungrand Studios YouTube channel can be found here.
• Saved from Development Hell: Due to the sheer amount of work and stress involved in trying to get all the Silver Falls 3DS and Wii U titles done in a year, Jerrel fell behind on Deathly Delusion Destroyers and Ruby River.By his own admission, they would not have passed Nintendo's standards. However, Nintendo themselves actually stepped in and helped him.
• What Could Have Been: Gaiden began life as a Wii U title, but over the course of its development, it switched to the 3DS and ended up including the Ruby River content with it.
• Write What You Know: In an interview, creator Jerrel Dulay explains that he wanted the game - and rest of the Silver Falls series, to be drawn from his real-life experiences. He spent years driving around areas in the PNW, finding small mountain towns, and talking with total strangers at the bars.