Dredge Creator Launches New Studio Team Trifold

Black Salt Games, the studio behind the hit fishing horror game Dredge, has established a new development team and a supporting publishing label. The new studio, Team Trifold, is working on its first game, Nothing Lost, while the new label, Saltworks Entertainment, will provide shared business services for multiple studios.

This expansion is funded by the success of Dredge, according to Black Salt's executive producer Nadia Thorne. The initiative also benefits from New Zealand's Game Development Sector Rebate, which Thorne says provides stability for the new team. Studios supported by this rebate recently saw combined revenue grow 17% to $829 million.

The Saltworks Entertainment Model

Saltworks Entertainment is described as a white-label publisher that brings together shared expertise in production, marketing, quality assurance, localization, audio, and business operations. It will service Black Salt Games, Team Trifold, and another local Christchurch studio, Disc 2 Games. All three studios are based in the same building but will remain creatively independent.

Thorne states that sustainability is central to this multi-studio strategy. We believe small teams making ambitious indie games that don't require the latest and greatest hardware can be a really resilient model for whatever the next five years brings, she told GamesIndustry.biz. The model aims to share experience and infrastructure without any single studio growing beyond its needs.

The Team and Its Philosophy

Team Trifold is a three-person studio. Its members are Jed Uy (artist and writer), Wilson Teo (production and QA), and Carl Johnson (programmer). All have extensive industry backgrounds. Uy emphasized the importance of firm design pillars and constant iteration. "Individual details can and will change, frequently, but commitment to a vision is non-negotiable," he said.

Teo highlighted the critical role of validating the core gameplay loop through playtesting. He stressed the need to stay true to the team's established design foundations throughout development.

Nothing Lost and Its Roguelike Twist

The studio's debut project, Nothing Lost, aims to innovate within the roguelike genre. Inspired by the 2001 anime Shaman King and various cultural mythologies, the game plans to use death as a core progression mechanic. Jed Uy described it as "a multiplicative death-based crafting system that actually gives a reward for the most unpleasant part of the roguelike genre."

The team acknowledges the genre is crowded. Wilson Teo notes the key challenge is communication. Players resist losing, so we need to clearly explain our design intent that dying is part of the game, he explained. The goal is to turn the traditional roguelike loop on its head by making death a rewarding and integral part of the player's advancement.

Development is underway in Christchurch, supported by the shared resources of the new Saltworks Entertainment structure.