The year is 2042 and an earthquake in the Tahoe Basin dislodges large rocks underneath Big Blue’s surface, unleashing a creature that had been trapped below. This is the premise of a new video game “Tahoe Dragon: The Beginning” created by South Lake Tahoe resident Trevor Snowden, aka Trev Air.
“I’ve had this idea in my head since the 80s,” says Snowden who grew up in the area. He and his team of video game builders took local folklore, rumors and speculation about what resides in Lake Tahoe and used it to create “Tahoe Dragon.”
“There’s a lot of comedy, puns and secret meanings in there.” –Trevor Snowden
It took Snowden two years to create the video game after a friend told him about a game creation platform that was free to use. He grew up on Activision, Atari and Sega Genesis video games and was always attracted to open environment/sandbox type of games such as Donkey Kong, Space Invaders and Grand Theft Auto. He’s admittedly not a computer programmer, but the graphics game engine he found made it possible for his storyline to come to life in an engaging, interactive way.
“This new software is amazing. Like with an Xbox or PlayStation, you knew when a new game came out it was going to be cool because it came from those big companies, like how this one was made. And the storytelling is insane; you can create whatever you want,” Snowden says. “Unreal Engine, Epic Games and Fiverr allowed me to create this. This next generation of tech companies is mind-boggling.”
With his idea, he put together a team of video game builders that he found through the freelancing website Fiverr. However, that could be a story all on its own considering his two main programmers were from Russia and Ukraine. When the war broke out, the Russian freelancer’s profile was pulled off the Fiverr platform, threatening to stall progress on the game.
“We were all getting along just fine before the war,” he says.
However, Snowden pushed on.
“I had fun creating it, but it’s almost like ‘Tahoe Dragon’ created itself,” he says. “I had a natural gut feeling and started throwing things in there and it all kind of unfolded on its own.”
Snowden described the process of making the game, how he wanted to make the environment look like South Lake Tahoe but that he was limited on what kind of assets he could use.
He said the images were like products: the better the quality, the more they cost. He also had to consider how much space the game would take up on a computer drive and how long it would take to load.
“I was limited. For instance, I would find some water that was brown and murky; it looked nothing like Lake Tahoe. I had to make some concessions, but it was vital that I had a cool dragon and a cool environment.”
In my opinion the graphics are well done and anyone with an affinity to Tahoe and its lore will recognize the place. Companies such as Sierra Ski & Cycle Works, Lake Tahoe Tours and Rentals, Lake Tahoe Television and Cannablue are featured, along with some familiar-sounding places such as Harvics, Rally’s and Soft Rock. It’s campy, fun and a game for everyone.
“There’s a lot of comedy, puns and secret meanings in there,” Snowden says.
He unabashedly considers this game a novelty, a collector’s item and believes he’s teed it up to be a cult classic. He does admit that he’s had some naysayers, to whom he says, “Don’t hate, create.”
“I honestly don’t care what people think. I just wanted to make a game about Tahoe. There are so many games about zombies and war, but where else can you be the beast and kill people? And I’m a character in the game so I’m immortalized forever and my haters can kill me.” he says, laughing. “I did everything I thought I was going to do and more. Now that I made it through and have the game, the next version of ‘Tahoe Dragon’ will be easier. Now I’m just chilling to see what the public thinks of it.” | tahoedragon.com
