How Double Fine balances fun with pottery sculpting in Kiln
Double Fine Productions is releasing Kiln, a multiplayer pottery game that originated from the studio’s Amnesia Fortnight game jam event in 2017. The concept was originally pitched as a multiplayer, team-based brawler focused on creating unique player-sculpted characters with physics-based animation and destruction mechanics.
Nearly a decade after its initial prototype, the development team led by Derek Brand transformed Kiln into a full game centered around pottery creation. Players engage with pottery wheels to craft vases and jars to their specifications, with developers carefully balancing the enjoyable aspects of pottery sculpting against the technical challenges of implementing such mechanics into a playable game system.
The game reflects Double Fine’s established reputation for creating unconventional and creatively ambitious titles, following previous releases like Psychonauts and Keeper. The studio’s Amnesia Fortnight event, where developers pitch new game concepts, demonstrated its value by generating Kiln—selected as the winning concept from 25 pitches in 2017. According to project leadership, the concept resonated strongly internally, and the team worked to evolve the prototype into a complete gaming experience while maintaining the core appeal of the pottery-sculpting gameplay.