MANILA, Philippines — Launching a single video game on Steam is a massive accomplishment for any independent creator, but Filipino indie game developer Kenneth Agar has shattered expectations by doing it an impressive eight times. Agar has established himself as a prominent name in the local gaming scene through his self-built company, Solitary Studios.
Operating as a remarkably lean team, the studio consists entirely of Agar—who serves as the sole programmer and designer—and his girlfriend, who manages the company’s finances and administrative operations as CFO.
Agar’s passion for video games began in local pisonets (coin-operated internet cafes), where he developed an obsession with competitive gaming and digital worlds.
- The Spark: The massive multiplayer online game DOTA 2 served as his initial inspiration to pursue game creation, planting the dream of building virtual worlds that people could spend hundreds of hours enjoying.
- Self-Taught Beginnings: By Grade 10, Agar walked away from the pisonets to dedicate his spare time to learning the Unity Engine, teaching himself the fundamentals of coding, user interface design, audio composition, and 3D environment layout through trial and error.
- Cinematic Influences: When it came to narrative direction, the Japanese-American horror classic The Grudge left the biggest psychological impact on his creative style, steering him heavily toward the thriller genre.
Out of his eight released titles on Steam, Agar’s projects span physiological thrillers to deeply emotional narratives reflecting local realities:
1. The “Silent Still” Franchise (The Breakout Hits)
The studio’s most commercially successful releases are Silent Still 1 and Silent Still 2. These first-person psychological horror simulators delve deep into the terrifying, claustrophobic reality of sleep paralysis and chronic nightmares. Built with highly realistic, photorealistic assets, the titles struck a massive chord with the global gaming community, accumulating significant revenue and turning Solitary Studios into a stable business venture.
2. “Thin Threads” (The Scariest Reality)
While the Silent Still titles rely on supernatural elements, Agar notes that many players consider Thin Threads to be his most terrifying creation.
- The Premise: The game explores the heavy, grounded struggles of an impoverished Filipino family living as immigrants in a foreign country, trying to survive with virtually no food or money.
- The Mechanics: The title blended difficult precision platforming and emotional, narrative exploration inspired by titles like The First Tree. Agar shared that the absolute realism and emotional weight of poverty made it uniquely frightening, though it initially struggled commercially compared to his horror titles.
The financial turnaround from his Steam catalog dramatically changed life for Agar and his family. Reflecting on his journey, he recalled developing Silent Still 2 on a low-end setup in a cramped apartment. Following the game’s viral success and subsequent payout from Valve, Agar was able to completely build his parents’ dream home, purchase a house for his girlfriend’s family, and establish long-term financial security.
Looking forward, Solitary Studios is putting all its resources into its most expensive, technically challenging, and ambitious flagship title yet: Silent Still III.
“Expect the unexpected! We’re currently working on many new unannounced projects, and we’re excited to surprise our community and players… With Silent Still 3, we’re carefully crafting our flagship game and putting everything we’ve learned into making it our absolute best project yet.” — Kenneth Agar, Founder and CEO of Solitary Studios