'The Coma 3,' the title that will put a period on the 11-year-long The Coma series, is set for official release on April 30.

Launched in October 2015 with 'The Coma: Cutting Class,' The Coma series has consistently earned praise from genre fans for its polished visuals, intricate storytelling, and authentic 'run-and-hide' survival horror mechanics. Subsequent titles, including 'The Coma 2' and the spin-off 'The Coma 2B,' followed suit, building on the stories of their predecessors while continuously evolving their visuals and systems to become the signature series for Devespresso Games.

Now, The Coma series returns with 'The Coma 3' to finally conclude the story that has been unfolding all these years. With visuals and systems more advanced than ever, and the long-awaited resolution to the narrative, the fandom's excitement is at an all-time high.

These 11 years have also been the years of youth for Devespresso Games CEO Kim Min-ho. What does it mean for him to bring The Coma series to a close? And where is he looking now that the journey is nearing its end? Ahead of the official launch, we visited Devespresso Games to hear his reflections and thoughts on the future.

Closing the Chapter on an 11-Year Journey: The Coma Series

'The Coma 3,' the grand finale of The Coma series, is about to launch. How are you feeling.

"I founded the company while developing 'The Coma: Cutting Class,' so I have effectively spent 11 years with this series. Looking around, there are very few small indie studios that have managed to sustain development for this long unless they had a massive 'hit.' In that sense, I feel a sense of relief, but mostly, I am just grateful.

Honestly, in the beginning, I was a bit arrogant (laughs). When 'The Coma: Cutting Class' received good reviews, I sometimes thought it was because I had worked so hard and poured my own time into it, especially since it was my first game.

But as time passed, I began to see things I had missed. I realized that we were able to make it this far because of the help from those around me and the interest and love from the people who bought our games—far more than just my own skill, time, and effort. So now, I am just grateful. I believe it is a miracle that we made it this far, thanks to the help and interest of so many people.

On the other hand, I feel a sense of relief that we have finally put a period on the 11-year-long series. To be honest, I have always felt a kind of 'debt' regarding the story. As the world expanded with each sequel, there were many unresolved plot points. Writing and developing 'The Coma 3' required me to re-establish settings and tie up loose ends, so there was a lot to resolve. I feel lighthearted now that all of that has finally been settled. I was also worried that players might interpret the story differently than intended or find it too complex, but after talking to our testers, they generally felt the narrative flowed cleanly, which is a huge relief.

You have concluded a series that spanned 11 years. What would you say to yourself?

"I would say, 'You survived well so far. But don't let your guard down, as there is still more to learn.' When I finished developing 'The Coma 3,' I felt proud, thinking, 'I finally finished it all!' But then, the friend who manages the company told me, 'This isn't the time to catch your breath; we need to improve these things next time.' He was already looking at the next step, and strangely, I didn't feel frustrated at all (laughs). Instead, I thought, 'Right, you're right. There's no time to be complacent. We need to show something even better next time.' I will continue to work hard and evolve so that we don't fall behind.

It couldn't have been easy to develop games as a small studio for 11 years. What was the driving force that kept you from giving up.

"Rather than one massive driving force, I think it was the deep satisfaction of being able to do the work I wanted to do. That doesn't mean it was always fun. There were times when it was enjoyable, but there were also plenty of times when I was under immense stress. I would lose sleep at night, and people around me would ask, 'Why do you insist on doing this when it causes you so much stress? Isn't it hard?' But even considering all that, I loved this work. I love creating stories, and the fact that I could turn the stories I conceived into games—that, in the end, is the biggest driving force.

Someone once said that while building a world and continuing a story is hard, finishing it is even harder. 'The Coma 3' must have been the same; did you experience the 'pain of creation'.

"I think there were more moments of joy than pain. For example, when planning the story for The Coma series, I always kept the sequels in mind. While the main story was completed within each game, I left breadcrumbs to create room for future installments and strengthen the connections. Perhaps that's why, whenever I developed a sequel, I would look back at the previous game's story and think, 'Oh, I can resolve this plot point like this—wow, I'm a genius!' (laughs). Since I love conceiving stories so much, I never felt the pain of creation.

Even so, I did feel the pressure of concluding the series. Whether people will like this ending is an unknown territory that you only discover after release. Since everyone has different standards for judgment and understanding, I was always anxious about whether I could provide catharsis or dopamine through resolving those plot points. Seeing the reactions from our testers, I am relieved that they were generally satisfied.

Of course, this is only about the story. While it was definitely fun to resolve plot points, add depth, and plan the story to connect with previous entries, figuring out how to translate that into a game was a different story, which brought its own challenges.

Song Ji-hyeon has joined as a new playable character. Given her role in previous games, this seems unusual. Is there a reason you chose her? If there were other candidates, I'd love to know who they were.

"Song Ji-hyeon is a compelling character in many ways. While her role in the real world is closer to a supporting character, a killer who looks like her appears as a primary antagonist in the Shadow Realm, so regardless of her actual screen time, players perceived her as a lead. Also, as intended from the start, Song Ji-hyeon is quite beautiful in the real world. Because of these factors, she was imprinted on players as a lead-level character.

Perhaps that's why there were so many requests in every series asking, 'So when is Ms. Song Ji-hyeon going to be a playable character?' Since we were planning to go with a three-protagonist system for 'The Coma 3,' I thought if players wanted it this much, it was worth including her as a new protagonist. As for other candidates, there were Han Ye-seul and Park Su-mi. Ye-seul was too strong; if she were the protagonist, it would feel more like an action game than survival horror, so she was dropped. For Park Su-mi, the issue was that she is too much of a figure from the past. 'The Coma 3' is the finale of the series, and I felt she would make it feel like a prequel. Furthermore, we needed a protagonist who wasn't used to the Shadow Realm. I wanted to create contrast through the three protagonists: Young-ho is quite used to it, Mina knows about it but isn't fully accustomed, and through Ji-hyeon, I wanted to show someone who is completely unfamiliar and panicking. Considering all these factors, Song Ji-hyeon was chosen.

While having three playable characters is welcome, it also feels a bit cluttered. I've seen similar opinions in the demo feedback. What do you think.

"First, I should explain why we went with a three-protagonist system. In the horror genre, fear tends to diminish once you get used to the environment. That's why developers often add a 'new face' who is weak or unfamiliar with the setting, and 'The Coma 3' is similar. I structured it with three protagonists to create contrast through their different attitudes toward the Shadow Realm, hoping to help players immerse themselves more in the story.

However, since players could only play the very beginning in the demo, they might have felt that the characters were disconnected. Naturally, as the story progresses, they join up, so I expect that feeling of them being separate or the game feeling cluttered will disappear.

Will all the lingering questions and mysteries be resolved through 'The Coma 3'? I'd also like to know if there are any plans for spin-offs, DLC, or sequels.

"The story surrounding Sehwa High School is indeed concluded with 'The Coma 3.' Therefore, there are no plans for spin-offs, DLC, or sequels like 'The Coma 4' regarding Sehwa High. I believe ending their story here is the most natural and best approach.

However, that doesn't mean The Coma series itself is coming to an end. I believe there is still much that can be done with the Coma universe. So, if a new game in The Coma series were to be released, I think it would be a game featuring new protagonists in a new setting.

What's next for Devespresso Games after The Coma?

What is your most memorable moment from the 11 years of game development?

"Looking back, only the difficult moments seem to remain. There wasn't anything particularly 'glorious.' Personally, I think that's a luxury (laughs). I believe we made it this far because we endured those most difficult moments.

But if you ask if I regret it because it was hard, that's not the case. We made it this far because it was hard, and I am grateful that I was able to endure those parts. It's a very complex feeling. Thinking back, those weren't things I could just laugh off. While the joy of creating games was certainly great, as a CEO rather than just a creator, there was a lot of pressure from running the company. But I don't think that's unique to me. I think it's a fate that indie and small developers, including myself, must always carry.

Looking at Devespresso Games' titles, it's unique that, except for 'The Last Spell,' they are all PC-based. Small developers usually tend to release on mobile; is there a special reason for this.

"There are two reasons. First, mobile is actually riskier. There's a perception that mobile games sell better due to accessibility, but the reality is the exact opposite. It is much harder to reach users. You can see it just by looking at the store; it's hard to get featured, and users often play games that are already in the rankings rather than trying new ones. Furthermore, in terms of genre, there are many cases where what was once the domain of indies has been taken over by large corporations.

The second reason is that, due to the nature of the platform, it doesn't fit the games I want to make. Taking The Coma series as an example, it's a story-driven survival horror adventure, and as you know, this genre doesn't quite fit mobile. There are developers suited for mobile and those that aren't; we are a developer suited for PC. So, I think we've only made PC-based games so far. In a way, you could say it's our own strategy for survival.

I'm curious about your future path. What kind of game do you want to make after The Coma.

"While it's not yet confirmed exactly what game we will make, I think the next project will also be a side-scrolling game. It's a perspective that is familiar and comfortable to me, and one I find fun. It will likely be a game that incorporates adventure elements.

Of course, there is a strategic judgment here as well. Side-scrolling adventure seems to have become our 'form' without us realizing it, and there are quite a few users who immediately recognize, 'Oh? This is a Devespresso Games title.' At first, I actually wanted to break out of that frame, but after thinking about it, I decided that if this is our unique characteristic, it's better to maintain and develop it well, so now I intend to embrace it as our identity.

As a developer with strengths in art and story, a game like a mystery adventure might also be good.

"We have actually discussed that internally. The idea was that it would be great to make a game that puts even more effort into art and story, and we are seriously considering it.

In a 2023 interview, you mentioned 'Vambrace' alongside The Coma as a core IP. Now that The Coma series has ended, can we expect you to focus on the Vambrace IP next?

"There are realistic difficulties. To be cold and objective, the interest in 'Vambrace' is very low compared to The Coma series. While it has its own fandom, it's difficult to make a game based solely on that fandom.

That doesn't mean I'm giving up on 'Vambrace.' Personally, it's a fantasy world I've imagined and planned since I was in middle school, and I think I put a lot of effort into the story, so I always think about wanting to remake and bring this brand back someday.

However, that will only be a conversation for after the company has grown sufficiently. For now, we have to solve the realistic problem of survival, so to survive, I plan to focus more on The Coma series for the time being. I think I can only consider 'Vambrace' after that.

What kind of developer would you say Devespresso Games is? And how do you want to be remembered by users.

"I think we are a curious company that has built a history thanks to the games we've made. Personally, I don't think I've done much, and I believe the reason we've been able to survive this long is entirely because of the fans who played our games. So, I am always just grateful.

For a developer, the most important thing is the result—the game. We are the same. Since our team gathered to make games and we founded the company for that reason, I want us to be a developer remembered not for the name 'Devespresso Games,' but for the games we created, the characters within them, and the stories they tell.