AI Summary
5 min readIn 2014, the playable teaser P.T. redefined what horror could feel like, and for a young artist named Airdorf, it was a revelation. He wanted to make something that scary, but he couldn't do 3D graphics. So he asked himself a different question: what would it take to scare people with a game that looked like it ran on an Atari 2600? The answer became Faith: The Unholy Trinity, a retro-styled horror game about a disgraced priest, a demonic cult, and a redemption arc built on actual Christian theology. In this interview, Airdorf walks through the game's origins, its deliberate symbolism, and the personal experiences that shaped its terrifying world.
From Oregon Trail to Exorcism
The core gameplay of Faith—a priest navigating woods while something hunts him—started as a direct inversion of the hunting mini-game from the original Oregon Trail. Airdorf recalls sketching the first concept in church: "Michael chasing a player through the woods, and Michael's just this blocky, spidery thing." He built the first chapter in 2016 with zero expectations, uploading it to itch.io. His strategy was simple: design scares specifically for popular horror YouTubers like Markiplier, knowing that a reaction from a large channel could put the game in front of millions. "If I could get a game in front of four million people," he explains, "from that pool, some people might like it enough
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What you'll learn
- 1 (03:06) **Interview Introduction & Guest Background** - Wendigoon introduces Airdorf, creator of *Faith: The Unholy Trinity*, and sets up the interview's two-part structure: first about Airdorf as a creator, then about the game's story.
- 2 (08:58) **The Origin of *Faith*: From PT to a Retro Exorcism Game** - Airdorf describes how the 2014 *PT* demo inspired him to make his own horror game, leading to the creation of *Faith*.
- 3 (16:46) **Early Development & The "Markiplier Strategy"** - Airdorf details the release of the first chapter and his deliberate design philosophy to create a game that would be effective for Let's Players.
- 4 (22:42) **The Rotoscope Cutscenes & Text-to-Speech Voices** - Airdorf explains the accidental creation of *Faith*'s most iconic aesthetic elements.
- 5 (26:52) **The "What the F*** is Wrong With You?" Moment** - Airdorf shares a story about his publisher's reaction to his lore for the demon Tiffany, highlighting the extreme and absurd nature of the game's content.
- 6 (31:19) **Awkward Explanations & The MBA Dinner** - Airdorf recounts a painfully awkward attempt to explain his game at a business school recruitment dinner.
- 7 (36:46) **The Universal Appeal of *Faith*** - Airdorf discusses how the game's themes resonate with both devout Christians and staunch atheists, a result he achieved "by accident."
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Show Notes
Follow a troubled priest as he confronts disturbing supernatural events, haunted locations, and terrifying consequences connected to an exorcism gone horribly wrong. Beneath the pixelated visuals and classic horror aesthetic lies a darker story about faith, doubt, sin, trauma, and the struggle between good and evil.
This episode explores the story, atmosphere, symbolism, characters, and psychological horror that make FAITH: The Unholy Trinity such a memorable experience.
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