The Unintended Viral Sensation of “Shitty Dungeon”
In a recent turn of events that highlights the quirks of modern game development, Turin-based developer Paolo Nicoletti found himself at the center of an amusing mishap involving machine translation tools. Back in August, PCG’s Lincoln Carpenter reported on the challenges of ensuring accurate translations, a concern that became all too real for Nicoletti when he released a demo of his game, The Crazy Hyper-Dungeon Chronicles, on Japanese Steam.
Due to the absence of a professional Japanese translation, the game was inadvertently listed as “Kuso Dungeon”, which translates to “Shitty Dungeon” or “Crap Dungeon.” This amusing blunder quickly captured the attention of Japanese social media, leading to a viral sensation that spread beyond its initial audience.
Speaking with Game*Spark, Nicoletti reflected on this memorable moment in his development journey. “Definitely the ‘Shitty Dungeon Incident,'” he chuckled. “When we released the demo on Steam, it didn’t have a professional Japanese translation yet. As a result, the title of this game was mistakenly localized as ‘Shitty Dungeon.'” The unintended title has since garnered a wave of interest, resulting in a flurry of “Mostly Positive” reviews on Steam.
Players have embraced the game’s quirky humor and nostalgic charm, with many expressing that it rekindled the joy of discovery reminiscent of classic gaming experiences. “Some people told me that it reminded them of the feeling of ‘everything being a discovery’ they had when they played older games,” Nicoletti shared. “But the most memorable messages came from players who told me that it made them laugh out loud. To me, there’s no greater compliment than that.”
Despite the minor viral success stemming from the humorous title, Nicoletti has no plans to revert to a more conventional name. “I can’t tell my mom ‘Hey Mom, the name of the game I made is Shitty Dungeon!'” he remarked, underscoring the importance of maintaining a balance between creative expression and personal sentiment.
