WendyQuest: Legend of the Four Corner Stones is a retro-inspired role-playing game made by 81Monkeys for Wendy’s. The studio says the project helped it continue development on World of Anterra, its larger pixel-art RPG, while offering a distinctly human-made alternative at a time when Generative AI is drawing scrutiny from game audiences.
81Monkeys had been working on World of Anterra for several years after successfully funding it through Kickstarter in 2022. As the game’s scope grew, the studio’s finances became precarious. Founder and game director Stephane Cotichini told Polygon that he had spoken with 60 potential backers after the Kickstarter, without securing further funding. An inquiry from Wendy’s led to a deal for WendyQuest, which the studio signed within a week. The team was split between the two games.
Wendy’s had a broad concept for the game, but 81Monkeys adapted it into a full RPG. The studio changed the combat from a purely turn-based format to a more active system, built around timing attacks as a gauge fills. Its writers also reworked 99% of the original script, Cotichini said, while Wendy’s retained approval over the material for brand-safety reasons. The game includes a villain called Dr. Mechborg, whose golden “M” logo and dialogue about making billions and cutting corners point toward the fast-food competition.
Cotichini said he pushed for 81Monkeys to receive credit after initially being told the studio would be an uncredited partner. He wanted players to know that WendyQuest was made by an indie team rather than generated by AI. The game and World of Anterra both describe themselves on Steam as “100% human made.” Cotichini said Wendy’s marketing team also encouraged the studio to avoid AI tools and workflows.
The studio had previously experimented with AI for project management and efficiency during World of Anterra’s development. Cotichini said those tools increased costs and reduced productivity, and that some tasks proposed for AI could instead be handled with scripts. He argued that the time and effort involved in making a game contribute to its quality, rather than simply slowing production down.
WendyQuest follows another Wendy’s creative project, the post-hardcore EP Songs to Listen to in a Wendy’s Parking Lot, which featured tracks by musicians from bands including Anberlin, Blessthefall, Silverstein and Winona Fighter. Cotichini hopes the game will encourage other companies to fund similar partnerships with independent studios, offering an alternative source of support as traditional financing remains difficult to secure.
Sources: Polygon.