Teahouse Exclusive: A Year and a Half After Being Plagiarized, “Sarah’s Shady Shop” Opens Its Doors

On October 23, the indie game *Sarah’s Dungeon Inn* concluded its nearly two-year Early Access period and officially launched Version 1.0 on Steam.

According to the game’s lore, the protagonist, Sarah, and her animal companion were adventurers who had set out to search for treasure in a maze, but were unfortunately captured by a dragon. To secure her freedom, she struck a deal with the dragon to open an inn next to the dungeon’s only entrance and earn money for him.The problem is that the inn is situated right between two rival guilds. Adventurers from both sides draw their swords the moment they see each other, and Sarah must keep both sides in the dark while doing business with both at the same time.

Over the past year, this game has gained a significant following among Chinese players.Last April, it was briefly embroiled in a plagiarism controversy, during which many domestic players spontaneously rallied in its defense. To mark the release of the official version, Game Teahouse conducted an exclusive interview with Minjin Ko (hereinafter referred to as MJ), the head of Cat Society, to hear him talk about the game, the team, and that controversy.

01

The “Two-Faced Shady Shop” at the Dungeon Entrance

“There are two adventurers’ guilds that are not only archrivals but also draw their swords the moment they meet. These two guilds are competing to clear the same dungeon.” The Game Master briefly introduced the game’s core premise: players must build an inn at the dungeon’s entrance and run it secretly, keeping it hidden from both sides.

Of course, if the two groups of adventurers do happen to run into each other and start fighting right outside the shop, players will have to root for the side that gains the upper hand with the mindset that “whichever side wins is on our side”—all without arousing any suspicion.

MJ recalls that the idea originated from a sudden whim while playing a board game with friends: “What if there were a hotel where both monsters and adventurers could stay?”Later, the team kept thinking about it and realized something didn’t add up: monsters have to “go to work” in dungeons every day, so it just didn’t make sense for them to stay at a hotel instead of their dorms after work.

MJ ultimately kept the “hostile” dynamic, turning both the monsters and the adventurers into guests staying at the inn. With the addition of Sarah and her two feline companions, Bot and Bam, the story gradually took shape.He kept pondering one question: why did they have to lead such a dangerous “double life”?

Open a store, but find a way to prevent members of the two guilds from running into each other.

As for why he chose the inn—the most unremarkable location in a traditional RPG—MJ offered a simple explanation: “Monsters have to go to work in the dungeon every day. If their workplace and home were miles apart, that would be a real hassle.”” He wanted to create a game with a sense of dark humor; when the two guilds are each on the verge of achieving their goals but their paths converge right at the inn’s doorstep, the irony reaches its peak. Placing the inn right at the entrance to the dungeon is simply the most entertaining setup.

Since the game’s release, players have given this type of behavior a affectionate nickname: “shady business tactics”—setting traps for customers and sending armed Pokémon to quietly “clean up the mess.”In real life, MJ believes these actions would certainly weigh on one’s conscience, but in the game, they’re part of the fun. “I think it’s actually great to let players fully immerse themselves in Sarah’s role and use all sorts of ‘shady shop’ tactics without hesitation.”

Even the development team struggled for a long time to figure out what genre this game belongs to. MJ admits that it doesn’t quite fit the mold of a traditional puzzle game, nor does it match people’s typical impression of a management game; personally, he prefers to call it a “scheduling game,” which transforms the concept of managing time into managing space. “But honestly,I think all games are puzzle games—at their core, they’re all about players elegantly solving the challenges developers set before them.”

The core mechanics remained virtually unchanged from the prototype to the final release. MJ said that the principle of “managing risk by managing the adventurers’ positions” served as the guiding principle for every decision they made. What was actually cut was the ambitious combat system from the early stages of development.

At the time, the team wanted each adventurer to enter battle with their own unique skills, and for players to be able to deeply influence combat using characters like Spirit Guardians. However, MJ realized that once this system was fully implemented, “managing combat” would overshadow “managing positioning” as the game’s primary focus, so they reluctantly abandoned that direction.As for game balance, he joked that he’d conducted extensive playtests and hadn’t found any exploits yet, “though I’m sure players will find them—or maybe they already have.”

The art is the most memorable aspect of *Sarah’s Black Shop*. MJ revealed that the lead artist, HM, was deeply inspired by the artist Yvan Duque at the time and wanted to incorporate that style into the game.The team also invited several illustrator friends they knew well to create guest illustrations. They deliberately did not require them to adhere to the game’s established atmosphere, instead encouraging each artist to infuse their own personality into their work—an approach inspired by the cutscenes in *Dragon’s Crown*.

02

Three People, Two Cats, a Nine-Year Journey

In previous domestic reports, *Sarah’s Shady Shop* has been referred to more than once as a “Chinese indie game,” likely due to the game’s excellent Chinese localization and the publisher’s active marketing efforts on Xiaohongshu. In reality, however, Cat Society is an indie studio based in Suwon, South Korea, consisting of a team of three people.

MJ is the team lead, handling design, programming, and the main storyline. Art Director HM is responsible for UI/UX design and programming; she also happens to be MJ’s wife.The third member, YR, is MJ’s college classmate. She is responsible for the adventurers’ design, animation, and side stories, and the vast majority of the game’s illustrations are her work.

A little illustration by the production team: Sugar-free Korean twisted pretzels with Greek yogurt and cucumber dip

As it happens, YR’s husband is the very same friend who used to play board games with MJ back then and came up with the original idea of “adventurers and monsters staying at the same inn.”

The studio’s name also reflects the team’s personality. “Cats always lead independent lives,” MJ explains. They want everyone to take initiative, trust and respect one another, and—when it comes to making games—not just follow the crowd, but only create the games they truly want to make. That’s how Cat Society got its name.

The two feline companions in the game are based on the team’s own cats. Bot is always full of energy and has a strong personality, while Bamou is timid and shy, always following close behind Bot.

In the summer of 2017, Cat Society embarked on their gaming journey, and since then, the group’s lineup has changed several times. Around 2021, the original programmer left, leaving only MJ, HM, and YR. MJ, who had almost no programming experience, had no choice but to bite the bullet and teach himself to code.

By 2022, they had cobbled together an early demo, but five years had already slipped away. With no decent results to show for it, MJ’s confidence was nearly gone. “I kept wondering, ‘Am I the only one who thinks this is fun?’”

Clinging to a last shred of hope for genuine feedback, they entered the BIC (Busan Independent Game Festival) in South Korea and were lucky enough to be selected. “If we hadn’t been selected to exhibit that year, the development of *Sarah’s Black Shop* would likely have hit a dead end,” MJ said. When he first presented the game to players, he felt half afraid and half excited.

These days, the team has adopted a catchphrase: “We Love to Meet Players.”

This small team’s studio is located in the same single-family home where MJ and HM live; the first floor is their home, and the ground floor is their office.In the morning, YR arrives on time, MJ brews pour-over coffee for everyone, and then they each get to work. At lunchtime, either MJ or HM goes upstairs to cook; this meal is jokingly referred to as the “Cat So Set,” and the three of them eat and chat about the morning’s work.

HM has a day job, and on Saturdays he devotes himself entirely to game development. In the evenings and on weekends, the three of them occasionally get together to play board games.

Bote and Bamou in Real Life

Nine years have passed, and in real life, the cat Bot has passed away. When talking about his beloved cat, MJ sounds a bit sad: “Now that Bot has embarked on a long journey, Bamou is learning to be independent. He’s become much closer to us, and we still often chat with him.”

03

“It’s as if light has returned to my eyes.”

When discussing player feedback during the Early Access period, MJ described it as “mind-reading.”

With every update, they incorporate key elements they want to test, and player feedback always accurately pinpoints their intentions, shortcomings, and future plans. “Every piece of feedback is truly a pleasant surprise.”

As for that widely publicized plagiarism controversy, before discussing the matter, MJ first sent a message of gratitude: “We’re just a small overseas team, yet so many people were willing to speak up for us and defend our rights—I truly don’t know how to fully express my gratitude.”” He said he felt incredibly happy to be able to formally express his gratitude to Chinese players through this interview.

On April 15, 2025, the team behind *Sarah’s Shady Shop* posted a plea for help on Xiaohongshu, accusing Beijing Changyou Times Digital Technology Co., Ltd. of using advertising materials that plagiarized the game’s visuals; the featured image in the survey was similar to the game’s store page,the game’s logo had been altered and misappropriated, and the game’s name in the promotional materials had been changed to *Jianghu Inn*.

Adding to the drama, a netizen claiming to be the producer of the official version of *Jianghu Inn* subsequently appeared in the comments section, stating that the game had obtained its publishing license as early as 2020 and had no connection to the controversial content.

The day after the plea for help was posted, the team’s official Xiaohongshu account was temporarily suspended for “suspected violations” but was reinstated that same evening.According to a report by gaming media outlet “Intelligence Ji,” during the controversy, the comments section was almost entirely in support of the team’s efforts to defend their rights. Some fans were willing to offer their expertise and resources to lend the official account a hand. After the account was suspended, many netizens spontaneously spread the word and spoke out on communities such as “Xiao Hei He,” while accounts like “Tianyancha” also stepped in to help file appeals.

Support for Stean Players

In a poll on the TapTap community involving 112 participants, 85.7% of players chose “must defend their rights.” Some players also left positive reviews on Steam, saying, “I saw the official post asking for help regarding the plagiarism. I played for a while, then logged in again to earn some playtime so I could leave a positive review. Keep up the good work, dev team!”

As a party involved living overseas, MJ described the moment he discovered his material had been plagiarized: “I was utterly shocked; it felt like the whole world had gone dark. Because it happened in a foreign country, far away from us, we had no idea how to respond—I was completely at a loss.”

Seeing so many Chinese players speak up in our defense, MJ said he was “deeply moved—it was as if light had shone into my eyes once more. We couldn’t help but wonder: What have we done to deserve such kindness? This made us vow silently that, even if only to repay this support, we would make better games.”

After the account was reinstated, the publisher Spiral Up Games posted a thank-you letter on Zhihu and Xiaohuihe, writing, “When we posted our first appeal, we never expected to receive such overwhelming support from so many Zhihu users,” and specifically thanked @黑白熊さん,@Weiguang, and other community creators who spoke out immediately, stating that without their coverage, the team would not have been able to “make such a swift comeback.”

During the interview, MJ also made a point of reiterating his gratitude to the publishers, thanking them for standing by the team during the controversy, speaking out on their behalf, and taking action.

A year and a half after the controversy, *Sarah’s Shady Shop* marked its most important day.

The official version of “Sarah’s Shady Shop” is now open!

According to MJ, the biggest highlight of the 1.0 official release is that Sarah and her friends’ journey comes to an end, and all of the game’s storylines are now complete.The Reputation System has been overhauled: the passive effects that were previously automatically granted upon reaching certain tiers have been replaced with “Management Skills” that players can purchase with Guild Tokens in the Lobby. Once reputation reaches the threshold, it will also be converted into tokens, allowing each guild to earn one to two additional tokens per level.The Achievement System has also been launched simultaneously; veteran players who load their Early Access save files will have certain achievements automatically unlocked.

When asked about their expectations for the official release, this team—which has been together for nine years—didn’t make any grand claims: “We sincerely hope that *Sarah’s Black Shop* will bring joy to players around the world and provide them with an enjoyable experience; that has always been our goal.”

At the end of the interview, MJ described the game as a gift from the team to the players: “From Early Access to today’s official release, your encouragement and support have always been our greatest source of motivation.We’d especially like to extend our deepest gratitude to our Chinese players—you’ve actively supported us in so many ways and have consistently provided us with fantastic feedback. We sincerely hope this small gift brings you plenty of joy.”