Eyehook Games is responsible for a recent indie release; Epic Dungeon, the first installment in the Indie Games Winter Uprising. Mike Muir (the one-man team of Eyehook) was kind enough to answer a few questions about Epic Dungeon, game development, and upcoming projects.

Press the MORE button to read the interview.

Zach Diemer: Thanks for being willing to take the time and answer some questions! Where did the idea for Epic Dungeon come from?

Mike Muir: Mostly from the fact that I love dungeon crawlers.  There’s something really satisfying and addictive about them that has had me hooked since my old C64 days. Heck, now that I’m thinking about it I remember some crazy sleepless nights after playing Adventure for the 2600.

So, maybe it’s just nostalgia. But I really wanted to create a game that would be fun for me to make. And, I’ve had a lot of fun making Epic Dungeon.

Zach: Some aspects of the game are really unique, like identifying items and the choose your own adventure portions. What games inspired Epic Dungeon?

Mike: Roguelikes had a major influence on the game, of course. I like to think of Epic Dungeon as an “Action Roguelike.”  Of course, it adds a definite twist when leaping from turn-based gameplay to real-time. But things like cursed items and randomly generated levels are definitely drawn from the long line of great roguelikes out there.

As for encounters, I really wanted to add some character to the game, but also stay true to the randomly-generated roots of roguelikes. So, that’s what I came up with. All of the encounters have multiple branching paths that can change depending upon your choices, stats, skills, or just random chance.

Zach: Is there anything that you would change about the game, in retrospect?

Mike: I’m really happy with this release of Epic Dungeon, and I think it offers a great experience. But, I’m also looking at Epic Dungeon as a work in progress. It’s my hope to continue development on it and hopefully add more features as time goes on. I’m really looking forward to seeing what the player community has to say about it and hope to really make it the ultimate dungeon crawling experience.

On a larger scale, though. There are things like co-op, separate class skill trees (maybe even new classes) that are probably going to require some more extensive changes to the underlying engine. So, those will probably have to wait for Epic Dungeon 2!

Zach: Did you have anything that was cut from the game, or did you achieve all of your development goals?

Mike: I actually delayed my release a bit, so I could participate in the Indie Games Winter Uprising. So, to be honest I was able to sneak in some extra polish and content.  The “Scroll of Protection,” for example, got snuck in because of the extra time.

Zach: 80 Microsoft points is an impressively cheap price for so much content. Were you always going to price it at 80 points, or did you think about other price points?

Mike: Ha ha. Yeah, I’ve been seeing a lot of feedback about the price.

Really, I just want people to be able to play my game and have fun. Beyond that, I play a fair amount of games on mobile platforms, and there’s some pretty amazing content available for $1 as well. So, it just seemed like a fair and accessible price point.

Zach: What kind of reaction has Epic Dungeon been receiving?

Mike: It’s been great so far.  I’ve been getting really positive feedback. It’s a bit crazy working by yourself on a project for almost a year and then suddenly getting the amount of attention Epic Dungeon has been getting. This is a bit of a new experience for me.

Zach: Has your involvement in the Winter Uprising had an effect?

Mike: I definitely think the Winter Uprising has had an effect, and I am really looking forward to the rest of the releases that are coming out soon! I really think it’s an outstanding lineup and does a great job showing off the talent in the Xbox Indie community.

Zach: So… “Eyehook Games”; does that name have some significance?

Mike: It catches the eye.

Zach: How did you get into video games, and more specifically, video game development?

Mike: I’ve played video games my entire life, so making games was a pretty natural extension of that. I was a software developer for a long time before this, so when I downloaded XNA on a whim this January, I thought to myself that this is something I could do. Maybe not make money, but something I could do.

Zach: Do you have any future projects that you’re willing to talk about?

Mike: My near future is going to be spent on Epic Dungeon.  I really want it to be as great as it can be.  After that, I honestly don’t know, but there’s probably a good chance of me beginning work on Epic Dungeon 2.

Zach: Again, thanks for answering all of these questions, and good luck with Epic Dungeon’s sales! Do you have any closing comments?

Mike: Thank you so much for covering Epic Dungeon and the Indie Games Winter Uprising!  More information is available on my website (www.eyehook.com) and the uprising site (www.indiegames-uprising.com).  It’s been a great experience so far.

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Radiangames is known for its high quality, super addictive games. Among those are Joy Joy, Crossfire, Inferno, Fluid and last but not least Fireball. And there is more to come soon.

To read the full Interview hit the MORE Button

Can: Could you please tell us a bit about radiangames?
Luke: Radiangames was founded in 2010 to focus on creating a series of small, fun games on a downloadable platform.  XBLIG was chosen because of the relative ease of development and reduced overhead required to sell the games, and I also just really enjoy making console games.

Can: Why did you start developing games for the Xbox360?
Luke: XBLIG is the only way to make console games with no concept approval required.  I get to make the games I want for a console, which is something I don’t think should be taken for granted.

Can: How long does it usually take for you to finish development of a game?
Luke: It takes at least 4 weeks, with some games more like 6 weeks.  Even Fireball, which came out 3 weeks after Fluid, took 4 weeks to actually make.  I had worked on it for a bit before Fluid came out.

Can: With JoyJoy, Crossfire, Inferno, Fluid and Fireball you have already released 5 games on the IndieChannel, which one is your favourite?
Luke: It’s a toss-up between Inferno and Fluid in terms of what I like to go back and play.  I have to say though that Fireball is the game I’ve played the most after it was released.  It’s definitely my wife’s favorite and it’s hard to get her to stop playing at times.

Can: When I think of randiangames the first thing that comes to mind are high polished twin stick shooters, now Fireball and Fluid had other gamplay mechanics. How did you get the idea for Fluid and Fireball? Will you keep expermenting with new gameplay mechanics?
Luke: Fluid was the one game I spent a bit of time prototyping.  I was actually hoping for something less Pacman-like, but that’s what worked. For Fireball, I really enjoyed Pacifism mode from Geometry Wars 2, but it was starting to get old after 2 years.  Fireball is just my own spin on it, with a bit more variety and some new mechanics introduced.  I knew I’d have to do online scoreboards once I started on it, so I made the score an even bigger focus than my other games.

Can: Is there anything you can tell us about your upcoming projects?
Luke: Crossfire 2 and Inferno 2 are the next two projects, and they’re both coming out in December (beginning and Christmas Eve, respectively).
Crossfire 2 will have two main modes: Conquest and Score Attack.  Score Attack is like MegaWave from Crossfire 1, and will have online scoreboards but no co-op play.  Conquest is like Crossfire merged with a variation of Inferno’s upgrade mechanics.  Crossfire 2 will also be part of the Indie Winter Uprising.

As for Inferno 2, it’ll be like Inferno, but with an even deeper upgrade system (that’s the only thing I know for sure right now).

Can: Fireball released recently yeah What are early responses to the game?
Luke: People who like the game are obsessed with it, and it seems like a lot of people like it.  I have no idea how it’ll do compared to my previous games, mostly because the new dashboard is so different than before.  I think there could also be less initial buzz because Fireball released so soon after Fluid.

Can: Supporting your games after launch, with several updates, seems to be very importent for you and is also good for the relation between developer and community.
How important is communtiy feedback for your updates?
Luke: I pay attention to what people say, but I also take time to think about what I want the games to be and what I could have done better.  I wish I had more time to do updates, but 1 update is usually enough to fix any glaring issues.

Can:You habe been looking for a publisher quite a while now, what is the state of affairs?
Luke: I’m not actively looking, and I haven’t heard from the publisher I was talking to in a few weeks.  I don’t feel a strong need to get a publisher given the direction I’m going, and the amount of time it takes to get one means it’s not something I even think about anymore.  If the opportunity arises, I’ll listen, but I’m not going to jump at a deal because it makes everything more complicated, and I like to keep things simple.

Can: Since the dashboard update there are 50 indiegames in every list, do you think this is enough improvement or what were you hoping for?
Luke: Having 50 is an improvement for sure, and I no longer live in terror of dropping out of the Top Rated (which used to be 20), and I also like that the Top Downloads list reflects the most purchased games, since that should help games with high conversion rates.

I’m a little concerned by the apparent drop-off in traffic even after Indie Games was moved back to the Games & Demos section, but there are a couple issues that could be causing the current dip (child account issues, and Call of Duty).  But patience is a good thing, and I’m too busy working on Crossfire 2 and Fireball’s update to really worry about it

Can: Thank you for doing this interview with us. Is there anything left you want to tell us?
Luke: XBLIG is something very special, and I’m hopeful that even more people will come to appreciate how cool it is that anyone can make a game for a console.

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This is the third Interview here on indienerds.com and the second I made myself. This time I talked to Martin Sherburn aka SpaceDude, the man behind the game you get if you throw Modern Warfare and Donkey Kong into a blender: Kong360: Gorilla Warfare. You can find out more about it on the website here.

Or watch our videoreview here. The interview starts right after the break.

Can: Could you tell us something about Space Dude Games and yourself?

Martin: Actually I don’t have a name for my games but my nickname is indeed SpaceDude. My real name is Martin Sherburn and I’ve been developing games since 2003. It started out as a hobby, I was a hardcore gamer and I started learning C/C++ programming at university. It seemed logical to combine the two and start learning about games programming. After I finished my undergraduate degree, PhD and had done a couple years of post-doctoral research I decided to look for a full-time job in games programming. And so I joined Free Radical Design in 2008.

Can: What experiences have you gathererd while working at Free Radical?

Martin: At FRD I got a chance to write code on a console for the first time. Up until then I had only written games for PC, because when I started the only way to develop on consoles was to be working for a company that had a publishing deal. It’s not all that different from PC development but from a coding perspective you need to be much more careful about performance, code that runs fast on a PC doesn’t necessarily run fast on a console. So I learnt a few low level tricks to make things run fast.

Can: Would you like to work for a big studio again or do you prefer being independent?

Martin: I actually work for Crytek UK now and I’m enjoying it very much. The advantage of working for a big studio is that you get a regular monthly income so financially you don’t need to worry too much (unless the company you work for happens to go into administration ). You get to work on big AAA quality games that aren’t possible for a small group of people to create simply because it would take too much time. Also, working for a big studio I can concentrate on programming and leave all the less interesting aspects of making and selling games to other people.

On the other hand, being independent you have a much bigger influence on the games you create and a greater sense of accomplishment if you do create a successful game. You get to decide what type of game you want to make, how to do it and when to do. Most “big studio”s have this culture where working overtime is considered normal, and that’s always been a concern to me but fortunately Crytek UK have been pretty good in this regard compared to others. But to be fair if you are independent and want to make a living out of it, then you’ve got your work cut out for you and you are likely to spend at least as much time working as you would for a big studio.

At the end of the day what’s important to me is to make a living and have fun doing it. The day I stop having fun is the day I will look for something else to do.

Can: Kong360: Gorilla Warfare is your first Xbox IndieGame, could you tell us what the game is all about?

Martin: Well it’s essentially a multiplayer shooter similar to games of the Half-life/Quake 3/Unreal tournament era but instead of viewing your character from a first person perspective you get a top-down view. It’s called Kong360: Gorilla Warfare because you control a monkey and fight it out using some rather unusual weapons such as a banana cocktail.

Can: Kong was first released on the pc, why did you decide to port it to the 360?

Martin: I ported it to Xbox 360 because I wanted to learn more about console development. It was also a bit of an experiment on my part to see how much interest there would be in the game. I wanted to gauge if making XNA games could be a financially viable career. Now that Kong360 has been on the marketplace for a few months I would say it is not, at least not if I wanted to continue making that kind of game. I would need to refocus my efforts on making games that people on the indie games market place would buy and I’m not sure I would enjoy doing that.

Can: Where there any obstacles you had to overbear or was the developing process a smooth one?

Martin: I would say the process was pretty smooth for me because I already had a full working game before I started, but it took a long time. I had to rewrite the whole game in C#, the PC version was programmed in C++. I enjoyed learning C# and I got a chance to re-design all the core systems from scratch and ended up with something I’m quite happy with. But towards the end of development I was getting a little bored, it felt like I was playing World of Warcraft and just grinding away to reach that next level.

Can: Your PC Version was with over 61.000 downloads (only from Konggame.co.uk) apperently a big success for you, could the 360 manage to tie in with the PC Version?

Martin: Yes and that’s just from my website, the game was hosted on many other gaming websites so I’d estimate that Kong had well over 100,000 downloads. I was very happy about the reception of the PC version, but since it was freeware I didn’t make any money out of it. Without giving away too many details the 360 version so far has only reached in the order of 10,000 trial downloads. I have my own theories as to why this is but I think it is mostly due to the massive amount of games available through the indie games channel. I was quite shocked to find out how many new games get released every week.

Can: IndieGames that have their focus on online Multiplayer have one common problem, people know that IndieGames aren´t selling very well so they assume that there is no one to play online and this is a vicious circle. You dodged that issue by implemining bots, do you still think that this problem affected your game sales?

Martin: I’m not sure it’s fair to say that Indie Games don’t sell well, I think there are probably a lot of sales being made but it’s spread over a lot of different games. I certainly hoped for more people to be playing the game on-line than there are, I think people tend to lose interest very quickly if they are unable to find someone to play with. So yes it’s quite difficult to get things started with an online game. I would have liked to provide the ability to play multiplayer in the trial version but unfortunately this is a restriction imposed by Microsoft. If people were able to easily experience the game online the way it was meant to be played I think that word would have got around and resulted in more people playing it.

Can: As an experienced developer would you say the IndieChannel offers a geat opportunity for everyone to start developing games? What could Microsoft do better?

Martin: I think it’s a great way for beginners to learn about game development. You’ve got everything you need to make a game and distribute it, but I don’t think it’s a good way to make money. For it to be financially attractive to developers, Microsoft need to make it easier for gamers to find the high quality games without having to wade through all the lower quality titles. Otherwise it just doesn’t make sense for developers to spend a lot of time developing a great game.

Can: Are you working on a new project right now and if yes is there any chance that it will be for the Xbox360?

Martin: No, not at the moment.

Can: We really appreciate you did this interview with us, is there anything on your mind you want to say?

Martin: Maybe just that Shawn Hargreaves is doing an excellent job with the XNA framework and he has a brilliant blog with the knack for explaining things in very simplistic terms while keeping things entertaining. Go check it out!

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The first interview done by Indienerds.com – Can talked to Johannes Hubert from Spyn Doctor Games. Johannes is the head behind the quite successful and critically acclaimed “Your Doodles Are Bugged!” (you can find the review here) as well as the two lesser known games Golden Tangram and Kuchibi.

Hit the MORE button for the interview.

Can: Thank you for spending some of your precious time and doing this Interview with us.

Johannes: Sure, no problem.

Can: Could you tell us, for those who don´t already know you, who you are and what Spyn Doctor Games is?

Johannes: Let’s see…  Some basic facts then: My name is Johannes Hubert, and I live in Germany. With my one-man indie game studio Spyn Doctor Games, I develop games for the Xbox 360, and now also for Windows. You can find me at www.spyn-doctor.de or Twitter.

Can: What motivated you to start programming IndieGames for the Xbox360 (and recently also for the PC)?

Johannes: I don’t remember exactly. I think it was back in 2007 when I read about XNA, and that with it you could program your own games for the Xbox 360. The prospect that you would eventually also be able to sell these games via Xbox LIVE wasn’t even on the horizon back then. Well, at least I didn’t know that this was planned. But I already owned a 360, and simply the fact that it would be possible to play my own games on it was fascinating. So I checked out what this XNA was all about, and it turned out that it was indeed quite easy to use. Soon after I became a member of the XNA creators club.

Can: Using one´s brain is essential in your games, is the genre of puzzle games also your favourite one or do you prefer a different one as a gamer?

Johannes: Intelligent puzzle games are certainly among my favorites. I also like good platformers, but more the puzzle platformers, not so much the hardcore platformers that require pixel-perfect jumps. For example I loved Braid and Limbo. Or on XBLIG, I really liked the Johnny Platform games.

Can: Even though Golden Tangram´s and Kuchibi´s gameplay mechanics were well thought out and implemented, they didn´t create the same amount of buzz Your Doodles Are Bugged! does. What do you think are the reasons for this?

Johannes: Regarding Golden Tangram, the answer is simple: It is a special interest game that appeals only to a very small audience. To be honest, I never expected it to be a smashing success. It was the project which I used to learn XNA. I made it even before XBLIG (or Community Games, as they were then called) first appeared on Xbox LIVE. Initially I had even planned to just give it away for free, but it turned out that there is no free game option on XBLIG. I then thought that even though it is a very simple game, if you happen to like this sort of puzzles, it is well done and fun to play – certainly better than much of the shovelware on XBLIG. So I released it at the lowest price point instead.

For Kuchibi I must admit that I had higher hopes. But it turns out that XBLIG currently simply is not a platform where a puzzle game can do well. Even the highest rated puzzle games on the service have not been successful at all, and Kuchibi is no exception. I think that the type of player who even looks at XBLIGs is simply not the type who plays typical puzzle games. Especially not if you also have to learn a new set of rules first, as is the case with Kuchibi.

Can: Would you rate these two games as a commercial success?

Johannes: If they had ever been meant as a commercial venture, then most certainly Golden Tangram and Kuchibi would have been a devastating loss. But since they were hobby projects, even the relatively low sales were a great success. It is simply a very good feeling that there are people out there playing your games, even if there aren’t thousands of them.

Can: Are you in retrospective pleased with those two games or is there anything you would do different if you would have the chance to?

Johannes: No, I wouldn’t change anything. These projects turned out just like I wanted them to be. That’s what matters most for me. This is not diminished by the fact that they did not convert into super-sellers. I never expected that anyway.

Your Doodles Are Bugged!

Can: First let me compliment you on that awesome game! What do you think was the factor that this game managed to reach the masses and made his way not only onto the top-rating, but also in the top-seller list?

Johannes: This is really hard to say. You can often only tell after the fact, when you see how a game performs on the marketplace, if the game has this special something that makes it a success or not. And even then it is often difficult to say exactly what this something is. If I had to guess, then I would say that the main strength of Your Doodles Are Bugged! is its novel idea. When you see it, you may be reminded of other games with lots of little crawly creatures that must be guided through a level, or where you use a pen to draw something into the level. But the actual game play is different than all these other games.
I also tried to make YDAB! a “rounded” experience, putting a lot of effort into the little things and stuff behind the scenes, that you do not necessarily notice, but that make it a better game nonetheless. I hope that this also something that players pick up on.
And then of course, the pure cuteness of the bugs! Who could not love them?

Can: Your Doodles Are Bugged! Is your first game with an Artificial Intelligence. Was developing the AI very challenging or what were your biggest obstacles during the development?

Johannes: That’s funny, because the AI in YDAB! is really very simple. The rules by which the bugs move around are very basic and were therefore easy to implement. You can actually figure them out just be looking closely at how they behave. I wouldn’t even go so far as to call it AI. In a nutshell, the rules are not much more than this: “Walk to the right until you meet an obstacle or gap, try to jump over it. If that doesn’t work, turn around and walk to the left. Rinse and repeat.” Each bug stoically follows this simple rule, unaware of anything else that goes on.
The cool thing is, that even though the rule is very simple, and the bugs are not really very bright, the swarm of bugs as a whole seems to possess an intelligence of its own. Most certainly a case of the whole being more than the sum of its parts.
Regarding the second part of the question, I must say that there wasn’t really one big obstacle to overcome during development. More like many smaller problems that needed to be solved. What took me the longest time was creating all the doodles, for the levels.

Can: Blitz1Up gives you the opportunity to release YDAB! to the PC and in your press release you mention keeping an eye on other plattforms. Are these potential platforms also supported by Blitz1Up (PSN, PC, WiiWare, Iphone, Flash and Mac)?

Johannes: Unfortunately there is nothing I can talk about yet. It is all very preliminary at this stage.

Can: Are you still working on Bugs in Doodle Hell, the sequel to Your Doodles are Bugged! ?
Johannes: Porting YDAB! to the PC, and adding the Doodle Studio to the PC version, took all my available time these last few months. So sadly, the Bugs in Doodle Hell project has been on hold. But it has not been canceled. I am looking forward to work on it again when time permits.

Can: Is there anything left on your mind you would like to add?
Johannes: Bingo! – Jippie! – MjamMjam!

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Today i got contacted by Anthony Franchitti from xbla360.fr. He offered me to bring his interview with David J. Sushil from Bad Pilcrow to indienerds.com. I think it´s a good read and I hope you will enjoy it. The interview focuses on their new game “Vanessa Saint-Pierre Delacroix And Her Nightmare” … if you don´t know the game, then you must have missed the nice trailer I posted just a few days ago. You can watch it here.

Thank you Anthony! Here comes the interview…

Anthony: Could you present in a few words Bad Pilcrow (the team, history, your goals etc)?
David:  I’ve been developing games since I was a little kid. As a college students, I decided to make my hobby a career. My first venture into the game industry was a small company I started called Nickelpig Media back in 2004. Nickelpig was an outlet for some of my creative projects, and focused heavily on the local art and music scene in Orlando, Florida. After college, I landed a job teaching game programming at a local University. I decided to expand the focus of my game development efforts beyond Orlando. So, I dissolved Nickelpig Media, and began a new company, Bad Pilcrow.

A pilcrow is a funny little symbol that was traditionally used to indicate when a writer had changed thoughts. It has since been replaced by paragraphs. I liked the concept behind the pilcrow – a thing which could change the way people think. I tacked the word “bad” in front of “pilcrow” because in English, bad can be slang for good. As in “That is one bad jacket! Where do I get one like it?” The dual meaning of bad appealed to me, and it makes the name of the company somewhat ambiguous.

The goal of Bad Pilcrow is to change the way people think about games. I grew up during the Nintendo revolution of the mid-nineteen-eighties, and have a certain fondness for games that are simple and engaging. Modern video games don’t satisfy me anymore. In my opinion, they have grown too complicated, too focused on story, and they often require a major time commitment to learn. My personal interest is in creating games that are unique and satisfying experiences in line with retro design aesthetics. Our customers should be able to pick up and play our games without an extensive tutorial, using as few buttons as possible, and without having to sit through twenty minutes of dialog and plot development before getting to the action.

At the moment, I am the sole member of Bad Pilcrow. I design, program, and produce each project. I collaborate with a handful of contractors – mostly friends and students – when it comes to artwork, music, and sound.

Anthony: Your first game “Snail Shot Torpedo” is available since december 09, has it been succesfull?

David: Snail Shot Torpedo has not performed well, commercial. However, it has been successful for Bad Pilcrow in two ways. First, it was a tremendous learning experience. We began work on Snail Shot Torpedo without much of an understanding of the indie market, and without knowing how best to approach a game of that size. Now, we know what to do! Second, and most important, Snail Shot Torpedo is now a kind of foundation to base our subsequent games on. For example, when we began work on our next game, Vanessa Saint-Pierre Delacroix And Her Nightmare, our most pressing concerns were, “How do we preserve what people liked about Snail Shot Torpedo, while improving what they didn’t?” We feel as though we’ve done just that, and are very excited about releasing a game that better demonstrates what Bad Pilcrow is all about.

Anthony: Vanessa Saint Pierre Delacroix & her nightmare is your next move on the indie scene (xblig & Pc), do you plan to get it on Iphone or Ipad, or others platforms?

David: In short, yes! There is much more to explore in Vanessa’s world. Right now, our goal is to make the best version of the game that we can for the PC and Xbox. Then, we’ll assess how we might approach tailoring the game to other platforms. Personally, I’d like to see Vanessa continue her adventures on iPhone and the Nintendo DS.

Anthony: What was your main inspiration for the Vanessa character?

David: I honestly woke up one morning with Vanessa’s name in my head, and a vague impression of a 2D platforming game mapped to a 3D cube. I must have been dreaming about her, I suppose! It took a few days to work out all the details, though, but when I had, I realized that this game could be something really special. I canceled all of my other projects and threw myself into a frenzy of development. After a few short weeks, I had a basic prototype assembled, and decided to approach a few trusted collaborators about making a sizable game – something that would trump Snail Shot Torpedo in terms of scope.

Early on, I knew I wanted Vanessa Saint-Pierre Delacroix & Her Nightmare to have a European feel to it. As the narrator states, the story takes place “in a very old city.” When our lead artist, Kyle Leavitt, joined the project, I sent him images of Prague as an example of how Vanessa’s world might look. I decided to listen to classical music while working on Vanessa, and the Czech composer Dvořák was especially influential in determining the tone. Despite the heavy Czech influence, we’ve never settled on an actual location for the game.

Anthony: What was your main inspiration for the name “Vanessa Saint Pierre Delacroix”?

David: Again, it just kind of popped into my head one morning. Vanessa’s last name does sound remarkably French, doesn’t it? We’ve decided to include imagery from the works of Eugene Delacroix into the game.

Anthony: According to this video Vanessa is not alone in the game. Any infos on the others characters?

The characters in that video are Vanessa’s classmates. They were bullies in the real world, but in the nightmare world of the puzzle box, they are helpless, and entirely at the mercy of Vanessa and her puzzle-solving abilities. In terms of gameplay, they don’t add much, but they deliver some very funny dialog, which adds a sense of humor to the game.

Anthony: The gameplay seems to be very original. What was the first idea for the game? the gameplay with the cube or Vanessa and her story?

David: The idea for the cube came first. Games should always be about the players and what they do. Once you’ve established some basic mechanics, then you can develop an appropriate story. Story serves three purposes in our games. First, it provides a context – it explains why you’re lobbing torpedoes at zombie snails, for instance. Second, it provides emotional relevance – if you care about the characters, then the act of playing the game can become a more meaningful experience. Third, it is a marketing tool – it is often easier to explain a story than it is to explain game mechanics.

Anthony: The Xblig is getting better and better with some nice quality games. How do you see this evolution?

David: It’s wonderful! Microsoft has empowered students, hobbyists, and fledgling studios by giving them the opportunity to develop console games. I hope more companies follow suit. Wouldn’t it be excellent if Sony or Nintendo said, “We’re going to create our own version of XBLIG, but it will be better!”

In general, I believe we’re nearly the end of a cycle. People will look back on this time as the golden age of mainstream, blockbuster games. But I don’t believe that industry model can sustain itself. As the scope of a game grows larger, so does the risk involved. As a result, studios only focus on making games that are guaranteed hits. Gamers suffer in this scenario, because games become stale. I believe most developers will turn their focus towards smaller, more manageable projects, which are far more in line with what indie studios produce right now. If indie developers play their cards right, they may find themselves at the start of a new cycle, where gamers are tired of playing the same derivative mainstream titles, and are searching for tighter, more meaningful games.

Anthony: What are the advantages of working on a platform like the Xbox live indie game in your opinion?

David: There are millions of Xbox gamers around the world. With Xbox LIVE Indie Games, developers are basically handed a built-in audience. Microsoft has basically created YouTube for console developers.

Anthony: What are the inconveniences?

David: I’m annoyed by the lack of quality control on XBLIG. As long as certain guidelines are met, any game can be released, regardless of whether or not it is actually any good. I realize “good” is a very subjective term, but I think we can all agree that some games certainly bring down the overall reputation of the XBLIG brand. That market could be much stronger if Microsoft implemented better controls for quality. My impression from talking with other XBLIG developers is that no one would mind having to work a little harder, if it would leave gamers with the impression that XBLIG is a place to find excellent games.

Anthony: Any advice for the novice who want to start developping games with the tool XNA?

David: XNA is an excellent technology for developing games. I suppose I don’t have any specific advice on XNA, but I would encourage beginners to approach game development as though they were painting a picture or sculpting a statue. Think of your game as a form of self-expression. There is plenty of money to be made in the game industry, but more importantly, what do you want to say to the world? Snail Shot Torpedo is a game about how I’ve found fulfillment and satisfaction in a hobby that some people in my life thought was a waste of time to pursue. Vanessa is a reflection on how, in recent years, I’ve learned to let go of negative emotion – anger, resentment – in favor of patience and selflessness.

Anthony: Any last word for our members and indie game fans?

David: Thank you so much for your interest in Bad Pilcrow and Vanessa Saint-Pierre Delacroix & Her Nightmare! When it is released early next year, I sincerely hope that everyone enjoys playing it as much as I’ve enjoyed making it.

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