I’ve always wanted to spend my life making video games. Some of these ideas started with my children; others are characters and stories I’ve been coming up with myself. They mean a lot to me, and I want to give them a proper go.
When I talk about the Rareware days, I mean the SNES and Nintendo 64 era: games like Donkey Kong Country, Banjo-Kazooie and Diddy Kong Racing. They had such a strong sense of who they were. You could recognise them from a few notes of music, the way a character moved, or the look of a level.
Think of the atmosphere and music in Donkey Kong Country, the odd conversations and character voices in Banjo-Kazooie, or being able to drive, fly and explore between races in Diddy Kong Racing. There were secrets tucked away for curious players, enemies with their own little habits, and jokes in places you might easily miss. Those details made spending time in a game enjoyable, beyond just finishing it.
The developers put themselves into those games. You could feel their humour, their odd ideas and the things they enjoyed making. The daft noises, cheeky dialogue and ridiculous enemies felt like they came from people having a laugh together. The games didn’t take themselves too seriously, but you could tell how much love had gone into them.
I miss how easy it was to just get involved. You weren’t swamped by layers of menus, things to buy and a hundred tiny decisions before you could start enjoying yourself. You picked up the controller, learned by playing and got on with it. You wanted another go because it felt good to play, something made you laugh, or you’d spotted somewhere you hadn’t been yet.
That’s what I want for these games. I want you to get stuck in and enjoy Clyde’s movement, the way a Vombie behaves, the things you can do with the MEATWORM, and the places Jasmine and Kaya get to explore. I want my own humour and my family’s ideas to come through in them too.
The demos are a start. There’s a lot I want to improve and add before these become full games. I’d love to find people who enjoy making this stuff and see what we can build together.
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