PART TWO:
Q) You seem to have a strong opinion about 3D games, do you still feel that there’s a viable market for 2D creations.
I do believe that certainly in the mobile phone market 2D is a better option as the screens are so small that polygons become a jumbled mess.
It’s hard enough to see what’s going on when a game is done with 2D graphics, polygons just confuse the issue.
So I see 2D lasting for some considerable time in that field.
Handhelds like the GBC, GBA and now the DS seem to favour and support 2D because it lends itself to the type of games that are on those consoles. The PSP because it perceives itself as a more “serious” machine will obviously support more polygonal titles, but who knows?
You can never tell with this industry and while it would be easier for me to get on my soapbox and shout like a wildman about how I predict this or that for the industry, which is what most people who know me would expect…I’m not all that bothered. If 2D lasts, fine…if not, I won’t lose any sleep.
Q) You’ve worked on quite a few GBC and GBA titles, what’s the attraction for you and would you work on consoles like the DS and PSP?
GBC and GBA lend themselves to my stupid/goofy style that people seem to like. It’s a style that clients and players seem to like and one that allows me to get things done fairly quickly and move on to the next project.
The obvious attraction is that they supported 2D and that’s fine by me.
I have already done some DS work and would happily do more. And if a PSP project comes my way then I would be stupid to turn it down. It’s all work and that’s exactly what a freelancer needs.
Q) You’re now fully entrenched in the mobile phone side of gaming. Is this something you enjoy and how different is it to when you first started in the industry?
Mobile gaming is no different to any other part of the industry. It has its good points and its bad points.
The good ones are the short development times but that is also one of the bad points. People want everything yesterday.
One of the main bad points is that some clients try to short-change you on the financial side because it’s a mobile game.
I appear to be entrenched in the mobile side of things because the handheld market is currently in such an appalling condition. There is no GBA development or indeed and discernible DS development in the UK. But that may change and if it does, then people know where I am and my CV will start flying around again.
As long as people want me…I’m available.
Q) What do you think about the continued interest in retro gaming?
I don’t give it much thought really. I play the occasional 8 bit title myself from time to time and I like some of the reworked titles. I even offered my services on some of the titles being developed by the guys at retrospec.
retrospec.sgn.net/But my commitments to my paying clients took precedence and I spend so much time in front of my pc the idea of even longer hours just didn’t appeal when I gave it some real thought.
Q) The Ocean Experience website has bought a lot of your fans out of the woodwork, how does it feel still being praised for games you worked on a long time ago?
I’m just glad to have been part of something as fondly remembered as Ocean Software. It was fun for the most part and if there are people who liked what we did then it was all worthwhile.
What we had back then is what’s missing from the industry today, the knowledge that what we produce must first and foremost entertain. We’re in the games industry, the toy industry…and what we make must be fun and if it isn’t then you’ve failed.
Q) What are your plans for the future?
To do what my Father while he was alive always wanted me to do…get a proper job.