Designer Talks: Perfect Chaos
Welcome back to TwistedSpoon Studio! This week on Designer Talks, we have indie developer Perfect Chaos at the table!
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If you could make your dream game, what would that look like for you?
Although it’s the age of remakes, I think there's a lot of untapped potential in the PS1 era. The market was flooded, and a lot of great ideas never really got any traction among the big games of the times, so I’d like to have a crack at some of these mechanics and flesh them out a bit. As for my actual dream game, I honestly don’t know-- I switch between genres and platforms so much I think I'd eventually get bored with anything.
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Welcome to TwistedSpoon Studio! What should I call you?
Jay will do just fine.
Nice to meet you Jay, and thank you for participating in this interview. How long have you been making games? What mediums do you develop for?
Jay will do just fine.
Nice to meet you Jay, and thank you for participating in this interview. How long have you been making games? What mediums do you develop for?
I started my game in March this year (2021)... Currently, only on PC. I’ll be releasing through the Steam store and on itch.io, with a scope to move onto mobile as it’s a platform I seem to have a lot of ideas for. I would love to get hold of a Nintendo Switch dev kit, but I have two consoles already so can’t really justify it until I have some kind of sales income. As for tools, I’m using Unity, just because I heard it was the most beginner friendly along with various free web based editing and recording tools.
Why did you decide to start making games? Is there a particular game, franchise, or developer that inspired you?
Me and my friends would draw levels for “Sonic 6” as early as I remember. I’ve always watched those “making-of” DVDs that come with collectors’ editions and just found it to be a fascinating process, but I think my final push came last year when I had my first child. This is very much me trying to be a good role model... “You can do anything you put your mind to and follow your dreams.”
Me and my friends would draw levels for “Sonic 6” as early as I remember. I’ve always watched those “making-of” DVDs that come with collectors’ editions and just found it to be a fascinating process, but I think my final push came last year when I had my first child. This is very much me trying to be a good role model... “You can do anything you put your mind to and follow your dreams.”
Do you work alone or as part of a team? What are the benefits and challenges of that approach?
Alone for the most part; the benefit is very much that I don’t answer to anybody, but there's some huge negatives, especially starting out. Every new skill I've needed, I've learned myself. It's been a lot of nights googling and even more trial and error... If I had a friend I could call and ask for a 32x32 sprite of a giraffe eating a mole, things would be a lot easier.
On the back of this, it’s worth mentioning I do have a good friend who does my sound design between releasing his own music, so I'll give him a shout below.
Alone for the most part; the benefit is very much that I don’t answer to anybody, but there's some huge negatives, especially starting out. Every new skill I've needed, I've learned myself. It's been a lot of nights googling and even more trial and error... If I had a friend I could call and ask for a 32x32 sprite of a giraffe eating a mole, things would be a lot easier.
On the back of this, it’s worth mentioning I do have a good friend who does my sound design between releasing his own music, so I'll give him a shout below.
You mentioned that you have a game that's coming to Steam. How did you approach making your first game?
I went straight in for the core mechanics first-- everything that needs to be in the game (main gameplay loop, title screen, game over scenario, win scenario). From there, I kind of fleshed out any bits that I thought would make the game play better. This is the part where new ideas come thick and fast, so around this time I put out a demo and the feedback from that helped me see what I needed to focus on most.
I went straight in for the core mechanics first-- everything that needs to be in the game (main gameplay loop, title screen, game over scenario, win scenario). From there, I kind of fleshed out any bits that I thought would make the game play better. This is the part where new ideas come thick and fast, so around this time I put out a demo and the feedback from that helped me see what I needed to focus on most.
If you could make your dream game, what would that look like for you?
Although it’s the age of remakes, I think there's a lot of untapped potential in the PS1 era. The market was flooded, and a lot of great ideas never really got any traction among the big games of the times, so I’d like to have a crack at some of these mechanics and flesh them out a bit. As for my actual dream game, I honestly don’t know-- I switch between genres and platforms so much I think I'd eventually get bored with anything.
Do you have any final thoughts or plugs that you want to put out there?
If you're reading this and interested in seeing more, follow my twitter @PerfectCGames or give the demo of my game a go at https://perfect-c-games.itch.io/retro-tv-game-collection-demo or if you are into videogame inspired music go and give https://soundcloud.com/harleylikesmusic a listen.
If you're reading this and interested in seeing more, follow my twitter @PerfectCGames or give the demo of my game a go at https://perfect-c-games.itch.io/retro-tv-game-collection-demo or if you are into videogame inspired music go and give https://soundcloud.com/harleylikesmusic a listen.
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That's all we have for this week! I have a young child myself, so I find it pretty inspiring that Jay is finding the time to learn the trade while also figuring out this whole parenting thing. This question is for you, reader: What priorities do you have to balance alongside game design, and how do you keep the dream alive? Let me know in the comments below!
If you're hungry for more, check out last week's DesignerTalk with power-couple Petrified Apple here, or check out the latest on Festival of Urbestia here. Check in again on Friday for more FUR or Wednesday for a new Design Talk!
Until then, see you soon!
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