A quick ten-minute interview with cactus, done just today. Depending on the response, it could turn into a regular thing involving other developers as well.


How many entries are you planning to submit for the YoYoGames Winter Competition? (the one in which the winner gets $1,000 cash)


One I suppose. I don't think I have time for more than that. I'm also aiming for something rather ambitious, so I don't see any point in going for multiple entries.


Could you give us a little hint about what your competition entry would be like?


I'm trying to do something I haven't tried before, so I'm going for an exploration platfomer with a longer storyline than my previous games have featured. Might throw in some smaller RPG elements while I'm at it, a bit like Cave Story perhaps.


How do you rate your chances of winning the contest? Who do you think would give you the toughest competition?


My chances should be pretty decent if I get to finish on time. I've got a good spriter to share the money with, and the concept seems to be going places I haven't tried to reach before. My toughest competitor would probably be... I'm not sure really. I like Lazrael's games very much. There's some highly technically skilled people joining too, but I haven't seen them make any serious attempts at actual games.


When's your next release?


I'm aiming to release the full version of Akuchizoku on the 22nd of November. I've also got a few smaller projects that'd only need a few more hours work before they'd be up for release.


Any indie games you're looking forward to playing? Or are you simply too busy to play anything at the moment?


I'm sure there are, but most of the names escape me right now. Braid would be interesting, and it'd be nice to get to try Everyday Shooter. Haven't heard much about it since it was released. I'm also very hyped about biggt's Uin, which I haven't heard anything about for ages.


Status of Brave Karma Warriors? Delayed?


Oh, I had forgotten about that. I guess it'll probably be delayed, yeah.


You've entered Clean Asia into IGF. Any IGF entries that you're particularly impressed with at the moment?


The video for Noitu Love is very neat. World of Goo looks pretty cool too, and I've heard that it's gonna be a tough competitor from an anonymous source. Night Journey and Rückblende really made an impression too. Lovely visuals. I honestly haven't checked out a lot of the entries, though.


How many games do you think you have released?


Hmm, depends on whether you count the games that aren't really finished, and the games that I've finished but not put on the internet. Probably close to thirty if you count games that could pass for completed ones.


If you had to work in the commercial games industry, which are the three parties you'd like to work for/with?


Well Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo would probably be somewhere up there in the top. I'd very much like to create a game for XBLA, WiiWare or PSN. Dunno how I'd go about getting there, though. I don't even own a nextgen console.


How about a screenshot from one of your upcoming projects?

Labels: interview