Introduce yourself:
My name is Jan Willem Nijman, aka JW or jwaap. I mainly make score-based arcade games inspired by bad sci-fi, and the 8-bit era. I’m a student of game design and development at the Utrecht school of Arts in the Netherlands.

How did you get into game making?
When I was 11 I read about game maker in some kids’ computer magazine. I downloaded it and didn’t understand anything. I’ve always been messing with it but about 4 years later I got back into game maker properly, got invited into the poppenkast (www.thepoppenkast.com) and started what I’m still doing right now: making decent games.

In all of the time you have been making games, what is the most important thing you have learned about game design. Why?
Cactus once taught me that the bigger the explosions are the better the arcade game is.

What’s it like going to school for game design?
Currently it’s rather bad. I’ve learnt a lot in the first year, but right now we are not given the oportunity to specialize at all. It’s great for people who have no previous experience with making games, but for indies with experience I wouldn’t recommend it. I might quit soon and start a company.

What is your favorite type of game to make. Why?
I don’t have a favorite type of game. I love it when I manage to turn ANY idea inside my head into something fun. That first part, where you go from idea to proof of concept is the best part. After that it gets very hard to finish games.

What is your favorite part of a game to make. Why?
Game design. On any team I’m in I always do game design. I love making up the concept, and making that work through the game rules, and possibly adding context.

Do you have any current W.I.Ps that you care to share any info on?
I’ve got 2 official W.I.Ps. One of them is super crate box, a fast and crazy platform arcade game. You can get it from this tigsource feedback thread:
http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=12585

The other one is called jwrpg. It’s a small rpg that I’ve been working on over a year. I’m stripping it of all complexity, but still try to keep the fun and sense of adventure in it. You can test it if you sign up on these beta forums:
http://4hrpg.vanillaforums.com/

Of all your achievements, which are you most proud of? Why?
The first time I got a magazine with a game I’ve made in it through the mail.

Anything else you would like to add?
Everybody out there making games: Keep doing what you want to do.

Thankyou for doing this interview.
No problem!

Please introduce yourself:
I’m pulsemeat – indie designer and big time Game Maker fan.

How did you get into game development?
As a lifelong gamer, I pretty much just decided that this would be the most interesting creative outlet for me. So I went to school and received a degree in the subject, and now I’m a professional designer doing indie stuff in my free time.

How was it participating in the Assemblee Competition?
Assemblee was perfect for me since art is usually my biggest limiting factor in making games. When you’re doing everything yourself – programming, design, content, sound, etc. – the whole process can be pretty exhausting. And since I’m not really very good with paint tools, that’s generally what I enjoy the least. So when I saw the set of sprites that Oryx, Oddball, and Geeze put together, I felt like I had a golden opportunity to make an awesome game without having to worry about the headache-inducing parts.

I actually spent a lot of time thinking about the concept before starting implementation, and that’s where I hammered out things like the overall structure and how to fit four players into a time management game. Then I pretty much just spent 8+ hours a day on the game during Christmas vacation, with my girlfriend filling in whenever I decided to take a break (she did the event writing and dungeon design). I had trouble sleeping with all the game details flying around in my head every night, but the game was really a lot of fun to put together and I’d probably jump on another Assemblee if it came up.

Have you accomplished everything you wanted to in Dungeons of Fayte (any more updates?) and are there plans for a sequel?
I think I succeeded in my primary goal, which was to show that this typically-niche style concept that I love, the time management-RPG, can be made accessible to anyone. But it is definitely more a proof of concept than an end in itself. There are a few major things I didn’t get into the game due to time constraints, like unique item rewards and multiple end bosses. I’d also love to do better planning on the content side, so players have more and longer threads to follow throughout the campaign.

Basically, I want to make the game a lot deeper, but most of these things require me to start over from scratch. So while that means I probably won’t be putting out any more updates for the Game Maker version, I’m planning to start a new one in another engine (XNA, most likely) that should address what I think was missing. I guess you can consider that my sequel plan!

Do you plan to make any more horror games like Cave?
I love playing and making horror games, but it’s very draining and not something I like to start without inspiration. If I have a particularly interesting dream, I might do another game like that. I actually find it a lot easier to do horror in 3D engines like Radiant or Source. It’s fun to take a game’s assets and tweak them around in a surreal, unsettling fashion, or drop a player into the dark and build up tension before sicking a monster on them. Of course, if I had to make all the surrounding assets myself, I probably wouldn’t think it was so easy.

Do you know any other languages besides GML?
I’ve worked with a number of game editors, and I’ve done some simple games in C++ and Lua. Game Maker’s my favorite though, since it’s just so ridiculously easy to work with and I can focus more on design. If it were a little more flexible (support for more than two controllers, for example) and worked on different platforms, I’d probably stick with it for eternity. As it is, it’s still great for prototyping and experimentation, and I think anyone who wants to make games should start with it.

What is your primary reason for making games?
I love the logical and creative challenges involved in game design and scripting. Plus, like in any creative endeavor, there’s a great deal of satisfaction to be had from releasing a game and seeing how others react to it.

Which game developer(s) do you most respect or admire and why?
In the indie world, my first pick would be cactus, because one way or another, his games always make you feel something. He has a way better track record in that department than most AAA titles. Other than him, I’d say Rodain Joubert, the creator of Desktop Dungeons, is pretty admirable. DD is a perfect example of how to distill the fun from a niche genre into a form anyone can enjoy.

Sid Meier is probably my favorite designer in the industry. He makes exactly the kinds of games that I’d like to make, where the narrative is formed by the player’s actions within the system, rather than by a linear story or campaign.

Is there anything else you would like to add?
Never underestimate the value of community! Dungeons of Fayte wouldn’t have been possible without the TIGSource forum crowd.

Introduce Yourself:
Hello! I’m Banov, and I make really awesome video games.

How did you get into game development?
When I was a lil’ kid, I used to make board games and card games with colored pencils and scissors and a crapload of paper. When I first got a computer, I quickly found ways to make games using buttons in microsoft powerpoint and made a few choose-your-own-adventure games and even a rudimentary space shooter (with the buttons disguised as moving ships); so I guess those would count as the first “computer games” I “developed.” I guess I’ve always been attracted to making games and it has always been a lot of fun to me.

Of all of the games you have made, which is your favorite, and why?
What an impossible question! My games are all my babies, and I love them all equally for a variety of reasons. I know it’s lame, but I honestly can’t pick one.

Between your two current W.I.Ps (atleast according to your site), Dubloon and Solid, which are you most anxious to release? Why?
Solid really isn’t “my” game; I’m only helping with the level design. Brod is the real star of that project. So, naturally, I’m way more excited to put out Dubloon. I imagine it’s going to make a big impact on the Game Maker community… RPGs made in Game Maker are notorious for going unfinished, so Dubloon will be a sort of trend breaker. It’s also an abnormally large game, and it’s nearly finished! I started nearly 11 months ago, and I’m really excited to finish it and get it out soon.

Are you working on any “secret” projects currently? If so, care to share some info?
No, and no.

How do you think that Cowboy Killa stacks up against its competitors in the 5th YoYoGames Competition?
I think it stacks up very, very well. I spent a lot of time playing other entrants and there’s certainly some scary competition! It really all depends on how the judges weigh it, but it definitely has a shot at the top 3. If it gets anything less than “honorable mention” I will probably flip out in total rage.

What was it like collaborating with Andrew Brophy with Cowboy Killa?
It had its ups and downs. Andrew would sometimes not work for huge chunks of time and we were pretty behind at times; we started the game back in January and designed the second half of the game in the last 10 days before the deadline. But when when he was on, Andrew was on. He brought a lot of really great ideas and spirit to the game. Our timezones were also pretty radically different (East Coast US to Melbourne, Australia… 16 hours!) so our usual work times were never conflicting… I could go to sleep just as Andrew was getting to work, and vice versa. When Andrew did work, I could wake up to a myriad of new stuff in the game.

Do you have any tips/pointers for others looking to collaborate on a game?
There’s this amazing program called Dropbox we used which let us share the files on our computers so we could both edit the same game files, which was awesome. I’d recommend it for any collaborative project. Andrew runs a forum called Braingale, and we had a secret board on there where we discussed/planned stuff for CowboyKilla. Having a discussion forum was really helpful, especially since we weren’t on IM at the same hours usually. Other than that, I guess I should say something about pulling your own weight since that was the biggest problem I faced. However, I don’t really have anything to say about that which you shouldn’t already know.
…
Pull your weight.

Any other comments you would like to add?
I am awesome.
Play my games.
Pull your weight.

Thankyou for doing this interview
Oh, no problem. I love doing interviews!

Introduce yourself:
I am Alexis Andújar González AKA Alexitrón . I live in a small town named Florida in Puerto Rico with my wife and my cat .

How long have you been making games?
Since 2006 if I don’t count the times when I used to mess with RPG makers on the PC, and even the one that came to the PSX. I never really made anything with those but I liked messing around with them. That was back in the 1990. I also remember having a really old computer at home and there were some books about programming with example code in them, I think the language was Basic, I used to sit down and write all that code from the book to the computer and execute those programs, some where games, some where like random graphics appearing on the screen accompanied by some tunes and then sometimes I just got error messages. Of course I really didn’t know what I was doing so I didn’t care. This was back in the 1980s. I was probably around 8 back then .

What gave you the interest to start making video games? Playing them. I wanted to make my own games ever since I started playing them, I just didn’t have the resources to do so. I made lots and lots of dream games in my head, on paper, and on comics. I just loved games and was very addicted to them too, but I’d rather not elaborate on that.

Do you ever like to look back on games you have created and play them? If so, which are your favorite to do so?
I haven’t done so in a while, but I do like to do so just to see how I have grown over time and what I have accomplished and how can I keep on improving. I usually go for the small ones like Jet Pod, Shocker, and In a Dungeon. Sometimes I also do so because I need to copy/paste some code.

How has your “journey” from GM to flash been? And why did you decide to do it?
It’s been a difficult journey, I pretty much restarted the other day. I was eagerly anticipating the release of FlashPunk since I tried Flixel and didn’t really get it at all. When it was finally released I quickly got it working and after some tutorials I started working on a Flash version of Jet Pod. I had to ask for assistance for nearly everything, it was so frustrating not being able to figure things out on my own, I am way to used to GM. Good thing that the guys at the FlashPunk forums are all awesome and very helpful. ChevyRay himself, even though he was obviously busy dealing with the release of the FP library, he was always very willing to help us all and gave us much-needed assistance to get us going.
Why make the jump to FlashPunk? Well, when one spends a good chunk of spare time making games just to give them away for free the highest reward that one gets is that people actually play what you just gave them. Game Maker is Windows only and even in this single platform it doesn’t work properly for everybody. So I guess the biggest deciding factor is the fact that with flash games I can reach more people and get more motivation in return. There is also the possibility of making some cash without selling the games.

How is Jet Pod FP coming along?
Jet Pod FP is done, it just have awfully bad graphics. A fellow member from the Poppenkast, Nathan, offered to make graphics for it and is doing a fantastic job but he is a busy guy so is gonna take him awhile. Also, at the time that I was making the project I had a serious family situation and my game making came to a full stop for some time. Since there was a big chance that I was not going to be able to make games for a long time, if at all, I gave the project to Nathan and he said he was going to finish and release it. But again, he is a busy guy so that is gonna take some time.

Besides Jet Pod FP, are you working on any other projects? If so, care to share any info on them?
I was working on 3 adventure games on GM : Flowers for my love, The Planet Below and an unnamed game about some treasure hunter, adventurer guy. I say was because the other day I got mad at GM and its kinks and the way it refuses to do one thing right without screwing the other and just quit it for good, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that I will not make these games, just maybe not in GM. I went back to developing with FlashPunk and I’m taking really small baby steps with it and this time I want to stick to it.

Once you “fully” understand Flashpunk, what type of games do you plan on creating?
I want to make games that I really like, Metroidvanias and Zelda-likes. But I want to keep on delivering small casual stuff too, my wife loves that and I want her to like what I do.

In your opinion, who do you think is a good, under-rated game developer? And why?
I do not play to many games. I don’t have that much spare time, if I play games I cannot make them and vise versa. I usually settle with reading about games and watching videos. Right now everyone that came to my mind is fairly well-known.

Any other comments you would like to add?
I want to thank all the people who appreciate what I do. I really want to thank those who, when I was in real need, sent some donations down my way and helped to spread the word about my family situation. I will never forget that.

Thank you for doing this interview.
Thank you.

For more info on Alexitrón or his games, you can visit his site here. Hope you enjoyed this interview.

Introduce yourself:

Introduce myself? Okay, here it goes, although I can’t remember much, so sorry if this is a little vauge…

It all started in 1993, where I was born in the fifth worst city in this country on the fourth month into a family of three, being the second male child and the only one who cares for games. Sometime after that, I started making them – and fun ones at that!

Also, I’m Andrew Brophy from Australia.

How do you come up with the ideas for your games?

All sorts of ways. I have this bad habit of coming up with the look of a game first, so I’ll make all these nice looking effects, then sit there for ages trying to figure out how on Earth I turn it into something playable. I’d like to think I got that right a few times.

Of all of your games, which would you say is your favorite, and why?

That’s a good question. I’d probably say Angry Gorilla Machine Monsters. As soon as I (accidentally) made the background effect, I knew it’d look pretty sweet. Honestly, I don’t think it’s too fun to play, but it looks nice. I also like Polkadot and A Weekend in Space, because they actually seems fun to play.

How is your game for YoYoGame’s 5th Competition, CowboyKilla coming along?

Pretty well. Most of the core work is done, it’s just a matter of fleshing the game out and polishing it up. The good thing about working with Banov is that we have a pretty similar work ethic, and we both have a very similar idea on how we want the game to turn out, so it’s been really fun working on it.

Besides your competition game, are you working on any other projects? If so, care to share any information (names, general info, screenshots, etc…)?

I’m working on so many. It’s really bad, I’m a total scatterbrain. I do have a few running that I’ll mention thought. First is an exploration platformer called Anyone Else’s World. I’ve been working on it on and off for about two years. There’s a playable demo somewhere online, but it’s pretty old. I’m planning on releasing it sometime this year.

Then there’s Takishawatwo – a follow up to my previous game Takishawa is Dead!, which was pretty popular. I basically wanted to make up for all the issues that the first game had, as well as making a full adventure title (people may not be aware of this, but the first one was made over a weekend). And lastly, I’ve been working on a story-based platformer called Girl since about the end of 2008. I don’t have anything to show as of yet, but it’s going pretty well.

Who would you say is your favorite game devloper, and why?

Oh no, I’m not good at picking favourites. Let me think… I like Terry Cavanagh, he made VVVVVV, and that was really neat. There’s also Chevy Ray Johnson. He made Skullpogo and the Flashpunk engine, which are really cool. I guess I’d have to say Greg Lobanov (aka Banov). He has a really simple style to his games, but they’re really fun, and pretty much what every new Game Maker user strives to create (aka super long RPGs or action platformers). I also like Jan Willem Nijman (he’s famous for games like 10800 Zombies). My favourite of his was Atomic Super Boss. Something to do with the music/graphic combination, I think.

Oh, there’s also Hoani Bryson. He made The Hanrahan Game and Seraphim Flame, which are two really rad games that people should play.

Being the founder of The Braingale Team, what was your main goal for the team and why did you want to create it?

It started as this tiny group that a few others and I started (technically, it was two super tiny groups that merged). At the time, we were working on a game together, but after we got a domain registered, it turned into a group for ‘talented yet obscure’ game makers. Honestly, I’m still trying to figure out what it’s all about. It’s some sort of game making community, mixed with a semi-review site, and there’s also community-made a games and monthly competitions. I think it’s as messy with its goal as I am with my game making.

Do you have any game development tips for other game makers?

I think I’m the worst person to ask. I don’t know. Maybe find what you’re good at, stick with it, and don’t stray away from it. Do not experiment, it’s not good. Seriously.

Any other comments you would like to include?

Not really that I can think of. If people show more interest in me, they can check out my blog or Braingale. I’d probably write something meaningful to sign off with, but I really feel like a milkshake or something right now.

Introduce yourself:
Hello. I’m known as Broxter (real name, Jack Brockley). I’m a seventeen-year-old student from Stoke-on-Trent in England. I’d like to think that I’m pretty intelligent. Alas, I use Twitter too much.

How did you begin making games?
I found Game Maker in February 2006 after reading a tiny paragraph about it in a UK magazine which I still read, called GamesMaster. At first I found it very difficult to use and it wasn’t until August 2008 that I finally finished my first game (which was featured on YoYo Games after being entered into the third competition) and began using GM regularly; I think this was the point when I became decent at making games and I was pretty happy with myself.

You have recently made the switch to flash. How was that and do you have any tips for others wanting to do the same?
Indeed I have. I’d been wanting (and trying) to make games in Flash for about a year. The main attractions were the possibilities of reaching so many more players (such is the nature of games run in a browser) and actually making some money. After attempting and failing with both Flash CS3 and the Flixel AS3 library, I basically gave up. I heard FlashPunk was coming but I was expecting it to be just as tricky to use as Flixel. How wrong I was. I completed the beginner’s tutorial on the first day of FlashPunk’s release and subsequently fully ported Andrew McCluskey’s Ne Touchez Pas! from Game Maker to Flash in just three weeks. I still had problems but this time I was able to satisfyingly overcome them. I would definitely recommend FlashPunk to other users of Game Maker wishing to experiment with Flash – it’s structured quite similarly and there is a great community forming already.

What are your opinions of FlashPunk?
Simply put, it’s awesome. I can’t thank Chevy Ray Johnston enough. Without FlashPunk, I’d probably have given up with Flash for good. I’ve become so interested that I’ve actually created a dedicated blog – FlashPunked.

Out of all of your projects, which one is your favorite and why?
Porting Ne Touchez Pas!, for sure. It was really fun to put Andrew’s great game in a browser and it was awesome to see how both my AS3 skills and the game improved by the day. It was also fun to keep Andrew updated and I don’t think I’ve ever worked so hard and with such little procrastination.

Are you working on projects currently? If so, do you have any information/screenshots you can share with us?
Well, I’m in the early stages of porting another (very recent) Game Maker game. I haven’t done much at all, so no screenshots. The same can be said about the game I’ve just started for the Garden Games competition over at Braingale; I’m not sure if it will be made with GM or Flash or even made at all yet. Also, I was going to enter YoYo Games’ fifth competition but that looks highly unlikely now.

Besides GML and AS3, do you program in any other languages?
If you discount VB.NET, then no, not really. However, I used AS2 when I was attempting to make Flash games with CS3 but that didn’t get very far. I’ve also dabbed in PHP and MySQL (I programmed online highscores for my latest GM game).

What do you do for inspiration for a project?
Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t get much.

Do you have any tips for future game developers/designers?
Me? Haha, no.

Anything else you would like to add?
I would like to wish you the best of luck with this website. Let the interviews commence!

Thanks again to Broxter for doing the interview.

For those of you who didn’t know of IVGM: it was a site that interviewed upcoming and well known game developers trying to get interesting facts and new/secret information on upcoming games.

Along with the “rebirth” we bring a new name: Interviewing the Game Making Universe

So, the main point of this blog was to say: We are back in business.