Interview With Sean Hogan of Anodyne
10:51:00 |
| An awesome adventure game |
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| Jonathan Kittaka(right), creator of the artwork and Sean Hogan, brains behind programming and music at Taco Bell. |
sap: How does it feel to have made Anodyne?
Sean: Satisfying? It's nice to finally have realized a large game idea, and have this finished game that I can show to others and have them play!
sap: Do you think Anodyne's unique launch plan attracted more gamers than it usually would?
Sean: Yeah, the pirate bay gives you a lot of advertising to an audience that would likely never see your game! I would definitely do something like it again.
sap: Will there be an Anodyne 2? Perhaps Kickstarter funded?
Sean: Nope, there won't be a 2nd Anodyne. Our next game isn't planned to be Kickstarter-funded since we've made enough from Anodyne so far.
sap: Are pixel art graphics the new rage? Or is it something else?
Sean: Undoubtedly people like them due to nostalgia and their unique appeal, but Jon explained his thoughts behind his pixel art well in this blog post.
sap: Do you feel a shift in balance between graphics and gameplay?
Sean: Not in all games, but I am sure there are games that focus too much on graphics to the point where they try to use it to make up for lacking gameplay.
sap: As an indie game developer, how hard do you have to work to compete against big budget games?
Sean: Not too hard, other than getting your name out there. There seems to be a good market for people playing smaller-budget games.
sap: Would you rather makes games for consoles or desktops(PC/Mac)?
Sean: PC and Mac, since it's easier to distribute and you have to jump through less hoops.
sap: How important is the Mac? Does Apple need to do anything to make the Mac more attractive for game developers?
Sean: It's not the biggest market, but still makes up a significant percentage of revenue, maybe 10-15%. They could start by making it less of a pain in the ass to distribute stuff on there, I have to own a mac to even release anything on a Mac, which is a financial burden for a lot of smaller devs.
sap: Which game would you play all day long if you had the chance?(Apart from Anodyne, although that is a wise choice!)
Sean: Probably none! I don't really enjoy playing games for long stretches of time. But back in the day I'd probably say an MMO with some friends, like Maple Story.
sap: What is the dream game you would make if you had the resources?
Sean: Probably something in the adventure genre in full-3D! Not sure of the particulars though.
sap: What do you enjoy most about making games?
Sean: Creating a world with its own self-contained rules and the results that appear from the interactions of those rules, as well as conveying some of my ideas through the creation of the worlds - through gameplay, world design, music, etc.
sap: Will there be an Anodyne 2? Perhaps Kickstarter funded?
Sean: Nope, there won't be a 2nd Anodyne. Our next game isn't planned to be Kickstarter-funded since we've made enough from Anodyne so far.
sap: Are pixel art graphics the new rage? Or is it something else?
Sean: Undoubtedly people like them due to nostalgia and their unique appeal, but Jon explained his thoughts behind his pixel art well in this blog post.
sap: Do you feel a shift in balance between graphics and gameplay?
Sean: Not in all games, but I am sure there are games that focus too much on graphics to the point where they try to use it to make up for lacking gameplay.
sap: As an indie game developer, how hard do you have to work to compete against big budget games?
Sean: Not too hard, other than getting your name out there. There seems to be a good market for people playing smaller-budget games.
sap: Would you rather makes games for consoles or desktops(PC/Mac)?
Sean: PC and Mac, since it's easier to distribute and you have to jump through less hoops.
sap: How important is the Mac? Does Apple need to do anything to make the Mac more attractive for game developers?
Sean: It's not the biggest market, but still makes up a significant percentage of revenue, maybe 10-15%. They could start by making it less of a pain in the ass to distribute stuff on there, I have to own a mac to even release anything on a Mac, which is a financial burden for a lot of smaller devs.
sap: Which game would you play all day long if you had the chance?(Apart from Anodyne, although that is a wise choice!)
Sean: Probably none! I don't really enjoy playing games for long stretches of time. But back in the day I'd probably say an MMO with some friends, like Maple Story.
sap: What is the dream game you would make if you had the resources?
Sean: Probably something in the adventure genre in full-3D! Not sure of the particulars though.
sap: What do you enjoy most about making games?
Sean: Creating a world with its own self-contained rules and the results that appear from the interactions of those rules, as well as conveying some of my ideas through the creation of the worlds - through gameplay, world design, music, etc.
Thanks Sean, for taking time to answer all the questions! You can follow him on Twitter at @Seagaia2, and the Anodyne at @AnodyneGame.
Fun Fact: Anodyne is the synonym of analgesic.
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