10/29/2023 0 Comments Music spacepig youtubeI also look to my family for inspiration - my son is an enormous inspiration on me, and was a HUGE help in making this game. Sometimes my mom would give me a few quarters when we were at the mall, and there was an Asteroids or a Pac-Man machine outside K-Mart, and I'd try and play, and each game would last less than 60 seconds (total) - and I'd be really bummed out - but I still loved the aesthetic - both visual and audio - and I loved the idea of how much fun these could be, if I was actually good at them. Also, I loved the classic arcade games - I was never very good at them, and didn't even get to play all that often. Anyone who's played Astrosmash, and tries Space Pig Math, will see that inspiration (and the tributes). The one we had was the Intellivision, and my favourite game was Astrosmash. ![]() I know a lot of inspiration came from my childhood - both arcade, and the first generation of home consoles. You fill out a conflict-of-interest form, and they review it - in my case they determined that an educational app on tablets for kids to practice their times tables would not impact Call of Duty too heavily :) My employer (Activision) allows side projects.I had to choose something with a small enough scope that it was actually possible for me to do on the side, alone.Those things have to be aligned in any game, for it to be great, and it's easiest for this alignment to happen if all the design discussions, and art reviews, and code architecture discussions, are happening in your head! LOL! At the same time, this was an enormous challenge, because literally nothing gets done if you don't do it. ![]() As noted above, I love code, art, and design and I love the fulfillment of getting to do all three.I saw a need for something better - something that would both do a better job of helping kids build their own understanding of what times tables are, and be genuinely fun and compelling, so they'd actually want to play it!.I realized some time ago that if I ever want to see any of them come to light, I had to PICK ONE!Įven though there are already many times tables games and apps out there, I chose to do this because: I would routinely jot these down, filling multiple Google docs worth :) I've had many ideas for many games that I've wanted to make, for ages and ages. Cocos2dx it turns out, is a very enjoyable level for me at which to work you guys are like the ones who are "manufacturing the Lego blocks" :) At the same time, getting to do this in C++ is the perfect language, as I can dive as deep in as I want to, or need to, to squeeze out the best performance. So I started learning to program so I could make games - creating something on-screen that was interactive was utterly fascinating to me.įor me, programming at it's best is like playing with Lego. I learned to program first on a Commodore Vic20, in BASIC, and in those days, almost all you could do with home computers is program them! The second you turned it on, you were in a BASIC environment. What were your inspirations?Īs noted above, I've always wanted to make my own game. Tell us where you came up with the idea for this game. It was crafted with love, by a game-industry veteran (and dad), in the belief that in this age of technological marvels, there is no reason that practicing times tables can't be genuinely FUN!ģ. From the App Store description: Space Pig Math is an action game for practicing your times tables - up to 12x12 - with satisfying, visceral feedback and retro-inspired visuals and sounds. I persisted because I was truly motivated by a love of what I do, and a desire to make something that kids would LOVE, and that would have genuine educational value. Making a game on your own, on the side (with full-time job and family), is nearly impossible. If you're reading this, you know making games is hard. I've always wanted to make my own game, and my current employer permits side projects, so I jumped at the chance. I love the overlap of code+design+art, and I've never quite gotten enough of that overlap in any paid role at a company. I made this game as a passion-project on the side. ![]() I've worked on all different kinds of projects, from tiny mobile, to giant AAA (current job). I'm a veteran game developer (20+ years), and I'm also a dad. The original interview was done in March 2019, with an update in April 2020.ġ. ![]() The interview was hosted on their website for a few years, along with other indie dev interviews,īut in a recent site revamp those all seem to have been taken down. The following is an interview I did with a representative from Cocos2dx, the engine I used to build Space Pig Math.
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