Get to know the people that make great videogames
We normally run a live airing of Sup Holmes live at this time every Sunday, but due to E3 shenanigans, we did show yesterday with the great James Silva (and his wife and two cats). So instead, here is a re-run of last week’s episode (now on iTunes) featuring Graham and Chris from Drinkbox Studios. We learned of many things that days, like Graham’s prior work on the Marvel games for Activision, plans for the future of Guacamelee, the studio’s philosophy towards development, and a lot more.
The studio employees around 13 people, and from the sound of it, they all take part in deciding what game they’ll do next. As those who have played it already know, one of Guacamelee‘s greatest strengths is how it combines so many concepts into a cohesive whole. As it turns out, there is a reason for that. The look, style, feel, and concept of the game were all a collaborative effort. It was actually the background artist who proposed that it be about Luchadors and Mexican folklore. At Drinkbox, democracy rules the day.
They’re carrying that spirit of equality forward into the development of their next games. Through splitting the company into teams of 2 or 3, they’ve started holding internal game jams to prototype potential future projects. It sounds like they’ll only be able to fully develop 1 or 2 games from their last jam into full titles, though according to Chris and Graham, they all had plenty of promise. I can’t wait to see what they come up with next.
Thanks again to Chris and Graham for appearing on the show, and tune in next Sunday when we welcome Kellee Santiago (Journey, Ouya) to the program. It’s got potential for excellence.
