Fred's Fridays Ep.6: "Q & A Sessions with the Developer & Programmer"

Today for "Fred's Fridays" I thought it would be nice to do a little "Q & A" session. I came up with some questions that covered the more personal aspect of the developer's (Adam), and the programmer's (Jamie) lifestyles. I also included some questions about their XBLIG projects, 'Dawn of the Fred', and 'Night of the Fred'. I felt this 'Q & A' session was a necessary step to better connect you (the readers/gamers) with the developer, and programmer. I always find it interesting to be able to know a developer on a more personal level, and I hope you feel the same way. I hope you enjoy this look at the more personal side of the developer, and programmer behind @StickyDPadGames. Without further adieu I present to you "Fred's Fridays Ep.6"!!!

Adams:

QUESTIONS

- "As a gamer what genre of games do you enjoy playing the most, and why?"
There’s no real genre I sway towards really. If a game takes my eye, I’m gonna play it. Regardless of what genre it is.

- "What type of music do you enjoy listening to?"
Again the same with games really, I just like what I like. Lately, like, the best 2 years or so, I’ve been listening to a lot of rap/hip-hop. You can probably find the likes of OFWGKTA, XV, Lupe and Drake in my work playlist. That stuff gets me motivated.

- "Who are some of your favorite music bands?"
I used to listen to a lot of bands, but not such much now. I’m not sure why, I just ain’t feeling them anymore. Every now and then though I’ll put on some Good Shoes, or Maccabees or something. But it’s very rare now, like, once/twice a month.

- "What's your most favorite food?"
Pizza hands down.

- "What types of movies do you enjoy watching? Any favorites?"
Dumb and Dumber. You can’t beat that! It makes me laugh when I tell people that, and they assume I know nothing about cinema. Hahahahaha. I don’t even comment back, I just troll the situation out.

- "Who inspires you in life?"
I don’t really have any inspirations. I seriously think to aspire to somebody, in a way, you want to become that person. Or at least, something about their character. I just like doing my own thing, I’m still young, so making crazy games and stuff is fun. Some people won’t get it, but that’s cool.
There’s a few people I do kinda think, woah, I’ve gotta lot of respect for them. But naming them is sorta awkward.

- "Where did your inspiration for the art style in 'Dawn of the Fred' & 'Night of the Fred' come from?
Erm, we just kinda drew random stuff, and liked the outcome. So we developed it more and that’s how it all came about.

- "What artists do you like"
I can’t really like, name people I like. There’s artists out there who have some serious awesome books, but I’m broke. I know there’s a lot of people I could name, but I seriously cannot think right now. Banksy is cool though, I love Banksy.

- "What do you think about the evolution of gaming over the years?"
It was going good up until this gen. Big companies now have become more about making money than making great games. They’ve kinda just been like ’’Oh, you like our games? That’s great, but because of that, we’re gonna say fuck you, and exploit you for liking them.’’ Like seriously, I used to love Capcom. But ever since I brought Resident Evil 5, and found out you had to buy the multiplayer THAT WAS ALREADY ON THE DISC I couldn’t give a shit about them anymore. Now with the next gen blocking preowned games, things are gonna get ugly. I’m calling it now, the game market will crash at some point again, and Indie Games will be what saves it.

- "Out of your favorite video games, which ones do you think are a must play for gamers everywhere?"
Conkers Bad Fur Day, easy. Humour is like the hardest thing to get right in a video game, that’s why you don’t see it that much. And if you do, the majority of the time it falls flat. In films, it’s easy, because everything is timed to a tee, and is done in a set manor. With games though, it’s the player that has to interact with the world, and set these scenarios up.
Shenmue as well, Shenmue is the shit. Obviously I could say ‘Zelda’, ‘Mario’ etc, but that gets boring after reading about it in every interview. Everyone knows that Zelda and Mario, along with the other more well-known franchises are awesome games. Conker and Shenmue though I feel are often overlooked. Also Shadowrun, and not the shitty 360 version.

- "As a game developer/gamer do you have much of a social life? Doe gaming interfere with such outside activities?"
Yeah it’s all good. I quit my job to develop games, so I kinda treat this as my job now. I work during the day and game or go out at night. It’s working pretty well at the minute.

- "What is your goal as an indie game developer?"
I just want to make games that I love. If other people like them to as a result, then that’s awesome.

- "What audience do you think 'Dawn of the Fred' & 'Night of the Fred' is best suited for?"
Anyone who likes games.

- "Will 'Dawn of the Fred' & 'Night of the Fred' be more mature in nature, or will they be made accessible to younger audiences?"
Yeah, I guess they are gonna be pretty mature in terms of subject matter. Talking about the gore and stuff, I’m sure kids today have played worse. A few zombie steaks and bacon flying around isn’t gonna hurt anybody. People are to PC nowadays. Relax.

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Jamie's:

- "As a gamer what genre of games do you enjoy playing the most, and why?"

Recently I have been playing a lot of Indie Games. I find that Indie Games tend to have a lot more passion in them than the big budget titles. I enjoy any genre as long as it engages and entertains me... except sport games... I hate sport games!

-"What type of music do you enjoy listening to?"

I am very much a Metal Head. I like the passion and intensity of Metal and I love how songs can completely vary in emotion and lyrics.

- "Who are some of your favorite music bands?"

Whitechapel, As I Lay Dying, All that remains, Slipknot, Dead by April, Devil Wears Prada, Lamb of God, Machine Head to name just a few.

- "What's your most favorite food?"

I love eating at KFC! So chicken and chips.

- "What types of movies do you enjoy watching? Any favorites?"

I enjoy a wide range of movies. One of my favorite movies is 300.

- "Who inspires you in life?"

I'm very inspired by successful Indie Developers such as Team Meat and Notch. I love how they managed to turn their passion into a career.

- "Where did your inspiration for the art style in 'Dawn of the Fred' & 'Night of the Fred' come from?

I did not directly influence the art style as my role is Programmer. I would simply comment on my thoughts of the art and offer my opinion. Certain aspects such as the blood effects however are designed by myself.

- "What artists do you like"

I wouldn't say I like any specific artists, I tend to like the art style of games however. I'm a big fan of The Behemoth's art style.

- "What do you think about the evolution of gaming over the years?"

The game industry has become very greedy as of late. Don't get me started on my thoughts on the Call of Duty series of games. I can only hope Indie Games continue to grow and become much more of a prominent part of gaming.

- "Out of your favorite video games, which ones do you think are a must play for gamers everywhere?"

I'm a massive fan of Rock Band. If you have a bunch of friends round their is nothing more fun than rocking out with your friends. I also think every gamer needs to play Portal, both of them. Portal is amazing and I personally adore companion cube!

- "As a game developer/gamer do you have much of a social life? Does gaming interfere with such outside activities?"

Since gaming is a massive part of my life a lot of my social interaction takes place through gaming. Developing games can be very time consuming and does cut into ones social life but I guess life is all about balance.

- "What is your goal as an indie game developer?"

 My goal is just to have people play my game. I would love for people to play my game and tell me how much they enjoyed it. It would be great if I could earn enough money to survive but I could live having a boring job and developing in my free time.

- "What audience do you think 'Dawn of the Fred' & 'Night of the Fred' is best suited for?"

I would say any gamer who is a little tired of the big budget games. The Fred series of games is designed to be a pick up and play arcade zombie shooter, Night of the Fred will have strong Role Playing elements so hopefully they will appeal to many gamers.

- "Will 'Dawn of the Fred' & 'Night of the Fred' be more mature in nature, or will they be made accessible to younger audiences?"

They will be violent and they will be gory, but to be honest kids nowadays play these types of games anyway. I would also say the Fred series of games will be playable by anyone of any skill and age.



'Dawn of the Fred' is scheduled for a Summer 2012 release, and 'Night of the Fred' is scheduled for an October 2012 release on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace (XBLIG)!!!

Feel free to stop by stickydpad for insight on the developers, and their work. You can also follow my indie friend via Twitter stickydpadgames if you haven't done so already!