We recently did a fun interview with Gabriel Perier and the French indie gaming site Game Sphere where we talked about The Next Game Boss, Washington’s Wig, and our upcoming game Fist Puncher. You can check out part 1 of the interview in French here. Otherwise, for anyone interested, here’s the English version of part 1 of the interview (part 2 will be up soon):
Game Sphere: I have known you at the same time as The Next Game Boss. Can you introduce yourself to those who do not know the show?
Matt: Fans of The Next Game Boss probably know us as Team Fist Puncher while others might know us as Team2Bit. Those are both us. We chose to be Team Fist Puncher on The Next Game Boss to help promote our upcoming game release (and because the producers of the show didn’t like the name Team Team2bit). Regardless of what we’re called, we’re two brothers located in Santa Cruz California that make humorous, retro-styled games that emphasize characters, gameplay, and fun (heady intellectuals we are not). As mentioned, we can currently be seen competing on the IGN .START network program The Next Game Boss. Our first major game release, Fist Puncher, will be out later this year on Xbox LIVE Indie Games.
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Game Sphere : Looking at the emissions already released, I found that the time left to create is very short. On one hand, with a short time you can see those who are doing the best under duress, but on the other hand, this can greatly slow down the expression of creativity. What do you think of the length of the challenge?
Matt: The time limits were certainly tough, but overall we thought they were fair. On one hand the times were short enough to keep the intensity high and the teams focused, and on the other hand they seemed to be just long enough so that the challenges could be completed. If they had given us too much time, we probably would have ended up relaxing a little too much and the cameras might have caught us checking our email or sneaking in a nap – that doesn’t make good TV!
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Game Sphere : How was the ambiance with other developers? Can we expect a “Beardy team project” in cooperation with Michael Molinari (Team Bean)?
Matt: The other teams were incredible to work with. Just being around a group of people with similar aspirations is really inspiring. Obviously the show was ultimately a competition, but behind the scenes there was a definite sense of cooperation and synergy. And, yes, we’d love to collaborate with Michael. His creativity and wealth of ideas were pretty exciting to see firsthand. He could show a couple of good ol’ American hicks how to make a real art game!
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Game Sphere : Who was your favorite contestant?
Matt: It’s hard to pick just one. We definitely hit it off with Team Bean right away – he really is likeable guy. Still, T-Payne and the Twins and Circle Strafe brought tons of energy and youthful enthusiasm. Mechamagizmo had an amazing sense of focus, drive, and professionalism. Lazy 8s had a wealth of industry experience and knowledge (their game Cogs is already a best-selling title). It was incredible to work with all of them and the show created a bond between all of us that we’ll probably have for a long time.
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Game Sphere : Your game, Washington’s wig, is quite atypical, is there any chance to have a playable version soon?
Matt: We definitely have playable versions ready as we speak. However, technically it’s up to IGN to decide when and if the games featured on The Next Game Boss will be released. We’re sorting out the details now, but we’re fairly certain Washington’s Wig will be available at some point in the near future.
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Game Sphere : Any possibility to see in the future a crossover between Washington’s wig and Nyan Cat? With, for example, Nyan Cat as a playable character instead of the dog.
JAKE: As someone who has always loved Pop-Tart cat creatures that fly around on rainbow power, it would be great to do a crossover with Nyan Cat. Of course we’d have to speak with the creator first since we have no rights to that character. I think overall crossover concepts are something indie developers should take advantage of, since there’s often sharing in like-minded communities and most of us aren’t tied to endless contractual obligations. I saw that there will be a zombie Super Meat Boy in ‘Night of the Fred’, an upcoming Xbox LIVE Indie Game from Sticky DPad Games. I thought that was a creative idea, and it’s very cool that Team Meat approved of it.
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Game Sphere : What experience did you take from the show, The Next Game Boss?
Matt: It was definitely an amazing experience that we’ll never forget. From the people at IGN and Reveille to the other teams, we made incredible friendships. Overall, it was just inspirational to be around people who are passionate about and working towards the same goals in life. The motivation collected from being around that type of energy is priceless. We also learned that anyone who is driven and focused can get an incredible amount done if you strip away some of the typical distractions of life. We’re still amazed at how much each team accomplished during small amounts of time in each challenge. If we could find a way to simulate that environment (no distractions, time limits, a very focused task), our productivity would skyrocket. Sadly, life rarely lets you get too far without some level of interference.