The Challenges and Opportunities of Creating a Game

The competition is vast, I mean anybody in the world can basically write a game. And it's very easy. But on the other hand, there is a massive massive audience and lots of really good tools and lots of really good information about how to write a game. So it's different equation, but the opportunity is still there just ask me like knotch. So, what you must do is actually do something original and creative if you wanted to get noticed so you will be very able. Very easily able to make a game. And if you're interested in games absolutely should just get on and make it. Don't talk about when I make a game, and I want to make a game just get on and make a game.

The question is then getting it promoted and seen by lots of people and that's actually tough these days because there are so many games out there on all the digital stores. I actually see a bigger danger when we got into programming these things it was partly because there were only two TV channels. Rubbish music on audio cassettes although we could listen to it, but we never have right we didn't really read books as such and I don't know we weren't really bored and so tinkering on a computer was what we like to do kids can't get bored now. They just physically can pretty much every kid I know has a computer a smartphone a console access to Netflix YouTube Optifine which is brilliant but if you just spend your time being entertained and you're just a consumer somebody's got to sit down and go I want to be brilliant at music. I want to be brilliant at art or whatever and spend hours and hours that it takes to learn so we just dedicated our time to do this stuff partly through boredom and that is not really an option anymore kids don't get bored.

So I actually think that's sort of made it harder yeah absolutely, and you know the one problem we don't have as a copy of the book if somebody can hand us a copy the book. We are expecting more guests than this. This does sound terribly like an answer but I have to point out that we don't actually take any money from this in fact the contribution of the publisher Chris Wilkins would have given it to us is that being donated to special effects which do all the work with disabled kids who want to play video games? Yeah, they do some brilliant stuff. I mean the things that I did with eye tracking those up some games that I like talking about it even felt like Stephen Hawking could play video games because they've got it so that you can just sort of like control computer with your eyes which is very cool but they built into games like yes, you can probably build into text messaging as well. Could that be useful.

But now I was playing a kart racing game with my lights, which is very cool. So they do some really good work so we've given our money to them just really nice to solve problems and record so much stuff in the book that just lives in my life. I mean this is just at one example green world pokey on the NES so yeah it's just a box finally mile off. I'm just covered going and it must go through. There's just well that's the original sort of city diagram some letters back and forwards code. There's this is the source code that we have to recompile from at one point we were going to be calling it blitz which is kind of funny that we came back to that lane really called our company blitz in the end, and then just kind of working out some sort of notes on how we layout characters and memory. Basically it was all the disks and paperwork they were across the desk halfway through you'd like where do I clear this to get another bottle clear it into the box file and then as the game sort of finishes you just clear the desk and just clear it all into the box file whatever is still on the table that didn't go in the bin so unfortunately.

The Story Behind Codemasters' First Game

The story the story's a little bit more complicated but it was developed for the NES Codemasters were running into various issues with Nintendo and publishing games on the NES and unfortunately this one was decided not to be released by them which was a great shame but there's a little bit of longer story it is. But the stories in here of course that green we had 46 games and half of them were number one bestsellers I mean just lay the statistic like that the book has got so much content in its gonna be quite difficult for people in the future to interview us and say can you tell me something new that isn't in the book.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enWell we've been making games for who over 30 years over 30Yeah, that's showing all right, so yeahWe started back in the 80s originally sort of from 81 with a zx81 our brother bought itAnd we just found under the TV instead of playing with it aged about 12 or 13I guess yeah, I really got kind of it wellThat was when computers all came with sort of keyboards and not great gamesSo you kind of end up like making them yourself whereas nowadays, it's all consoles stick a disc in and off you goAnd you wouldn't know where to startWhere we have our real success was on this little tiny of rubber we keyboard its spectrum with a 40mmThere was a cheap 16 K. Yeah, but nobody out thereOkay, a Walking 48 and yeah, it was a case of trying to make games on this 8-bit computerIs that limitation a good thing yeah, I actually likeLimitations in some ways it was a puzzle in how to get the biggest game or adventure workingOn the very limited memory and the thing that I used to remember particularly wasThey couldn't move many graphics around the screen so you literally had to say okayI can move little spritesAround the screen and I'm only gonna be out of cover like eight or so sprites on the screenWhat game could I come up with which like well you?Had to design the games around the technical ability of the computerSo you had to look at what it could do and how it would workAnd how much memory and then design your game according to itwhereas as computer technologies got better you design your game first and the computer has to fit it andHow did you work together then on this you've got one computers two of you initially?Initially we would just share a one single computerAnd when one was actually using the computer typing in code the other one will be working out code on paperto be perfect eyesIt's actually a really good thing because we used to plan things out really well because the computers were so slow and soBasic with just text editors that it's actually really difficult to write the code, and it was all assembly language, so it was really reallycodifiedBut because you couldn't have computer time because he had it you'd actually you'd sort of sit down plan it outYou'd you're scrappy little diagram diagrams if you remember that from your computer studies?And you try work it all out, and you'd actually write it all downAnd then when you've got the computer time you would just type in what you'd worked out on paperWe've got all of these like hand-drawn notes, but it was amazing that it really gets your thoughts in placeAnd how do you think we missed it as soon as we had money to buy two?Computers we just summon a computer what text editor on its might a few lines pressCompiler doesn't work. It crashes and actually you didn't sit down and take stock and plan thingsSo would you debug it on the paper as welder there are many times? We had a really hardI think the logic definitely and the overall structureBut maybe not debug, I don't know there were times where there's really really nasty bugsAnd you'd literally just put in two out and you get a pen and you'd be following it rained and rainedAnd trying to work out why because the computers and those we?Coded things like a spectrum on a TV with it RF aerial. Okay nowI was wearing glasses for years and yearsand it was because of things like that right if you are so blurred if you actually go back and look at the display andThink that we were sitting on first off lots of hours 15 16 17 hours a day looking at those wellYeah, when we weren't working the planning we were in front of the TV not monitor TV. I meanThe signals just terrible, and it's amazing that we could even read the textbut you only have a few characters across because I have big chunky text because theResolution of graphics was 320 by 240 bit level from your 4k monitors may so initially started with a family TVSo there's NX 81 the dragon 32 they were family TV, but then the next computerWe bought was an Amstrad we didn't bring them on Saturday, but it came with its own monitor, but it's the air computer WBut it doesn't check anything away wait. You'll find this from our YouTube channelWe talk a lot about his loft so during the 80s and early 90sIt was just the two of us making games. We then set up a companyInitially called Interactive Studios that was because the consoles came along and we'd be a team yeahYou needed sort of for proper artists then yeahResolution graphics had gone up so we decided to set up a company Interactive Studios initially that was then renamed in1990 blitz game studios thatcompany grew of doing lots of contracts with big publishers like your electric arts andTHQ and his knees were onlyMicrosoft all the big publishersAnd that company grew to over 235 people and that went on through until2013 whenunfortunately times changing digital downloads free-to-play models and everything all changed and 40 blade stop tradingSo we set up another company and that's called radiant worlds, and we're developing a game. It's a massively multiplayer online gameChance of changing all of that they're great things to learn onlineI think every student should have a play with these things that Andrew decided to learn scratch and write a full gameIn an evening. Yeah, cuz his son totally couldn't write make a decent gameWell my son had been asked to watch, but it was about I don't know heaven or 12 or something at schoolAnd they'd come home and their homework was write a little game on scratchAnd it was supposed to like Paul or something and he was busy doing it, and he was doing okay ishBut he made some coin about like well. You could never are at a proper game, and I was looking at it goingThat's yeahI think you could I would try to think of the things that you couldn't do because these things were pretty flippin basicWhat they didn't do much, but we wrote some big games on themSo I looked at this scratch and divided by itself. It was revised incredibly powerful, and it was just the case ofSeeing what and how it would work, and I was looking at it and thinking wellIt wouldn't do 3d graphics clearly, but you can motor 2dYeah, you could do anything to D in any of the 8-bit gamesAnd I saw us had any 8-bit game like what a lot of pac-man. There's like yeah, you could write pac-man easilyAnd after we went bad. I decided to write pac-man on scratch ok by breakfast time. I was ready. Yeah, it's gotI think it was something like 400,000 years todayIt's at a few years possibly inspired. Well. No actually just completely copiedThe competition is vast I mean anybody in the world can basically write a gameAnd it's very easyBut on the other hand there is a massive massiveAudience and lots of really good tools and lots of really good information about how to write a gameSo it's different equation, but the opportunity is still there just ask me like knotchSo, but what you must do is actually do something original and creative if you wanted to get noticed so you will be very ableVery easily able to make a gameAnd if you're interested in games you absolutely should just get on and make it don't talk aboutWhen I make a game, and I want to make a game just get on a make a gamethe question is then getting it promoted and seen by lots of people and that's actually tough these days becauseThere are so many games out there on all the digital stores. I actually see a bigger dangerWhen we got into programming these things it was partly because there were only two TV channelsRubbish music on audio cassettes although we could listen to it, but we never have rightwe didn't really read books as such and I don't know we weren't really really bored andSo tinkering on a computer was what we like to do kids can't get bored nowThey just physically can pretty much every kid. I know has a computer a smartphone a console access to NetflixYouTube Optifine which is brilliant, but if you just spend your time being entertained and you're just a consumerSomebody's got to sit down and go I want to be brilliant at music. I want to be brilliant to art or whatever and spendhours and hours that it takes to learn so we just dedicated our time to do this stuff partly through boredom andThat is not really an option anymore kids don't get boredSo I actually think that's sort of made you put a takenMajor hurdle yeah absolutely, and you know the one propWe don't have as a copy of the book if somebody can hand us a copy the bookWe are expecting more guests than thisThis does sound terribly like an answerBut I have to point out that we don't actually take any money from this in fact the contribution of the publisher Chris WilkinsWould have give it to usIs that being donated to special effects which do all the work with disabled kids who want to play video games?Yeah, they do some brilliant stuffI mean the things that I did with eyeTracking those up some games that I like talking about it even felt like Stephen Hawking could play video games because they've got itSo that you can just sort of like control computer with your eyes, which is very cool, but they built into gamesLike yes, you can probably build into text messaging as wellCould that be usefulBut now I was playing a kart racing game with my lights, which is very coolSo they do some really good workSo we've given our money to them just really nice to solve be able to solve record so much stuff in the book thatJust lives in my life. I mean this is just at one example green world pokey on the NESSo yeah, it's just a box finally mile off. I'm justCovered going and it must go throughThere's justWell, that's the original sort ofcity diagramsome letters back and forwards codeThere's this is the source code that we have to recompile fromAt one point we were going to be calling it blitz which is kind of funny that we came back to that Lane really calledOur company blitz in the end, and then just kind of working out some sort of notes of how we layout characters and memoryBasically it was all the disks and paperwork. They were across the desk halfway throughYou'd like where do I clear this to?Get another bottleClear it into the box file and then as the game sort of finishesYou just clear the desk and just clear it all into the box fileWhatever is still on the table that didn't go in the bin?So unfortunatelyThe same thing a block, but the story the story's a little bit more a bit longer a bit more complicatedBut it was developed for the NES Codemasterswere running into various issues with Nintendo and publishing games on the NES andUnfortunately this one was decided not to be released by them which was a great shame, but there's a little bit of longer storyIt is but the stories in hereOf course that green we had 46 games and half of them were number one bestsellersI mean just lay thestatistic like that the book has got so much content in its gonna be quite difficult for people in the future to interview us andSay, can you tell me something new that isn't in the book?\n"