Ryan Clark, lead coder over at Grubby Games have been kind enough to do an interview for the blog. Grubby Games is the studio that developed the smash-hits Professor Fizzwizzle and Fizzball.
First and foremost, congratulations for making two fantastic games! You quickled established a brand in the casual industry, but excactly how was Grubby Games started?
Matt and I founded Grubby Games in October of 2004. He and I became good friends in 1995 when we lived in the same residence house at UBC, a university here in Vancouver, Canada. We played a lot of video games together while at school (Mario Kart 64, for example, and Worms), and often talked about games we would like to make. In 2004, we finally had the chance to make that dream a reality!
How was the development process for Professor Fizzwizzle?
It took about 9 months to complete Professor Fizzwizzle, working fairly long hours. The last 3 months or so were actually taken up with level design; the levels took much longer to create than we had anticipated! It’s difficult to “force” your brain to come up with yet another level design, after all of your creativity has been exhausted.
Where did you find the inspiration to create Fizzball, and will Professor Fizzwizzle play a part in your future games as well?
For our second game we wanted to make something more casual and action oriented, so we decided that something in the Arkanoid genre would be fun. Also, both Matt and I really love Katamari Damacy, so combining Arkanoid, Katamari Damacy, and Professor Fizzwizzle, seemed like a very cool idea.
As for Professor Fizzwizzle the character, he will certainly play a part in some of our future games! People seem to really love that guy 
What are you currently working on?
We’re working on the sequel to Professor Fizzwizzle!
What are your ambitions for the future?
Well, we’d love to be able to keep making fun games. We really enjoy what we do, and hope that we can continue to do it.
Which is your favourite game, Fizzball or Professor Fizzwizzle?
I think they’re both great; it just depends what kind of mood you’re in. If you want a mental challenge, Professor Fizzwizzle is what you need. If you’d rather relax and use your reflexes instead of your brain, FizzBall is the way to go.
Any advice for upcoming indie developers?
I would suggest that you make sure you’ve attempted a few much smaller games before you start on the first game you intend to sell. Creating games can be quite difficult, so completing a few small projects will make sure that you have a more realistic idea of what you’re getting yourself into.
Also, if you need help on the programming/technical side of things, have a look at The Game Programming Wiki, which I founded: http://gpwiki.org
Good luck!
Thanks to Ryan Clark for the interview! Make sure to visit Grubby Games website to download their games.
January 15, 2007 at 7:34 pm |
Nice (but short) interview.
The guys at Grubby Games are really talented, I am very sure that Professor Fizzwizzle 2 will be another hit.
January 15, 2007 at 7:39 pm |
True, the interview was rather short – later interviews will have more content.
January 16, 2007 at 12:14 am |
[...] found this interview with Ryan Clark, from Grubby Games, who developed Professor Fizzwizzle and FizzBall both of which [...]