The future’s bright
lthough he’s made his career in digital design, with stints at companies such as Sega, Ted Sterchi has always had a keen interest in creating games. This year he decided to focus on his platform adventure
a game so close to NES specs that it’s actually getting a NES version, and has successfully funded it via Kickstarter, where it received over 400 per cent of its funding goal.
Ted Sterchi tells us all about his forthcoming indie game Orange Island
How did you get into gaming what were your first platforms and early favourite games?
My first system was the NES. I’m pretty sure the first game I owned was the two-in-one and cartridge. Other early obsessions included
and Also, a whole bunch of (one through three). I used to draw so much fan art when I was about seven years old. My first 16-bit console was the Genesis, and I fell hard for the series.
and Please give us a summary of
– what happens, and what will players be doing?
follows four kids and a grandmother as they explore an island and try to prevent a war between humans and the slimes who have taken residence there. As this is a NES game, I’m leaning in on videogame logic a bit, but I actually want to tell a really poignant story too! Gameplay-wise, it’s an exploration-based platformer. There will be puzzles, ability upgrades, side-quests, towns… you could say it’s something like meets by way of and And there will be shmup sequences! It might sound like a lot, but much of the core engine is complete and it’s all gelling nicely.
Why did you decide to pursue the NES style, and why do it with such authenticity?
In the late Noughties/early Tens I was pursuing a vaguely 16-bit aesthetic for Eventually, I hit a wall and realised that I was biting off more than I could chew with such a large colour palette and smooth small amount of channels and tones ensures that my scope is limited to a degree but it also forces a certain cohesion, which appeals to me as a designer. I like a challenge and I’m pretty stubborn, so it all made sense to stay authentic to the hardware.
How did you secure composer Hiroki Kikuta’s involvement in the project?
It’s still sinking in that Hiroki Kikuta is on-board. Kikuta-san’s representative stumbled across and reached out to me, but it was really early days – I’m not even sure if it was in a playable state back then. So, we stayed in touch over time and I finally decided to pursue a Kickstarter campaign, which made his involvement a possibility. I can’t wait to work with him!
Broke Studio is handling the NES version – why did you decide to partner with the team?
I originally came across Broke Studio through their own Kickstarter campaign for I was pretty much sold on their talent the moment I played that game, and everything I saw about them on social media further proved to me that they knew their stuff. I think our collaboration began when I sent them an early demo of
Things didn’t progress immediately, but the more I showed them the more enthusiastic they became, until they told me that to come to the NES. So really, it was a combination of their proficiency and enthusiasm: I only want to work with people who are as excited about the game as I am!
They told me that Orange Island had to come to the NES
What advice would you give to creators starting their own Kickstarter projects?
Kickstarter is a hard one because there’s no exact formula. Looking back at this campaign, I’d probably tell myself to keep it simple. Our campaign was tricky because there were really integral rewards tied to stretch goals, which meant a lot of what-if scenarios. What if the NES port stretch goal wasn’t reached? People might have bailed out. So yeah, I’d probably keep the number of reward tiers way down; I got too excited with all the goodies I could give to people. Also, don’t worry about pleasing every single person. For instance, introducing a new midcampaign reward tier might please a lot of people but also annoy many others and make things more confusing for everyone. I found this really crippling and it still eats away at me, but it’s an unfortunate truth that you’ll have to stick to your gut and risk letting some people down along the way.