Interview: Might&Delight's Jakob Tuchten
With little more than a cursory announcement a few weeks back of Might&Delight's existence, the ex-GRIN staffers making up M&D's numbers haven't been vocal about what they're working on next. And according to art director Jakob Tuchten, that's (at least partially) because the future is still somewhat unknown for the fledgling studio. "We have had some really nervous and positive meetings with publishers, and we´re sketching up some promising ideas."
M&D has said, however, that it aims to "continue doing what we started with [Bionic Commando] Rearmed ... small, fresh games with strong old school flavor." So when we asked about working on more licensed properties, it wasn't surprising that Tuchten teased, "We have a tasty list with publishers and their old titles that we would love to remake." That said, he added that M&D probably won't head in that direction. Hit the break to find out more about the studio's plans for the future, as well as everything else that Tuchten had to tell us.
Joystiq: You've been established since last year -- have you already established a deal with a publisher? How many projects are in production at Might&Delight?
Jakob Tuchten, art director at Might&Delight: We have had some really nervous and positive meetings with publishers, and we´re sketching up some promising ideas as I write this. But nothing is in production, we are still really fresh and these are just our first trembling steps.
Do you plan on working with any specific distribution platform? Why/Why not?
We like all platforms where smaller games can dwell! No specific preference, we will see what we can do and where that fits in. Although I think it's safe to say that we will be aiming at smaller titles in the downloadable scene.
How do you feel about the recently announced Bionic Commando Rearmed 2?
No hard feelings at all. Many of us have been involved with the project in the past so our relation might be a bit special. And of course we don't have anything to do with its development now, but I'm confident that Fatshark will do a fantastic job continuing with the brand!
How many M&D members also worked on the retail Bionic Commando game? Regardless, what have you learned from that project? Has that informed your desire to focus solely on downloadable titles?
I think all of us have touched 'Big BC' at some point. Its hard to compare the two games since the conditions were so radically different. I designed BC as he looks in the retail version as well, but the visual development was very different from BCR. With the retail, I had to relate to a focus group that decided his look. With BCR I had pretty much free hands. I often get comments like: 'BCR was great, what idiot designed the dreadlock guy?'. Many people don't realize how rare creative freedom in these big productions really is.
You've said you'll make "small, fresh games with strong old school flavor" similar to Bionic Commando: Rearmed. Do you have any other remakes in the works, or are you focusing on original content?
We have a tasty list with publishers and their old titles that we would love to remake. But as it looks now -- that's not our path. We are currently looking at some really fun ideas for a completely new IP.
Are you flattered by Konami's Rush'N Attack remake?
I'm not sure ... I hope and think that BCR gave a momentum to the culture of retro remakes. If what we did helped to illustrate that old school gameplay is fun even today -- I'm very pleased. If we contributed to a situation where games are being remade only to be sold again -- I'm not sure flattered is the word I would use. But I'm not judging Rush'N Attack here, it looks like a really nice game!
