Indeviews Episode 11: Andrew Sum
And we are back for another episode! In the eleventh episode of Indeviews we are interviewing Andrew Sum, the indie game developer behind the upcoming game Dungeon Dashers (pre-purchase it here)!
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For those who don't know you, who are you and what do you do?
Andrew: My name is Andrew Sum, and I'm a game developer from Melbourne, Australia, currently working on Dungeon Dashers.
Which game engines/game making tools do you use for your games? Did you build your own? If you have used different engines/game making tools, which one is your favorite and why?
Andrew: I use Multimedia Fusion 2 for almost all of my games. I've been using it for over ten years now so I'm quite familiar with it and it allows me to produce games quickly. I like it for its speed, however it does have a few problems such as portability to other platforms. All of the game's content and engine is built from scratch in Multimedia Fusion 2. I also built my own level editing tools so that I could create levels and content for the game much faster.
Do you use the same development process for all of your games?
Andrew: Yes! I use Multimedia Fusion 2 for all my game making needs, just because I'm so familiar with it and for its speed. It's great for gamejams.
What programming language do you prefer developing your games on? Why do you choose it over others?
Andrew: I use Multimedia Fusion 2's own esoteric language, which is quite different to most other languages. When I'm not using MMF2, I also quite like Python, once again due to the way it enables rapid development.
Do you use third party tools (map editors, sprite managers, animation suites etc) or you build your own?
Andrew: I built my own level editor for Dungeon Dashers, and I used all of MMF2's in built tools.
What is your computer setup? Do you use Mac or PC? What specs? Do you have a dual monitor setup?
Andrew: I have a Windows 7 PC with dual monitors. It has an i7 920 @ 3.9ghz, a GTX 560ti, 6GB of RAM, and a few TB of HDD space. I'd really like to upgrade my primary harddrive to an SSD next.
Which games inspired you the most? Do you have a favorite developer from the games industry (indie or not)?
Andrew: I think Harvest Moon on Super Nintendo has always been a big point of inspiration for me. I really enjoyed the open exploration nature of it, and the way you could create your own goals.
What’s the single piece of advice that you would always give to someone, and what is something that you will absolutely avoid/never do again?
Andrew: Finish games. It's important to finish your games, not matter how small they are. You need to get finish a few small projects so that you know the process involved in doing so. Otherwise you'll have nothing but unfinished prototypes everywhere!
I will (probably) never work by myself again. While I work with a team of artists and a composer on Dungeon Dashers, I am still the sole programmer/designer/developer. It can be hard to motivate myself when nobody else is forcing me to work on the project. When you work in a team with equal investment, it's easier to help each other out and get motivated to work.
What is your opinion on the rise of free game development "suites" like Unity, UDK, CryEngine etc? Do you feel interested in using them for your next projects?
Andrew: They're fantastic. I think Unity has played a large part in growing the indie development scene, especially once it went free. I haven't used Unity heavily yet, but I think I'd like to work with it for some future projects in 3D.
What are your future plans? What games are you working on right now?
Andrew: I'm currently working on Dungeon Dashers, and I occasionally do small games at gamejams, but I'm looking forward to finishing this game and working on some new things as well!
Thanks so much for this interview!
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Check all the previous interviews and stay tuned for the next episode! :)
Note: If you are an indie game developer and wanna be part of the series, just send us an email at [email protected]
