We’ll be working on a review for Macbat 64, so I got in touch with indie dev Marcus Horn – aka Siactro – to talk a bit about the game’s journey to the Nintendo Switch. Come check it out!
PS4Blog: Hi! Thank you for joining us this morning. Can you please help us get started by telling our readers a bit about yourself and your work?
Thank you for having me. My name is Marcus, and I kinda like to make games that look like older, better games.
I guess I have the same story as most indie creators. I really enjoyed playing SNES and N64 era games as a kid, and always wanted to make games like that. Many years later, I still enjoy gaming, but now I create some games as well! When it comes down to it, I am just one more person making games.
PS4B: Macbat 64: Journey of a Nice Chap is ready to go on Nintendo Switch. How would you describe the game to someone who’s never heard about it?
Most people read that title, see the screenshots, and think that Macbat 64 tries to be a full-fledged 3D Platformer like Super Mario 64 or Banjo Kazooie. This is not the case, and I fear it’s my fault for setting up this expectation with the way the game looks. However, I do have to admit that the game does borrow heavily from Rareware’s style.
Macbat 64 is more comparable to a box full of differently nostalgia flavored candy pieces. Every level in the game is supposed to remind the player of a different game or style from the late 1990s. Besides that, it is meant to recreate a certain charm in its looks and NPCs. I am not sure I fully achieved this, but I hope people find it interesting nonetheless.
PS4B: What drew you to work on an homage to the old-school platformers of the Nintendo 64 era?
I think it was mainly nostalgia. Just remembering how back in the day, I would play a bunch of different games in one sitting with my friends. This was also the main inspiration for making Macbat 64’s levels more or less different from each other. I really wanted to have a specific feeling from back in the day. I just feel that games from that era have a certain unpolished charm to them. They were something more experimental that today’s 3D games are simply missing.
PS4B: With Macbat 64 set for its Nintendo Switch debut, are you currently working on any other projects that could end up on Nintendo’s console?
Ultimately this depends on my business partner and publisher for Macbat 64’s Switch release. I truly hope I can also bring my current project Tasty Ramen to the Nintendo Switch, but I will have to see about that. One thing is certain, though: if I would make another 3D platformer at some point, I will make sure to somehow get it onto the Nintendo Switch! When I played Macbat 64 on Nintendo’s console for the first time, it simply felt right in terms of controls and everything else!
PS4B: And that’s all the time we have for today. Is there something else you’d like to add before we go?
Thank you very much. I think if there is one thing to say, it’s this: I have talked to a lot of people over the years who are interested in creating their own games but don’t do it because they don’t know how to start, or don’t feel they’re quite ready.
I really want to encourage everyone who is interested, to just start making their own games. Games don’t always have to be digital, but even for digital games, there are so many great and free tutorials on YouTube and the internet in general.
I believe that if I can do it, then everyone can! I really want more people to make their own games.
