Off Topic

Hello from Timmy and here we are with another instalment of Off Topic, where we deep dive into the gaming world that doesn’t involve The Sims!

There are a TON of Indie Game developers out there that create the most wonderful games, or they are in development. The imagination of so many sparked by something so simple. This month we talk to the creator of Mojito The Cat.

Hello GTZAStudio, thank you for your time today. As you are a solo game developer, we would like to know more about you. Where are you from, How old are you, what's your favourite food, do you have any pets and if so what are they, what music do you prefer to listen to?

My name is Guillem, I’m 33 yo and I’m from Altafulla, a beautiful little town close to Barcelona.

About food, I couldn’t choose only one, Spain is full of delicious dishes!

Mojito is actually my Cat, and Woody was my mother's dog. Mojito was raised by Woody and they always had a special relationship.

I use music as a tool to help me boost my overall well being, reducing stress, encouraging and inspiring creativity I listen to a wide variety of styles depending on my mood or my current task type.

From the inspirational piano pieces of Ludovico Einaudi when I need deep inspiration and concentration to Deep house or Tomorrowland Sessions from artists like Lost Frequencies or Martin Garrix when I want to boost my productivity during pure production tasks. Some other artists I love are Blink 182, Mumford and Sons, The Lumineers, Imagine Dragons, Dire Straits, U2, The Kooks…

As an experienced solo game developer, I must say that you’re doing a good job designing puzzle and adventure games. However, I wonder how your journey in the industry up to this point has been as I know that being a solo developer is not always easy. Could you tell us the story behind your studio and Mojito?

Thank you so much, nice words from other devs and gaming community people are always so motivational.

Most of my gamedev knowledge is learnt with self-training and youtube videos. When I discovered UE4 in 2015, I didn’t know how to code but with time and effort I’ve been able to achieve my current level. At early stages, I used UE4 to create archviz interactive walkthroughs where clients could navigate their future houses and make decisions about it during the design process.

I started working on my first game while I was working on the Football Club Barcelona New Stadium Project (2019). At the beginning, I worked on my game afterworks, from 7pm till 1am. First concepts were just a way to express the creativity that I had inside, and I was not able to explore in my job. As the game started shaping out, I decided to quit, focus on my game, and also develop

archviz projects as a freelancer to get some funding.

It was not until 7 months ago that I decided to reject some projects and job offers to be fully focused on MTC: Woody’s Rescue. When I made the decision, I had some savings but I had to assume that my life would be just working on the game. No spare time, no luxury, no money. I think this has been the hardest part of being a full time indiedev for me, because knowledge can be learnt, you can overcome difficulties, but having to say NO to some plans with friends and family due to the lack of time & money, that's definitely not easy, specially in summer… On the other hand, the positive feedback I’ve been receiving and watching how your project is growing is so satisfactory that it is worth more than anything.

We know that you were an architect before starting your journey in the game industry. I can see the setting structure is good because of that very reason. As it is perfectly normal to have things we are bad at, is there anything you have found difficult to do and need to outsource in the process?

I define my workflow as a combination of programming skills with Unreal Engine, creativity from architecture to design levels and characters, managing knowledge from BIM Management to organize the project timeline and passion for Video Games to develop new unique and cute experiences.

In order to save time, generic 3d assets come from the UE4 marketplace, and the ones that are unique and identitary from the game are made by me. Modeling, hand painting, rigging & animation is also something I learnt through youtube.

Music is a different subject for me, I’m so bad at it. Despite the fact that I can't live without listening to music every day, and I always wanted to learn how to play the piano, me and no one in my family has been gifted with musical skills,

Luckily I found two amazing composers who loved the project and helped me. I will keep working with them to create a unique BSO for MTC:Woody’s Rescue.

Have you ever experienced discouraging treatment from people so far, maybe veterans even; just because you are a solo developer?. Have you encountered any close-minded people who say that ‘making games alone is impossible’ and if so how do you deal with such people? Have you encountered any other hardships whilst building your own company and developing your games?

Honestly, I’ve never experienced this kind of feedback. In the social media I share the game progress I always find positive feedback and people encouraging me to keep pushing forward, something that I’m infinitely grateful for. Family and friends have always been there supporting me, which is really important as well. The only discouraging thing I’ve found is game promotion. It’s so frustrating when you work for several months to achieve some feature, you prepare the video for some days and after that your post is underseen. Algorithms are so hard to understand and the only way to face and overcome it is to keep working and posting and not overthink about results. You have to have faith in what you are doing and think that someday it will get the attention it deserves.

When I see the pictures and videos of your adventure game, the game flow reminds me of Tomba, a PlayStation 1 and 2 game series. How did you come up with the idea for Mojito and did any game out there or life experience has an influence on your creation?

The Idea of Mojito as a cuberized Cat, comes from my first development. I created a puzzle with almost no knowledge about modelling and animation, but I wanted to have cute aesthetics. I tried to turn my weakness into my strength by creating a simple shape as a cube, painting it to look like my Cat and make it roll as the main mechanic (Curiosity: Rolling on that game is mathematics driven, there is no animation).

As soon as my modelling and animation skills started to improve, I decided to make it more complex but without losing the essence of my character.

MTC - FROM CONCEPT TILL TODAY - ONE YEAR GAMEDEV PROGRESS From a developer who has worked with a publisher in my other studio, I think your puzzle game would be great for the mobile platform since you can add more levels for the players. I think publishers would be very interested in your game. Do you have any plan to port it to mobile?

My first game was designed as a mobile game, and I published it in Google Play. It was nominated for best mobile game of the year by thegdwc.

Now my biggest dream come true, Mojito the Cat will be released on Nintendo Switch thanks to @GamesRedDeer

This is a very important milestone for me as a gamedev not only for the possible income that will surely help get some financial for my current project, but for motivation and self recognition. It's hard to work on something that seems to lead you nowhere, that gives you no income and you are investing all your time and money on it. But things need their time and for this project it has taken 3 years to see some results.

Thank you for your time. I am sure our readers enjoyed our interview and got t know more about you and Mojito. It sounds like the games will have its own colour on the internet. Before we conclude this conversation, can you let our readers know if you have any communities to join and your official accounts they can follow?

I’m very friendly and I’m always open to receive DM’s with feedback and talk about video games!

Twitter is where I post gamedev stuff more often: https://twitter.com/GtzaStudio

MTC: Woody’s Rescue Kickstarter:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ gtzastudio/mojito-the-cat-best-friend-rescue

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/gtzastudio/

TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@gtzastudio

Website:

https://gtzastudio.com/

Twitch.tv:

https://www.twitch.tv/gtzastudio

Youtube:

h t t p s : / / w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m / c h a n n e l / UCES7QOX5_f6nZPEUaKhzQBw

Steam Games Page:

https://store.steampowered.com/search/ ?term=GTZASTUDIO

MEDIA IMAGES AND VIDEOS:

MOJITO THE CAT - ENEMIES SHOWCASE MOJITO THE CAT - Customization MOJITO THE CAT - 2.5D Open World Zones