Andrew-David Jahchan is the Director & Lead Developer MADSOFT Games, inc. On April 12th, they launched their Kickstarter for the indie game, Me and My Dinosaur. The game focuses on puzzles as much as the nostalgic side scrollers that came before it. Slcikster Magazine caught up with Jahchan for a few questions about the development, Easter eggs, and his all time favorite games.
Interview with Me and My Dinosaur dev, Andrew-David Jahchan
Slickster: Why is the 2D side-scroller genre so popular?
Jahchan: There is a certain satisfaction to playing a side-scrolling platforming game. You live and die in an instant; every choice you make has immediate consequences. I think that the quick feedback system and the more challenging aspects of some of the precise, Twitch platformers help fuel the genre’s popularity. Not to mention that many platformers churn up feelings of nostalgia for many adult gamers.
Me And My Dinosaur itself falls a bit closer to the “puzzle” side of puzzle-platformers, as precision jumping is less important than managing your characters and using logic to tackle obstacles.
Me And My Dinosaur is a “sidekick” game. How do you balance the power of the sidekick with the main character?
Me And My Dinosaur’s puzzle dynamics were designed around the differences between Hunter and Rex, so “balancing the power” hasn’t ever really been an issue. Each character has their own strengths and their own limitations. For instance, Hunter is more mobile than Rex, being able to jump and swim. Rex cannot jump at all, but he is invulnerable to damage.
By playing around with those two essential differences, we can create all sorts of interesting puzzles. Add in some more restrictions to the environment and a few unique power-ups, and you’ve got a game.
The dinosaur, Rex, seems to be inspired by Pokemon. Is that correct?
A game like this seems to lend itself well to hiding some Easter eggs. Will you be adding many Easter eggs to the game?
While Me And My Dinosaur does have its share of Easter eggs, we wouldn’t want to point them out. No spoilers, you know? But we can talk about the game’s literal eggs. In each level, there is a Dino Egg you can discover and carry to the Delivery Outpost. Once you successful deliver the egg, you can go to the Dino Daycare to hatch and raise the Baby Dino inside.
We have over 25 different Baby Dinos to find and raise. You’ll need to feed them Dino Chow, which you’ll find by playing one the Daycare’s three minigames. Level up a Baby Dino to its maximum level and you’ll unlock a special hat for your Baby Dinos to wear.
When can fans expect the game to be finished?
Me And My Dinosaur is on track to release in Fall of 2016 on Playstation 4, and in the first quarter of 2017 on PC/Mac.
People can contribute to the Kickstarter by visiting our project page and selecting a tier they’d like to purchase. We’ve got all sorts of interesting rewards to give out to our backers, including physical boxed copies of the game, soundtracks, and artbooks. Plus, as a backer, you’ll gain access to exclusive behind-the-scenes backer updates during the campaign and as we continue development.
After you’ve backed us on Kickstarter, you can also swing by our Steam Greenlight and give us “Yes” vote on the page. We appreciate all of the support people are willing to give us!
That’s probably the toughest question of the bunch. I love so many games, but since I can only pick three, I’d have to say Metal Gear Solid 4, Shovel Knight, and Disgaea.