I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with the creator of the upcoming RPG racer ‘Desert Child‘. From eating ramen and live fish, to taking a long, long holiday; we talk about it all.
Console Monster: Let’s start off with some of the basics; Who are you and what do you do?
Oscar Brittain: My Name’s Oscar Brittain and I’m an independent game developer.
CM: You’re based in Los Angeles, correct? How would you describe the company, and has your location influenced your games in any way?
OB: I’m actually in Fremantle in Western Australia at the moment. I think it’s had a big influence on my game. I tried to put as many locations and bits of culture and music from where I live as I could.
CM: Your upcoming release, ‘Desert Child‘, is a racing RPG, that’s a new one for me. Can you tell us a little more about the title?
OB: Desert Child is a game where you explore a pixel art city, upgrade your hoverbike, talk to people, take jobs, and of course, race. There’s also a multiplayer mode where players can go head-to-head with their friends. It’s all about starting with nothing and working your way to the top (also, eating ramen).
CM: You chose Kickstarter to help fund the game; can you tell me a bit about your experience with the platform?
OB: It was pretty good. I wasn’t sure I was going to get funded, but a bunch of great people rallied around in the last 48 hours and it was a success.
CM: The game seems to be inspired by Cowboy Bebop and Akira, it also takes place in a sci-fi setting; why did you choose that setting and what would some highlights of these inspirations be?
OB: I just like Cowboy bebop and Akira. I like the multicultural and lived-in feeling that those two anime have in their cities. There’s also so much more to world that’s only ever hinted at; that was a big inspiration too.
CM: If you had to choose one single feature of the game to highlight, what would it be?
OB: You can buy a raw fish and eat it while it’s still alive.
CM: Has the team drawn inspirations from any other sources? Film, books, etc.
OB: The team’s just me, and I think I’ve taken influence from basically everything I love. One big thing was internet lofi hiphop streams. In this age of Spotify algorithms telling people what to listen to, YouTube streams are a blessing, especially when you’re coding a game.
CM: I’m loving the visuals of the game! Other than aesthetic, why did you choose this style?
OB: I’m not very good at drawing, so pixel art seemed easy haha. I was always bad at drawing faces, so thats why none of the characters have them. It kinda reminded me of EC from Lift-Off, so I kept it.
CM: In terms of RPG or racing titles in general, which would be the overall team favorite and why?
OB: Racing would be Driver San Francisco, RPG would be Digimon World. Both do something really weird with the genre. I can’t think of a racing RPG that’s really done with a story mode and stuff.
CM: Looks like the Kickstarter was a success, and the game will be hitting nearly every platform, correct? What are some of the difficulties and/or benefits of working with different hardware?
OB: Difficulties are having to pass three rounds of certification! Benefits are more people get to play the game (and I finally have an excuse to splash out and buy a Nintendo Switch!) Also, the Switch version will have single joycon support, so that’s great for multiplayer.
CM: What does the future hold for yourself and your team?
OB: Mostly support for Desert Child on all platforms. There’s some cool Kickstarter rewards that I’m working on right now, too. Then I’m going to take a long, long holiday and hope to god an idea for a new game comes to me.
CM: What are some of the current favorites of the you and team?
OB: I finally got around to playing No Man’s Sky. Rough around the edges, but I don’t think there’s anything quite like it. Also, Getting Over It With Bennet Foddy is like my Milo before bed right now. It’s great.
CM: Thanks for taking to time to answer some questions, Desert Child looks to be right up my alley in terms of style and themes, can’t wait to play it!
OB: Awesome! Thanks for the questions!
Desert Child releases this September. If you’d like learn more about the title, check out the official website.
