You’ve heard from Stuart Johnson. You’ve heard from the Van Gold’s Birthday Party team. Now, get ready to dive into the interview with the absolutely stellar Celeste (aka gainax2k1 on itch.io and Discord), who created Uplifting Ocean in our most recent game jam!
- How long have you been developing games?
I started learning game dev 2 years ago with Unity, but quickly switched to Godot because it’s open-source.
- What made you want to get into game dev? Is there a particular game that inspires you as a developer?
I wanted to make games ever since I was a kid, but chased after other careers for much of my life. In recent years, I’ve come back to working in software development and game development. Lately, I’ve found myself bored with most of the AAA game space, but consistently impressed with all the unique and interesting games in the indie space, and I think that’s what’s inspiring to me.
- Did you learn/realize something while participating in this game jam? If so, what was it?
With every project I work on, I’m learning more and trying new things. On a more personal level, I’m learning that I really enjoy the process of making games. I find it really fulfilling to create and express myself in so many different ways, from coding and game design, to making art and music.
- When creating games, what comes first for you: the coding, artwork, writing, or something else?
I don’t know if I have a set methodology for where the game idea comes from. If anything, I have an idea or concept I want to explore, and I try to think of what game mechanic would suit this or feels intriguing. From that, I think of what I can code (or learn to code for it), what art would go well with it, what the story would be, etc.
- How did you get the idea for your game? Was there anything that inspired your idea?
For “Uplifting Ocean”, I was inspired by the old edutainment software series like “Reader Rabbit”. I wanted to make something cute and cozy that felt safe and homey. On the technical side, I wanted to learn how to work with dialog systems, animations, and sound. Despite being a pretty “simple” narrative game, I learned a lot of technical skills to realize it.
- A silly question, just for funsies: If you could live inside the world of any video game, what would it be and why?
That’s such a hard question! Something cute and cozy with no fail-state! Maybe something like “Restory”, where I can just tinker and fix things all day.
Thank you to Celeste for sharing a bit more about you, and for submitting Uplifting Ocean! It was truly such a treat to play through; we certainly learned a lot! We wish you the best of luck as you continue learning and developing your skills in game development. We’re so excited to see what else you create!
If you’re looking for a calming game with some adorable oceanic buddies to teach you some helpful techniques to regulate your emotions, then Uplifting Ocean could be exactly what you’re looking for. You can also check out more of Celeste’s work on her itch.io page!
Thank you again to Celeste for answering our questions, and thank you to our readers for being here! We appreciate each and every one of you for showing up and making our community as welcoming as it is.
Well…that’s all for now! Stay tuned for our next interview.
Remember, just keep swimming! Toodles!