Sept Game Jam Interview Series: A Reef-reshing Inside Look with APel and PGad

Pssst! Hey, you! Yeah, you! After reading through our interview with gainx2k, you’re probably looking for more interviews with the game devs from our amazing community, right? Well, good news. You’ve come to the right place!

Today, we’ll be interviewing APel and PGad, a lovely couple who have graced our last few game jams with their games that perfectly encapsulate the definition of “uplifting”. This game jam is no different with their submission, Until the Air Runs Out, which they developed with AkyoBeats! We enjoyed getting a glimpse into their creative process and we’re so excited to share it with you, so let’s get into it!

1. How long have you been developing games?

For about three years now.

2. What made you want to get into game dev? Is there a particular game that inspires you as a developer?

We always felt that the games we really wanted to play simply didn’t exist! Every game we played seemed to have something missing. Eventually, we decided to stop waiting and make the kind of games we would actually enjoy playing ourselves.

We can’t point to one particular game as our main inspiration, but there are quite a few that have influenced us. They’re mostly lesser-known gems, such as C-DOGS, Shattered Pixel Dungeon, Dark Deity, Card Crawl, Gone Home, Call of Juarez: Gunslinger, and Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup, to name a few.

3. Did you learn/realize something while participating in this game jam? If so, what was it?

One of the most important things we realized during this jam is that when designing a game, what we’re really designing is the feeling a player gets while playing it. It’s not just about the sprites, the code architecture, or even the mechanics. All of those things matter, of course, but ultimately, it’s the emotional experience, that little spark that lifts the player up, that counts!

4. When creating games, what comes first for you: the coding, artwork, writing, or something else?

We always start with the core gameplay loop and a very basic Game Design Document (GDD). That gives us the foundation for everything else, including the code architecture, artwork, and narrative.

5. How did you get the idea for your game? Was there anything that inspired your idea?

We usually talk about what inspired each game on its itch.io page. For example, the castling move in chess inspired Castle Your Way Out, which won Uplifting Game Jam 8, while a visit to a park brought back memories that eventually became The Way I Remember It in Uplifting Game Jam 7. My grandma inspired Home, One Last Time in the New Year’s Uplifting Game Jam.

6. A silly question, just for funsies: If you could live inside the world of any video game, what would it be and why?

That would have to be the world of Call of Juarez: Gunslinger. I mean, who wouldn’t want over-the-top shootouts, wonderfully whimsical characters, weird romances, and enough strange tales to keep you entertained for years?

We’d like to give a big thank you to APel and PGad for taking the time to answer our questions and for submitting Until the Air Runs Out (as well as the other games you both have submitted in previous game jams). Make sure to check out their game if you haven’t already!

In Until the Air Runs Out, you play as a diver exploring the ocean where his grandfather had ventured in his younger years. With each puzzle that brings you deeper into the creature-infested depths, your adventures reveal all sorts of life lessons, providing a greater understanding of how your grandfather saw the world. Will you learn to recognize and appreciate the value of things beyond their monetary worth? Or will you cling to the worldly definition of “value”? Play Until the Air Runs Out to decide for yourself! And hey, why not tell us what choice you make in the comments below? We’d love to know!

That does it for this interview! We’ve got a few more in store for you, so keep an eye out for those. Until then, we hope your week goes swimmingly (bah dum tssss).

‘Til next time! Bye bye!