Quick Hits: Kyle Gabler & Ron Carmel (2D Boy)
Our quick hits interviews continue this week. Today we get Ron Carmel and Kyle Gabler to join us. They’re the duo behind the hugely successful Wiiware game World of Goo.
Can you introduce yourself to everyone?
Kyle: Hi, we’re Kyle and Ron. We made a game called World of Goo that showed up on WiiWare last year.
What are your favorite games from the past?
Kyle: Limiting to Nintendo games only, I’d have to say The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, for original GameBoy. I keep coming back and playing that one every few years. It makes me feel like a kid again. A kid who bought games in the early 90′s because Nintendo’s rap song told me to. Yo. http://youtube.com/watch?v=FepWbqPpJh0
Ron: At one point each of these games were my favorite game of all time: Impossible mission (c64), Dig Dug (arcade), the original Prince of Persia (pc), Bioforge, Paradroid (c64). Unlike kyle I didn’t grow up on Nintendo, i’m from the C64 era.
What are your favorite games from this generation?
Kyle: I don’t play games anymore. They are too hard and have too many buttons to remember.
Ron: From the recent past, Shadow of the Colossus and Portal.
If you could meet one other person in the gaming industry who would it be?
Kyle: It’s wonderful and validating meeting scrappy kids who aren’t even old enough to buy alcohol yet, and they are making games with more fire and soul than huge multi-million dollar studios. Just browse through TigSource. We’ll have to put a stop to these wonder-kids somehow. But in the meantime, I’m in awe.
If someone came to you wanting to know what it would take to do your job what piece of advice would you give them?
Ron: We haven’t had jobs since 2006. Confucius say, “Find a job that you like, and you won’t have to work another day in your life.”
If you weren’t making games now what do you think you’d be doing?
Ron: I‘d be working on indie fund (http://indie-fund.com). Wait. I am working on indie fund. Does that mean i’m not making games? I also think i’d really like being a teacher. I may still do that one day.
One sort of World of Goo related question. What’s the weirdest substance you considered while making World of Goo?
Kyle: Originally, each of the types of goo were going to represent different races of humans. Just like how Star Trek races are supposed to represent different cultures. It might sound like a fun idea in theory, but it didn’t end up offering as many possibilities as we had hoped. Hindude Goo Balls were going to have 6 arms, though. Watch out, Dhalsim.
I want to thank Ron and Kyle for joining us today. It ‘s been awesome getting to talk to them. Next week we talk to Ed Roman, CEO of Frontier Development.
The Great Friend Code Exchange
I mispoke at the end of the interview when I said that Ed Roman is the CEO of Frontier Developments. He is actually the CEO of Ghostfire Games. He will be joining us next week.
@Tony:
I really enjoy these little segments.
“Ron: We haven’t had jobs since 2006. Confucius say, ‘Find a job that you like, and you won’t have to work another day in your life.’”
Still looking for that job…
As for the “misquote”, can you not edit the text in WordPress?
BTW, speaking of Ghostfire Games, did you finish Rage of the Gladiator yet?!
I can, but sometimes it’s just easier to do it in the comments. Fewer clicks. [=^)
Nope. Still haven’t finished the second playthrough.
I’ve really enjoyed these quick little interviews too. Sometimes it’s just interesting to see some of the games that might have influenced people to create what they did and to find out what things they enjoy outside of gaming.