Moving Out Monday #17 – DevM + SMG
Hey Movers!
With the game out now and in your wonderful hands, we thought it would be a good time to go back to the beginning (the very best place to start) and talk a little bit about how Moving Out came to be!
It was a long and winding journey, full of mystery and adventure, with many players and moving parts, like all good stories must have.
We begin with Jan from DevM, an independent game developer in Sweden, with tiles such as Extreme Forklifting 2, Desert Worms and Silly Sailing under his belt.
INT. JAN’S FRIEND’S HOME – DAY
It is 2016. Jan is helping a friend move house.
JAN
What if moving houses was a game?
JAN’S FRIEND
Like a moving simulator?
JAN
Ummm...
SIX MONTHS LATER
INT. THE SWEDISH LAIR – NIGHT
TIMELAPSE + MONTAGE: 3 days of Jan hacking away furiously at his keyboard making THE PROTOTYPE.
TWELVE MONTHS LATER
A partnership between DevM and SMG is proclaimed. A bright new era in game development begins.
INT. SMG STUDIOS, MELBOURNE – DAY
Dave is given the game to play. He sees the untapped potential and the cogs begin to turn in his Level Designer mind.
DAVE
I do declare, these characters must jump!
LOTS MORE TIME PASSES
The game is being made.
EVEN MORE TIME PASSES
It is a game.
THE END
Such daring, such intrigue!
Actually, we thought we’d just ask Jan some questions.
What are some of your highlights?
When working alone on a game there’s the constant unknown if the game is any fun, or if the idea even makes sense. [So it was a big deal] the first time I had other people play the prototype - seeing how much they enjoyed it.
Another highlight was visiting Melbourne and seeing that there are actually real people working on the game; it felt a little surreal at first.
What’s it been like to work with SMG and T17? Has it been hard being half the world away and in a completely different timezone?
Waking up and aspects of the game have completely changed. [With SMG in Australia, T17 in the UK and DevM in Sweden] it can be a little challenging to work with the timezones. I’ve always been a night person and don’t like getting up early, but yeah, staying up till 6 in the morning hasn’t been optimal.
What’s the last 2 years of your life been like finishing it?
Mostly a blur... :)
Did you ever think it would get signed and actually released?
I always knew the game would be released in some form, but the initial plan was to make it myself and release it as something much smaller. I knew MO would be bigger than my usual games, my initial estimate placed it at 6 months rather than the usual 3 months. A slight underestimate in hindsight.
It was fun coming into the office in the morning and seeing you’d added a new feature like Laika’s tail wagging when co-moving a heavy object. Did you have a favourite little feature that snuck into the game?
I like the way the movers look at each other and the way Rye-Yu burns their toast when straining.
Have you ever slapped a door into someone’s face?
I’ve slapped kitchen cabinet doors into my own face more times than is reasonable.
Have you ever thrown a couch out of a window?
Not yet.
Who is the premiere moving company in Sweden?
Not the ones I have used.
Does it rain in Packmore?
Not since 1983.
What’s your favourite food?
Pizza after a busy day of moving.
Thanks to Jan from DevM for answering these questions! Let us know in the comments if you noticed Laika’s tail doing that little wag or how much you love the rogue flying toast when Rye-Yu strains.
Until next time Movers,
Have fun playing the game!
With the game out now and in your wonderful hands, we thought it would be a good time to go back to the beginning (the very best place to start) and talk a little bit about how Moving Out came to be!
It was a long and winding journey, full of mystery and adventure, with many players and moving parts, like all good stories must have.
We begin with Jan from DevM, an independent game developer in Sweden, with tiles such as Extreme Forklifting 2, Desert Worms and Silly Sailing under his belt.
INT. JAN’S FRIEND’S HOME – DAY
It is 2016. Jan is helping a friend move house.
JAN
What if moving houses was a game?
JAN’S FRIEND
Like a moving simulator?
JAN
Ummm...
SIX MONTHS LATER
INT. THE SWEDISH LAIR – NIGHT
TIMELAPSE + MONTAGE: 3 days of Jan hacking away furiously at his keyboard making THE PROTOTYPE.
TWELVE MONTHS LATER
A partnership between DevM and SMG is proclaimed. A bright new era in game development begins.
INT. SMG STUDIOS, MELBOURNE – DAY
Dave is given the game to play. He sees the untapped potential and the cogs begin to turn in his Level Designer mind.
DAVE
I do declare, these characters must jump!
LOTS MORE TIME PASSES
The game is being made.
EVEN MORE TIME PASSES
It is a game.
THE END
Such daring, such intrigue!
Actually, we thought we’d just ask Jan some questions.
What are some of your highlights?
When working alone on a game there’s the constant unknown if the game is any fun, or if the idea even makes sense. [So it was a big deal] the first time I had other people play the prototype - seeing how much they enjoyed it.
Another highlight was visiting Melbourne and seeing that there are actually real people working on the game; it felt a little surreal at first.
What’s it been like to work with SMG and T17? Has it been hard being half the world away and in a completely different timezone?
Waking up and aspects of the game have completely changed. [With SMG in Australia, T17 in the UK and DevM in Sweden] it can be a little challenging to work with the timezones. I’ve always been a night person and don’t like getting up early, but yeah, staying up till 6 in the morning hasn’t been optimal.
What’s the last 2 years of your life been like finishing it?
Mostly a blur... :)
Did you ever think it would get signed and actually released?
I always knew the game would be released in some form, but the initial plan was to make it myself and release it as something much smaller. I knew MO would be bigger than my usual games, my initial estimate placed it at 6 months rather than the usual 3 months. A slight underestimate in hindsight.
It was fun coming into the office in the morning and seeing you’d added a new feature like Laika’s tail wagging when co-moving a heavy object. Did you have a favourite little feature that snuck into the game?
I like the way the movers look at each other and the way Rye-Yu burns their toast when straining.
Have you ever slapped a door into someone’s face?
I’ve slapped kitchen cabinet doors into my own face more times than is reasonable.
Have you ever thrown a couch out of a window?
Not yet.
Who is the premiere moving company in Sweden?
Not the ones I have used.
Does it rain in Packmore?
Not since 1983.
What’s your favourite food?
Pizza after a busy day of moving.
Thanks to Jan from DevM for answering these questions! Let us know in the comments if you noticed Laika’s tail doing that little wag or how much you love the rogue flying toast when Rye-Yu strains.
Until next time Movers,
Have fun playing the game!