103% Interview with Maddy Thorson

(This is a lightly edited article from 2012)

Hi gang. In this 103% Interview, we talk to Maddy Thorson, who also goes under her developer name Mady Maek Game. Usually working alone or with friends, Maddy has produced an impressive array of games including An Untitled Story, RunMan and the Jumper series, all available to download from her website. She's also had success making some of the more playable games on the Adult Swim Arcade. Just check out  Mady Maek Game, fill your boots with some fun, and then come back and read this interview once you've experienced some of his works...

One of the multiplayer maps in An Untitled Story.

103%: You've made some impressive games as a solo developer and sometimes involve a small team of people close to you. Nonetheless, you're generally iron-manning the entire development process. What drives you to make games?

MT: Just a desire to create I suppose. At this point, it feels like if I wasn't making games I would be nothing.

103%: I've found that a lot of people who make games don't play them much. Does this apply to you? If not, what kind of games do you like to play? 

MT: Yeah I don't play nearly as many games as I did as a kid. I still play a lot of Team Fortress 2, and recently 100%'d Rayman Origins. Other than that I usually just play indie games here and there, because I'm curious where my peers are taking game design in a way that I'm not generally curious about big-budget games.

Rayman rules. Team Fortress 2 is also good.

103%: Will there ever be another epic adventure game like An Untitled Story?

MT: I love designing with exploration and an open world, but it's hard to control. As my games get more ambitious in scope and polish, it seems harder and harder to maintain an open-ended project like that. But on the other hand, I just read an article on Zelda 1 design that really got me thinking about it again.

103%: Making games for Adult Swim's website now are we? How did all that come about?

MT: Edmund McMillan had put me in contact with the Adult Swim guys when I was looking for a buyer for MoneySeize. They rejected it, but when I finished Give Up, Robot I had a feeling it would be more their style. They ended up being amazingly accommodating and we really saw eye-to-eye on everything for Give Up Robot 2 and Fat Wizard. As far as contract work goes, they're probably the ideal company for me to work with (when I'm okay with selling a game's IP).

Look me in the eye and tell me you don't want to play a game called Fat Wizard

103%: Your minimalist style is celebrated and distinctive.  If you were magically given a team of code ninjas to make games with you would you keep this style or would you want to try some more complex visual techniques. 

MT: Shit I don't even know. It's so hard to separate what I've done out of necessity from stylistic choices at this point, because I started so young with such a limited skill-set. If that situation arose, I'm sure it would take a lot of experimentation for me to figure out what I even want to do. My limitations are a huge part of my process.

103%: Do you have any game-making heroes?

MT: If you make games you're passionate about, you're my hero.

103%: Simple question. Do you own any game consoles?

MT: Right now I have an Xbox 360 and a Wii.

103%: Ogmo cameo'd in Super Meat Boy. Would you ever consider making a premium game or do you like keeping it free?

MT: Yeah I feel like I want to start selling my games straight to players, and build more of a direct conversation with them. And it seems like the business side of indie game development is shifting in a way that will allow me to do that.

Pictured: Ogmo a.k.a "Jumper"

103%: Are you working on anything at the moment?

MT: Two things! A big collaboration with a couple friends that I'm not sure I should talk about, and a solo platformer that's starting to feel like a follow-up to Jumper or MoneySeize in a lot of ways (although it is not a sequel).

103%: Finally. Who (or what) is Ogmo?

MT: I'm not entirely sure. I remember he was just a red square for the entire development of Jumper 1, then I added his legs/face after all the levels were finished. I guess that makes him either an extension of the level design or an afterthought. Both kind of fit his character.

END TRANSMISSION

And there we conclude another exciting edition of 103% Interviews. I'd like to thank Maddy again for taking the time to answer these questions and invite all you readers to play some of her games once more.

If you have any real-life human being gaming heroes (or villains!) that I should know about please let us know of their existence. Thanks.