[Mobile] Incredible Indies: Bradley Erkkila on why indies should "keep things as simple as possible"

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The games industry has many big-name studios with eager eyes on them, all waiting to see what their next big hit could be. But giant studios aren't necessarily the home to what could be your next favourite game.

There are thousands of independent game studios and solo developers, all hard at work crafting new game experiences with often unique ways of looking at games. In this series we aim to highlight those very games and the developers behind them. 

In this interview we catch up with Bradley Erkkila, an independent developer with multiple titles across his portfolio of games, from various solo development titles to others in partnership with fellow developer Colin Lane, such as Rowdy Wrestling and Golf Zero.

We discuss tips for those making games independently, what some of the highlights are of doing so and some of its challenges in today's market.

PocketGamer.biz: First, can you tell us a little about yourself? Have you always had an interest in video games?

Bradley Erkkila: Before I got into game design, I worked in the media industry as a designer for 15 years. I always enjoyed games of all shapes and sizes, especially on a visual level, as that was my background.

I remember when I was quite young, I designed levels with pencil and paper for the old TurboGrafx-16 ‘Keith Courage’. That’s going way back!

What made you decide to start designing your own games?

It was nearing the end of 2013, and I decided to learn how to make a mobile game on a whim, sort of like a New Year's resolution. I thought it would be cool to involve my son in something just for fun. 

At the time, the mobile side seemed like the most viable path to shipping something. I did some research and stumbled upon the powerful yet beginner-friendly Stencyl engine, and I started developing Owen’s Odyssey.

I then began socialising with a small group of like-minded folks, and we’ve been helping each other ever since.

Do you usually work alone on a game, or have you worked with some of these people? And what is the development process like?

When I’m working on my own, I tend to come up with the art direction first. I just find it the most fun. I’ll obviously tweak as I go based on where the game is going technically and mechanically, but having a somewhat defined visual style pretty early in development is something I prefer over working with placeholder art. I’m just a visual person.

On the other hand, I’ve collaborated with Colin Lane a lot over the years. He’ll usually come up with some kind of demo using placeholder art, as he works in the opposite way.

 

Incredible Indies: Bradley Erkkila on why indies should "keep things as simple as possible" | PocketGamer.biz