Tja

Teddy

Developer
Staff member
Greetings!

I'm Teddy, the poor (literally speaking), overworked programmer at this place!

I began my glorious career as superstar game designer around age 8, when my dad bought me Klik & Play in hopes of not having to play soccer with me anymore. Feeling that this was my true calling, I immediately began working on my digital masterpieces. For some inexplicable reason (I suspect foul play), not a single one of my early works received any awards or even notable fame!

For a few years I kept making games despite the unfair treatment, but eventually the pains of being an unrecognized genius kept down by the system took its toll, and I decided to pursue other avenues in life. After studying economics in high school I went on to Law School after playing Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney.

While studying there, I met a man named Jonathan, whose story was eerily similar to mine! He, too, had left a life of game design to pursue a career of justice. He did, however, have two close friends who was studying game development on the Swedish island of Gotland. For science, we took a boat there to see how they lived (it's a pretty damn sweet island), and the moment I set foot there I knew this was where I was supposed to be.

A year later, I quit studying law and pursued my true destiny: game making!

My first "real" game was called Dwarfs!?, and was published by Tripwire Interactive during my second year of studying game development. I began making Secrets of Grindea during the third and last year, and hopefully I can add this game to my list before I'm 50!
 

y-aji

Green Slime
I didn't realize you made dwarfs! That's awesome! How much was dwarf fortress an inspiration on dwarfs for you? Had you spent much time w/ it at all?
 

Teddy

Developer
Staff member
Neither I nor Robin had actually dared to play Dwarfs Fortress before we made Dwarfs! We knew about it, though, and I had read some of those awesome play session stories that floats around.

The inspiration from Dwarf Fortress (and Nethack) was basically that you're in a dungeon and that you're going to die! Apart from that, we actually had a kind of anti-inspiration philosophy where we said "let's not try to do a graphical Dwarfs Fortress, because we can't" :p

Some believe that all the enemies, and the water and lava hazards, were inspired by DF but that was surprisingly not the case. All those things were just "hey, what shitty stuff could totally ruin the day for a dwarf digging tunnels?" :D
 

y-aji

Green Slime
That's awesome! It really had an arcade dwarf fortress feel. I think the primary principle that reminded me of it is how out of control everything gets. Like every minute the game goes on, things get worse and worse.
 

Harmony

Green Slime
Stop saying such stuff! I'm turning 24 next month, I don't want to have grey hair in two years. =(
 

Grincher

Green Slime
28 and no grey hair inc..... but I have to say, there is no much hair left that can turn into grey -.-
 

Momizi

Rabby
After studying economics in high school I went on to Law School after playing Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney.
i think this line just made you my fav game dev ever
good that you stoped too, cus most law stuff irl isnt like phoenix wright...

people in the real life are far dumber lol
 
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