Review Fix Exclusive: Inside ‘Max, an Autistic Journey’

Review Fix chats with “Max, an Autistic Journey” creator Stéphane Cantin, who discusses the inspiration for the game and its goals. Inspired by indie classic “To the Moon,” Cantin tells a tale that is unlike any video game on a console to date.

About the Game:

In Max, an Autistic Journey the player assumes the role of Max, an imaginative ten-year-old, that has been diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Traversing Max’s home, school and wild imagination players will find ways to deal with the seemingly insurmountable challenges and frustrations of everyday life. Many players will discover a world familiar but alien to them. Some may relate to Max’s story all too well. Regardless where you fall in the spectrum of life, Max, an Autistic Journey delivers an entertaining, imaginative and informative adventure where the visualization of the beasts may be fantasy, the emotions and frustrations they represent are very real for a lot of people.

Review Fix: Why do you think so many people still play retro RPGs?

Stéphane Cantin: Nostalgia and accessibility. Classic retro inspired RPGs can tell wonderful and complex stories while still remaining very easy to play, even for the non-gamers.

Review Fix: What games inspired this one?

Cantin: To the Moon from Kan Gao is my #1 inspiration. Other games are Final Fantasy VI (of course) and the classic Dragon Quests.

Review Fix: What has development been like?

Cantin: It has truly been a labour of love over many nights and weekends. It brought me so much closer to my kids and they blew me away time and again with their imagination and involvement with this project! There were many more highs than lows!

Review Fix: With all the competition on the mobile market and in the indies now, how difficult was it for you guys to try and make something that stood out?

Cantin: The goal really wasn’t about making a game that stood out. First and foremost, I made Max, an Autistic Journey simply out of inspiration from my son. His impact on my life has been so profound and if that translates into something that stands out, that would be amazing.

Review Fix: Any chance at a PS4 or Vita release?

Cantin: There are no console plans at this time. However, once we get through Greenlight and officially launch we will be turning our attention to the mobile market.

Review Fix: Bottom line, why must someone play this game?

Cantin: To have a whole lot of fun discovering what a day in a life can be like sometimes for a ten-year-old boy named Max who has an Autism Spectrum Disorder. I think the best word I can think of to describe this gaming experience is “Edutainment”, but not in that “Let’s learn math!” way. It’s education and awareness to something a bit more profound. And more so than awareness, understanding.

Review Fix: How do you want this game to be remembered?

Cantin: It’s the game that taught me to understand better some of the basic challenges a ten-year-old boy named Max with an ASD can face every day. It gave me a perspective that I never knew existed. I hope others remember it as fondly.

Review Fix: What are your goals for this game?

Cantin: To raise awareness about Autism and ultimately, bring some clarity and reduce judgement. Getting out there and having as many people as possible playing it and maybe getting something about autism out of it is the real challenge now.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Cantin: Next is to get the word out there as much as we can that there is a game called “Max, an Autistic Journey” that might help some people better understand something that is so vast and so complex that it’s sometimes easier to judge or ridicule.

Review Fix: Anything else you want to say?

Cantin: Go to: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=723380187 vote YES and spread the word! Also, if you know someone who always seems to be a little off, maybe to his eyes, the whole world feels a little off, constantly, even in the most mundane activities. Maybe he needs just a little patience and understanding from you.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13819 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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