Review Fix Exclusive: Q & A with Gaijin Games CEO Alex Neuse

Gaijin Games CEO Alex Neuse takes a few minutes out of his busy schedule to discuss the ever-popular Bit.Trip series, which has helped put his company on the map over the past few years. In addition, he discusses the series being ported over the Nintendo 3DS, as well as the series’ newest addition, Bit.Trip Flux.

Review Fix:
How was the idea spawn for the Bit.Trip series?

Alex Neuse:
The BIT.TRIP series was born out of the idea that not every game needs to be complex to be enjoyable. We wanted to take the idea of simplicity and elegance and explore how to make rewarding gameplay with those minimal tools.

Review Fix: How is Flux different?

Neuse: FLUX differs from the BIT.TRIP pattern by returning to basics. It is the most similar in gameplay to BIT.TRIP BEAT, and that represents Commander Video’s journey coming to an end–coming full circle. So the themes in FLUX are meant to be familiar yet new to the series.

Review Fix: For someone who has never played the game before, how would you describe it?

Neuse: BIT.TRIP FLUX is a meditative kick in the balls. If you can push through the difficulty, you’ll reach a zen-like state.

Review Fix: What is your favorite part of the series?

Neuse: I think my favorite moment in the series is the very end of BIT.TRIP FLUX, when you get the only Game Over in that game. It is a true conclusion to the series.

Review Fix: Are there any future plans for the series?

Neuse: As was announced last week, we’re bringing the entire series to the Nintendo 3DS so a whole new audience of gamers can enjoy it on the go. We will also continue to spin tales within the BIT.TRIP universe for years to come.

Review Fix: With so much focus being on graphics nowadays, what made you guys go the retro route with this series?

Neuse:
Our focus on simplicity and sparseness dictated the visual style.

Review Fix: Flux, like all of the games in the series, is very difficult. Do you have any words of wisdom for gamers that are getting stuck?

Neuse: Grab a friend and play two-player. Two paddles are better than one. Unless you’re playing the level two boss- go one-player on that.

mm
About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 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.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*