Review Fix Exclusive: Peter Malamud Smith Talks ‘Satellina’

Review Fix chats with “Satellina” creator Peter Malamud Smith who discusses the unique and mega colorful “puzzle in motion” game for the iOS and Andriod.

Discussing everything from the creation process of the game to his hopes for the future and possibly a release on a console, Smith gives an interesting behind the scenes of what is sure to be one of the most unique phone games of 2015.

Although simple in approach, it’s easy one of the most addicting and intriguing upcoming puzzle games in recent memory.

Review Fix: The concept and gameplay seems so simple, how did the idea for the game come about?

Peter Malamud Smith: It really started as a programming exercise, an attempt to learn more about code–I’ve dabbled for my whole life but never had any formal instruction. But once I had the particles in motion and a few patterns going, I had that joyful feeling of “Hmm, there’s something fun happening here.”

Review Fix: Was there any added inspiration for this game?

Smith: I feel like the game owes something to the look of early ’80s computing–that stark glow of an old CRT, green vector graphics, fly-throughs of polygonal universes, etc.

Review Fix: Are there any plans to release this game on the Vita or the 3DS?

Smith: I would love to. If the game is well received on phones and tablets, I’ll definitely look to release it on other platforms.

Review Fix: What did you play growing up and how did it affect this game?

Smith: A lot of computer adventure games and a lot of 8- and 16-bit console games. Those older console games had a big influence on Satellina, not so much in the gameplay as in the approach to challenge. I like games that are tough at first, because it’s more gratifying when you win. Newer games often have a lot of other merits, but I think when the budget gets big, developers are understandably anxious about alienating an audience, so they tone down the parts that could be frustrating. But those are often also the parts that make the game feel rewarding. I’m not trying to make something that’s just sadistic, but when a game doesn’t have any resistance, it kind of feels like a mouthful of mush, and doesn’t hold my attention. So I tried to balance Satellina so that it would be hard but in a way that makes you want to keep trying.

Review Fix: What makes this game cool?

Smith: What I like about it and what I hope others will like is the feeling of cracking a level–taking something that seems really hard and finding a way through it with practice. It’s really satisfying, and like my favorite old-school games, even though it’s tense, it can also put you in a mental state that’s weirdly serene. I also think the soundtrack is catchy.

Review Fix: Who do you think will enjoy it the most?

Smith: A 10-year-old just told me he thought it would be a hit with “kids ages 8 to maybe 20.” I defer to his insights about the market but I’ve also heard good things from a 5-year-old and a 62-year-old, so my fingers are crossed.

Review Fix: What are your hopes and goals for it?

Smith: I hope people will stick with it long enough to get to that flow state I mentioned. That’s when it’s most enjoyable. I also hope enough people will check it out that I can justify to myself the work of making another game. I had so much fun making this one.

Check out a video of the game below:

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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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