Review Fix Exclusive: Andrew Bell Talks ‘x20.ATx’

Review Fix chats with Solitary Software developer Andrew Bell, who discusses his new project “x20.ATx.” A one-man development team, Bell’s passion for the project is its driving force. With a love of old-school RPGs as well, it’s an interesting project that should be cool once it gets more weight under its wings.

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Review Fix: How was this game born?

Andrew Bell: A combination of many factors: boredom, retro gaming nostalgia, unemployment… However, the motivation came from a sudden and intense desire to be creative and express myself, emotions I hadn’t experienced for a long time.

Review Fix: What has development been like so far?

Bell: I had a good idea of the story I wanted to tell, and how I wanted to tell it. Game play/mechanics is to be a simple experience, so that’s been straight-forward. The story draws on my personal experiences, so the only challenge is adapting it to an interactive medium. The artwork has been fun but challenging. Not due to difficulty, but my own indecisiveness; I’m always changing the target. It seems to be tending towards a modernized retro look as I constantly refine it.

Being a lone developer, you have to build everything in parallel – programming one day, art the next. And if you hope to end with a holistic package, that becomes an exhausting endeavor

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Review Fix: What makes this game special?

Bell: It’s centered on a story line that is derived from my own personal experiences. So it’s personal, as opposed to generic and/or contrived, I have something genuine and somewhat unique to offer others. Something people can relate to.

Presentation-wise, I’ve been trying to capture a… “Neo-Retro” feel, classic 8-bit RPG built with modern technology – the best of both worlds.

Review Fix: What games influenced this one the most?

Bell: Definitely Ultima IV. It’s pretty much the sole anchor as far as reference go. From the gameplay to the UI, Ultima IV is always in the back of my mind. I was enthralled by it as a child and it’s still my favorite game to this day. Especially how it made the player challenge themselves. That’s something I aiming to capture in my own game; the player is their own antagonist.

Review Fix: As an indie studio, what do you think you guys do differently than the big studios?

Bell: Focus on what matters – building a community and engaging the players from the beginning. Most studios – including Indies – tend to work “behind closed doors”, whereas I tend to share everything I’m doing. I like watching how things are made, and believe people will enjoy watching the game being made as much as they enjoy playing it. A real “warts and all” approach is more relatable and therefore engaging.

Review Fix: Any fun stories or wild moments during development?

Bell:
Unfortunately, this is going to be the least exciting response. No, just plodding along as always.

Review Fix: How does this game disrupt the video game landscape?

Bell: I’m not sure if it will disrupt the video game landscape rather than the video game development landscape. I have my own ideas like everyone on how things should be done, so maybe by the time all is said and is, it might make other indie developers consider how to bring their games into realization.

Review Fix: Who will enjoy this game the most?

Bell: Anyone who’s a fan of: retro gaming & graphics; RPGs; story-driven game play; Cyberpunk; or any combination thereof essentially.

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

Bell: Not entirely sure. Perhaps to have a lasting effect on people, similar to the game that inspired it had on me. To have created a story that touched – and left a mark – would be rewarding to know.

Review Fix: What are your goals for the game?

Bell: To make something that’s perhaps a little more than a game. Objectively speaking however, it’s definitely to produce a holistic design, a game whose parts have a real synergy to them; I think it’s vital to achieving the goal of making game that’s a little something else in the current sea of them.

Review Fix: What’s next?


Bell: At the moment… just keep grinding away. I think it’s time to put the story into real words though, and since I’m drawing on past experience, it might be tough on a more emotional level than I’ve bargained for. Really have to get down to designing the vault/dungeon layouts too.

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.

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