Review Fix Exclusive: Inside Mega Cat Studios

August 18, 2017 Patrick Hickey Jr. Video Games 0

Review Fix chats with Mega Cat Studios’ James D, who discusses how the indie game studio that focuses on retro games including the Nintendo Entertainment Systema and Sega Genesis got together, as well as their goals for the future, which includes bringing some of their games to the Nintendo Switch.

For More on What Mega Cat Studios is all about click here.

Review Fix: How did you guys get together?

James D.: Some of us have worked together on previous contract work, met at conventions, or just found each other through the retro gaming community.

Review Fix: Why develop new games on the NES?

James: Everyone has their own childhood gaming memories, and the NES takes the bulk of the votes more times than not.  From the shape of the cartridge to the ribbed for your pleasure grip, its uncanny ability to bring pleasure the world over continues.

Review Fix: Any thoughts on releasing on the Switch? Especially considering the success of a game like Kamiko?

James: We are official Nintendo developers and will be porting some of them to the Switch in 2018!  This year is all about finishing out the perpetually in development projects and closing them up.  Cross platform releases provide a great opportunity to listen to player feedback and include some platform-specific features.

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

James: It’s hard to know what we do differently than the big studios, since most of us haven’t worked AAA.  Generally, we’ve all done contract work, and have moved project to project as position players.

Keeping our team small, we’re able to provide some creative autonomy for every team member, pivot quickly if something isn’t working, and bask in the glow of what drives most small teams: the unique opportunity to do something different, something special, rather than rounding off the rough edges and creating something plastic.

Review Fix: What are your goals for these games?

James: We want to create memorable gaming experiences.  We all know that retro platforms will never be our bread and butter, but it’s something we always want to maintain as a piece of our identity.

Review Fix: What’s next?

James: I’d say we’re most excited right now for the release of Bite the Bullet & Log Jammers for the PC.  Nothing is certain in indie, and with all of the changes this past year with Steam Direct, smaller market places closing, prices plummeting, and Early Access evolving, we’re genuinely happy to be growing.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14316 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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