Review Fix Exclusive: Inside ‘Tyler: Model 005’

Review Fix chats with Lance Gardener, Founder of Reversed, Interactive who discusses the creative process and goals for the developer’s newest game, “Tyler: Model 005.”

About the Game:

Set in a dystopian mid-century house full of puzzles, Tyler is faced with larger-than-life obstacles, as everyday objects such as chairs and bookshelves become massive hurdles the tiny robot must overcome. Tyler must find new light sources throughout his journey in order to stay operational. Without light, Tyler will lose his ability to function.

Additionally, household vermin lurk around every corner, and it’s up to Tyler to use a variety of weapons – such as blades, boxing gloves and cherry bombs – to defeat the enemy creatures. Luckily, Tyler can upgrade equipment through a handy skill tree that allows players to enhance Tyler’s speed, agility, power, and more.

Review Fix: How was this game born?

Lance Gardener: I was working as an environment artist. It was a fun job, but I always wanted to get to the stage of developing a game from the bottom up. I grew up on movies like Honey I Shrunk the Kids and Toy Story and the idea of being that small and seeing the world from that perspective always fascinated me, so I decided to concept a game around that and Tyler was born.

Review Fix: What was development like?

Gardener: Development was a bit of a rollercoaster as I was jumping from being an artist to taking on almost every job in game development. That being said, I had a blast with it.

Review Fix: What makes this game special?

Gardener: I think it would have to be the exploration and atmosphere of the game. Exploration is rewarded in Tyler: Model 005 with a bunch of apparel for Tyler, weapons, skill points, and more.

Review Fix: How does the sound play a role in the game?

Gardener: All the sounds and music in the game was designed to give an eerie feel to the game and make the player feel as if they are alone in the house. Our music composer, Tyler Durham, nailed the feel of the game with every track he delivered and I would say the music became a big part of the final game.

Review Fix: What games influenced this one the most?

Gardener: Toy Story 2 was an influence, but I would say most of the inspiration came from the movie 9.

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

Gardener: As we were making the decision on how Tyler would sound, Martyn was a barrel of laughs and he would always deliver lines that had me in stitches, but some of the innuendo was a bit too much for a game for made for a younger audience.

Review Fix: Do you think preserving older gameplay mechanics in new games is important?

Gardener: If an old mechanic works for your game, absolutely. Many game developers have kept certain mechanics going for years, but they still feel as good as they did in the 90s

Review Fix: What’s your favorite memory as a gamer?

Gardener: Playing Black and White 2 for the first time. I was heavily into FPS games, but after playing it I became addicted to RTS games.

Review Fix: Who will enjoy this game the most?

Gardener: Tyler is a game that requires a lot of planning. When trying to get to an area the player needs to plan their route to make sure there is enough light to get to a given location within Tyler’s battery life limit. This can become frustrating for some so problem-solving skills are a must.


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

Gardener: Tyler is an adorable little robot with a British sense of humor. What’s not to love?

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

Gardener: A quirky title made by a small team!

Review Fix: What’s next?

Gardener: We have started work on a new title named Stitched Up that we will reveal in 2019. Stitched Up will be a game more for the adult audience as we don’t want anything holding us back when it comes to comedy and content. Right now I can’t say too much–all I can really say is follow @reversedint for updates!

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13820 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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