Sup Holmes every Sunday!
[Sup Holmes is a weekly talk show for people that make great video games. It airs live every Sunday afternoon onYouTube, and can be found in podcast form onLibsynandiTunes.]
Not long ago, we were lucky to welcomeDownwellcreator Ojiro “Moppin” Fumoto to the program. Though one might guess he and his game were obvious shoe-ins for success, Ojiro’s unlikely road to prominence would be hard for anyone to replicate. He initially wanted to compose music inspired by the scores for the earlyKirbygames. That lead him to study music theory and eventually, opera singing, all at a young age, traveling between Japan and New Zealand along the way.
In the end, he ended up being too humble (my words, not his) to continue pursuing opera singing as a career. He did not feel right in the spotlight. Instead, he made the remarkably unassuming, but intensely-charged gameDownwell. Like so many of the developers I’ve spoken with on Sup Holmes, I felt Ojiro’s personality bore a strong resemblance to the personality of his game, though I don’t think I put it quite that way on the show. I didn’t want to make him feel self conscious.
We discussed that, how the atmosphere and emergent mechanics ofSuper Metroidwere an influence on him, what he’s planning for future games, the joys of working with Devolver Digital,scrapped ideas forDownwell, game enthusiast culture in Japan, and a lot more.
Thanks again to Ojiro for hanging out with us, and be sure totune in today at 2:30pm ESTwhen we welcome Felix Bohatsch ofBroken Rules(And Yet It Moves, Chasing Aurora, Secrets of Raetikon) to the program.
