My name is Magnus Fredriksson, and I'm an artist and filmmaker from the far north of Sweden, specializing in animated films. I started making games as a hobby about 10–15 years ago.
I describe it as my mid-life crisis nostalgia pixel platformer. It’s a couch co-op arcade adventure, similar to Bubble Bobble and Rodland—two games I loved and played while growing up—but it features an overworld where you can choose levels, visit shops, and upgrade your gear. The story—if you can call it that—follows two vampire siblings protecting their father’s garden from an insect invasion.
While I was teaching, I had to come up with small games that my students could complete in a single day. I created a simple game where you shoot flies; you can only shoot upwards, and the flies come at you from the top and sides.
Then I started working on another game but the amount of animation required made progress very slow. So, I decided to focus on a smaller game with less animation and revisited the school project to develop it into a full game.
To increase the challenge, I wanted the shots to disappear after a short time. I took inspiration from Donkey Kong 3, where you use an insect sprayer against flies. Green House, which features the same protagonist as DK3, was my favorite Game & Watch as a kid, so it had a big influence.
I made a list of everything I wanted in the game and started working on it in my spare time. Since this summer, I've been able to dedicate a few days each week to developing the game.
When I started, I set a release date and have been working with that in mind, doing as much as I can. Of course, it would be great to spend a few more months on animation and art, but that’s what stalled my last game.
I chose GameMaker because it’s the engine I’m most familiar with. I used it frequently with my students since it’s quick to get something up and running.
At first, you only had to spray the enemies to defeat them, but I felt the game lacked a multi-step process for taking down enemies. So, I decided to have most of the enemies get captured in clouds of spray, and you have to jump into the clouds to finish them off. This change messed up a lot of the existing code, which I had to go back and fix, but I think it was worth it.
I know I’m in a privileged position, able to take time off from work and focus on my hobby almost full time—but my advice is: Don’t rush to turn it into a business. When you switch from making the game you want to create to making the game you think people want to play, a lot of the passion fades.
I approach making games the same way I do with my art and films: I create what I want to see or play. It might be niche, but if it’s not fun, there are plenty of boring jobs that pay more and come with less stress.
-Magnus
❤️
Flora & Fang: Guardians of the vampire garden on Steam (steampowered.com)
