PLEASE START US OFF BY INTRODUCING YOURSELF:
Hello, my name is Karel Matejka. I live in Prague and am mostly known under the pseudonym KO.DLL and my pixel art on social media. Soon after I got in touch with the first 8-bit computers, I started making games, which earned me the status of one of the first pioneers who started the gaming industry in the Czech Republic. Although my main passions are all art forms, I am also a coder and a game designer. During my long career in the gaming industry, I worked on titles such as Mafia, Operation Flashpoint, ArmA, Memento Mori 1 and 2, Star Wars: Assault Team, Nemo's Reef, Toy Story: Smash It, and over twenty others.
TELL US ABOUT BZZZT.
I started working on BZZZT out of pure nostalgia. I wanted to return virtually to the era of 8-bits, when it all started for me, and pay tribute to the games I played as a kid. Initially, the game was strongly affected by ZX Spectrum games such as Manic Miner, Arkanoid, Pssst, and others. However, as production continued, I started implementing more and more 16-bit game features and references to the '80s-'90s. BZZZT is mostly an old-school precision platformer but is also a nostalgic trip to the era of the first computer games - this time without hardware restrictions, with colorful graphics and super smooth gameplay.
HOW HAS THE DEVELOPMENT JOURNEY BEEN
Before the full production of BZZZT, I made many prototypes, mainly testing the fun aspects of the game and the complexity of possible development. I had a simple goal: to create something simpler but highly polished and something I would enjoy while creating. I believe that the creator's state of mind is directly visible in the game, and their feelings (in my case, joy) can be transferred to players. Because of that, I wanted to focus on as much effective development as possible to quickly implement every crazy idea I had during development without suffering too much.
WHICH GAME ENGINE DID YOU CHOOSE AND WHY?
I had a lot of experience with Unity while making previous games, I picked that engine without thinking too much.
WHAT'S BEEN YOUR BIGGEST DEVELOPMENT HURDLE SO FAR?
Multiplatform development with various third-party solutions, such as Steamworks API, was quite annoying. Every platform (Steam, GoG, Nintendo) has specifics, and the code must communicate with them depending on the chosen build. Implementing and mainly testing leaderboards, a cloud save system with many Steam Deck issues, and fully functional controls supporting all possible gamepads and keyboards—well, that was not fun, especially when discovering some random bug that was not on my side. Haha.
ADVICE FOR FELLOW DEVS?
Making a fun game is not everything. You need to promote the game as well. And for that, you need to observe the state of the market even before you start creating a game. You can simply end up with a finished project nobody wants to play. But! Experimenting is essential as well. Start with simple ideas, iterate them, finish them, and release them as soon as possible. Players and the market will always surprise you. And you need to taste all aspects of production before starting something more complex. It will save you a lot of tears.
ANY FINAL THOUGHTS?
I wish all game developers here a lot of fun while creating games and good luck while releasing them.
And I wish all gamers here a lot of great games to play.
-Karel
❤️
