We’re back with another Hiveswap development team interview!

whatpumpkin:

Hey everyone! We hope you enjoyed last week’s surprise. This week we’re talking to John Hatchford, our Director of Production, about being a producer (which I touched on when Cohen interviewed me a few weeks back) and what it’s been like helping to guide the Hiveswap ship toward the finish line.

Introduce yourself to the fans! What is your specific role on the Hiveswap team?

Hi there! I am John Hatchford. I grew up in Michigan but have been in California (specifically Los Angeles) for eight years now, working on creating all kinds of awesome video games! My role on Hiveswap, as the Director of Production, has been to jump right into the deep end and lead the team toward our much-anticipated launch. Please know that we’re working hard to get Hiveswap polished and in your hands as soon as possible!

How did you get your start on the Hiveswap project?

As one of the newer members of the Hiveswap team, I immediately dove into the deep end, discussing with each team member how I could best help push the game toward launch. It’s been a great experience thus far. I’m so excited for the release, and I can’t wait for you all to see what’s around the corner for What Pumpkin Games!

Tell us a little bit about your career background! How did you get your start in production? Do you have any advice for others looking to enter this field?

I’ll try and be brief, but I want to emphasize that there is no single path toward a career in games and anyone can do it with enough effort. I have a psychology degree, and when I moved to LA, I found work as a data analyst for a wireless company before being brought on at Electronic Arts as a business analyst. I then moved on to Square Enix for a brief stint as a senior analyst, followed by a wonderful opportunity working with Disney Interactive as a project manager. (Most of my time in these positions was spent working on mobile titles, but I got to work on games for a variety of other platforms as well.) I then left Disney to create my own indie studio, where I launched a mobile fantasy/puzzle game before joining up with What Pumpkin Games, bringing us to the present!

We’re making a video game, so of course the question must be asked: what’s your favorite game of all time, and what games are you playing currently (if any)?

Some of my favorite games of all time include Mario Kart 64, the Civilization series, the original Diablo, StarCraft II, DotA, Heroes of Newerth, Phantasy Star IV, Counter-Strike, Bloodborne, and Need for Speed Rivals. Currently I’m playing Horizon: Zero Dawn and it’s great!

Are there any games that you currently use or have used as inspiration for your own work here on Hiveswap, or just in general?

A lifetime of games always inspires me to try and add concepts from one genre/platform into another. I love the creative process of making games. At a fundamental level, it’s as basic as performing an action and being rewarded for it. I want to take the RPGs I played in my youth on the Genesis, SNES, and NES and pull in some concepts from them for aspects of future What Pumpkin Games projects!

When you’re not dealing with the challenges of production, what do you do in your spare time to blow off steam?

Well, I play games of course! I also enjoy a good hike with my wife and our two pooches; other times, I’ll have some friends over and we’ll play some music and games. Seeing family is a big stress reliever for me as well. I’m also a big Detroit Lions football fan.

What’s your workstation like? Do you like to listen to any particular kinds of music while you work? If so, tell us about it!

I like this music question! I have a big, blank, wooden flat desk with tons of space so I can keep tasks/papers/everything visible and avoid procrastinating. I’m almost always listening to music. I use it to tell me how I should feel and what type of work I need to do. In the mornings, it’s usually a Mozart-based Pandora station (sometimes Stevie Ray Vaughn, or Latin jazz like Tito Puente). After lunch, I’ll fire up a playlist called “new songs” on Spotify, which is usually a mix of electronic (more chill nowadays than it used to be), pop, country, and disco/Motown. I’m currently a big fan of saxophones. I’ve always got some classic and progressive rock mixed in there, too.

Do you have a personal message you’d like to relay to all the Homestuck and Hiveswap fans out there?

I’m excited to do my part in making the best games we can for you, and I look forward to augmenting the team with my knowledge of AAA game development! I love your hardcore enthusiasm for Hiveswap, and I too share that passion for games. I remember being so stoked for the launch of Diablo II about 17 years ago. I would check for updates every single day on various websites… and remember, the Internet was a very different place in 1999 and it was a lot harder to find info back then! Speaking from personal experience, those long waits for games can be tough, but my patience was usually completely well rewarded in the end. So thank you for your own patience – I respect the time you have waited, and am excited to get you the game you deserve!

Where can people find more of your work? Link us to your own little corner(s) of the Internet!

The mobile fantasy/puzzle game I launched at my own indie studio is called Bloom Kingdom, and although the iOS version is temporarily down, the Android version is available right now! Either way, you can find out more about this pet project of mine at the Bloom Kingdom website if you’re so inclined!

I’ve also had a hand in making a ton of other games you might have played, including DuckTales Remastered, Where’s My Water? and its sequel, Star Wars: Assault Team, Star Wars Commander, two Temple Run games, Words of Wonder, Disney Hidden Worlds, and more!

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We’ll be returning next week with another interview, bringing things back around to the art side of things. In the meantime, thank you as always for your continued patience! See you next week!