Sacred Symbols+, Episode 127: PixelJunk Remembrance
Added 2021-10-09 16:00:06 +0000 UTCThose of you who have been gaming on PlayStation since the early PS3 era will certainly remember Q-Games' PixelJunk franchise. The hallmark of the PixelJunk series of downloadable offerings -- available on PS3, PS4, Vita, and even PSP -- was that they were all different (except for direct sequels, of course). One's a racer. Another's a shooter. The next is a tower defense game. Heck, one of them is even an offbeat music visualizer. However, Q-Games' relationship with Sony seemed to sour with the release of PS4's The Tomorrow Children in 2016, a free-to-play second party title that was seemingly sent out to die with little fanfare or effort from its publisher. These days, Q is working far away from the PlayStation ecosystem, peculiar for a 50-person strong team once closely associated with the brand. To talk about the studio's history and its future, I invited its founder, Dylan Cuthbert, to +. Within, we discuss his storied past (he's one of the minds behind Star Fox, if you didn't know), how he found his way to Sony (Blasto!), and ultimately how he founded a Kyoto-based team known for its unapologetically eclectic approach. (Oh, and we also discuss Cuthbert's quest to get The Tomorrow Children's IP back from Sony, which could be a tall -- yet doable -- task.)
Comments
The mad lad did it! Can’t wait to hear the follow up now that Q Games has been able to retrieve their IP 👏👏👏
Ryan Harvey
2021-11-09 14:22:25 +0000 UTCThank you!
Colin Moriarty
2021-10-18 14:43:03 +0000 UTCHoly shit! This guy is a freaking legend!! So cool to hear about some old Sony lore! Great stuff, Colin.
jordan allen burton
2021-10-17 20:33:01 +0000 UTCThank you for your support!
Colin Moriarty
2021-10-16 17:10:23 +0000 UTCPlayed a few of the PixelJunk games in the PS3 days and just recently started Shooter again on PS4. Really enjoyed this interview and hearing his stories about the industry. Keep up the great work.
Myles Murray
2021-10-15 02:34:59 +0000 UTCWe'll get through this. I believe!
Colin Moriarty
2021-10-14 15:11:05 +0000 UTCIt's incredible. I couldn't (and would want to) do it.
Colin Moriarty
2021-10-14 15:10:54 +0000 UTCThis was super interesting to listen to. What a truly exciting and interesting time and place to work in the industry. Stories of moving between the US and Japan for work trigger something inside me. I’m really depressed that I am stuck in Australia with our Covid mad government. My options feel more limited than ever before.
Andrew
2021-10-14 01:54:25 +0000 UTCLiving abroad, especially in a non English speaking country is really cool. It's like hitting Reset on your life and getting a whole new 2nd life. Along with it there's this whole new "switch in OS" so to speak as you leave behind your home culture and assimilate. Going on my 7th or 8th(?) year now, engaged in South Korea.
Douglas Morreale
2021-10-14 01:16:53 +0000 UTCThanks for listening!
Colin Moriarty
2021-10-13 21:35:51 +0000 UTCFantastic interview…brings back alotta nostalgia when I think about some of the first “downloadable games” I experienced on PS3.
The Eclectic Gamer
2021-10-13 19:44:27 +0000 UTCYou're very welcome. Thanks for listening.
Colin Moriarty
2021-10-12 19:38:34 +0000 UTCThank you! We will.
Colin Moriarty
2021-10-12 19:38:20 +0000 UTCAwesome interview, Dylan has such a wealth of knowledge I’d love for him to return and talk in-depth about tech. I’m also one of those who played The Tomorrow Children beta and would love to see it return. Thank you for bringing his story to my attention!
Indra Hatton
2021-10-12 09:39:22 +0000 UTCLove these interviews! Keep them coming!
Jeffrey Petrie
2021-10-11 22:57:18 +0000 UTCThanks for listening!
Colin Moriarty
2021-10-11 14:49:43 +0000 UTCThank you.
Colin Moriarty
2021-10-11 14:49:37 +0000 UTCI remember learning about Dylan through Netflix’s High Score documentary series. This was a really great episode of SS+
Joshua Brown
2021-10-11 11:39:16 +0000 UTCI really enjoyed this. Dylan's story is interesting and I loved how open he was. Props to Colin here too, you really did a great job! You asked pertinent questions when needed but also knew when to sit back and let Dylan talk.
DMC
2021-10-11 10:49:42 +0000 UTCThank you. <3
Colin Moriarty
2021-10-11 01:58:53 +0000 UTCIf and when he gets The Tomorrow Children back, we'll go into it all in more detail! =)
Colin Moriarty
2021-10-11 01:58:47 +0000 UTCI don’t know this man but I LOVED this interview. Fascinated by his telling of the early days of PlayStation and the story of his own career. I wish it would have been 3 hours. So many more questions for him. Love this content!
Fernando
2021-10-11 00:03:36 +0000 UTCThanks for listening.
Colin Moriarty
2021-10-10 16:57:43 +0000 UTCColin, I loved this chat. I would love to hear more about the development history of both Hardware and software within PlayStation in future programmes
Carl Wallace
2021-10-10 16:55:23 +0000 UTCBeautiful pod. Thank you.
OrochiNewsTeam
2021-10-10 16:08:34 +0000 UTCThank you!
Colin Moriarty
2021-10-10 15:40:56 +0000 UTCHe's an OG.
Colin Moriarty
2021-10-10 15:40:51 +0000 UTCThanks!
Colin Moriarty
2021-10-10 15:40:47 +0000 UTCThank you. <3
Colin Moriarty
2021-10-10 15:40:44 +0000 UTCThank you. More coming!
Colin Moriarty
2021-10-10 15:40:40 +0000 UTChttps://twitter.com/dylancuthbert
Colin Moriarty
2021-10-10 15:40:23 +0000 UTCIs there a way we can follow this guy?
There’s No I in LLC
2021-10-10 15:11:51 +0000 UTCI absolutely adored this interview, it’s one of my favourite things you’ve done. I love hearing stories from the history of PlayStation so much. It’s such an exciting and fascinating time in the History of Gaming. More of this shit please ❤️
Shaun Wilkinson
2021-10-10 10:11:19 +0000 UTCFantastic! Great work again! Seriously loving these interviews.
Nathan Densley
2021-10-10 08:14:10 +0000 UTCThis was awesome. It’s so interesting to hear dev stories, especially from back in the day.
Neil Davis
2021-10-10 04:35:04 +0000 UTCCan tell how much you respect this guy. Never played Pixel-junk before. Gonna have to check it out now.
Brandon Soto
2021-10-10 02:26:33 +0000 UTCThis was a fantastic interview, especially if your a fan of PlayStation history. Keep up the amazing work Colin.
Garry
2021-10-10 01:11:51 +0000 UTCThank you!
Colin Moriarty
2021-10-10 00:24:38 +0000 UTCHope you enjoy. =)
Colin Moriarty
2021-10-10 00:18:38 +0000 UTCViktor
2021-10-09 22:34:23 +0000 UTCI've recently bought Eden 2 on the Switch... Can't wait to listen to this episode!
Eric Bushell
2021-10-09 16:02:07 +0000 UTC
