It is the dream of so many gamers, being awarded with a Golden Joystick from the GamesMaster. Fans of the cult 90’s show have been treated to three new episodes with the hope of more to come later next year. But for one game developer that dream has been realised after they were awarded a special Golden Joystick for helping out in the new show. In the final episode of the new mini-series, Quang and his crew at Asobitech were tasked to create a new game from scratch. It sounds straight forward but the GamesMaster, currently occupied by Trevor McDonald, had other ideas.
The GamesMaster challenged the team to make a game with all the gameplay features suggested by kids. Yes, you can imagine asking a young child what they want to see in a video game. The full video is below and makes for very fun viewing. The team, after listening to the suggestions, had 72 hours to piece together the game. After the short development time Bouncing Bum Bums was born and you can play it right now. I chatted to Quang about his experience and his upcoming game D*Fuzed.
Normally, Golden Joysticks are awarded to players who complete a challenge from the GamesMaster. So this one has set a new precedent that may mean other Golden Joysticks being awarded in the future. When asked about the special award Quang admits he was surprised about it.
‘We are elated to get a Golden Joystick. We didn’t actually know that we would be getting one. We went into the GamesMaster Game Jam with the intention to make the best game we could, for the kudos of being part of GamesMaster. We were all kids who had grown up watching the original show. So the surprise of actually receiving one was immense.’
It is not just the award itself that makes this story great. Quang was invited, at short notice, to develop a game after GamesMaster contacted indiegamejams.com.
‘The wonderful Jupiter Hadley, who runs Indie Game Jams was contacted by GamesMaster to put forward people that would be suitable to do a 72hr Game Jam at very short notice. She tweeted out, and we answered, with a full team ready to work.’
When quizzed about the challenge of putting Bouncing Bums Bums together Quang explains that it was impossible to include everything.
‘So we wanted to include as many, if not all, of the ideas the kids came up with. It was such unfiltered, raw, imagination. But due to the 72 hour time limit, some things had to give, like the Ostrich who’s back you could ride on. We purposely made sure it would run on a mobile device with a touch screen, as well as keyboard controls, so as many people as possible could play it, We made it so you don’t actually die, you just splat and respawn, so that anyone of any skill level could play it and enjoy it.’
And when asked about how much this means to him, the full time game developer has no hesitation in putting it at the top.
‘Come on, it’s GamesMaster! Our segment is now the most viewed GamesMaster video on the E4 YouTube channel with 483K views at this moment of writing.’
The fun does not stop there either. Quang has a new game in the works for the Game Boy Color called D*Fuzed. It is a puzzle game featuring Deef, a bomb disposal robot, trying to save his friends. The game is currently up for pre-order with a release scheduled for February 2022. described as a turn-based logic puzzle game, where just one wrong move might be your last. You must defuse the bombs to recharge your battery, avoid the explosions, and look out for other hazards along the way!
Summing up his thoughts on his time on the GamesMaster Quang says ‘gaming is for everyone. It is wonderful to have new Gamesmaster TV show episodes, which have the heart of the original show, and show how far as an entertainment medium we have come. If you want more of it, go watch the episodes and share them with everyone.’
And I concur, go and watch the new GamesMaster as it is fantastic. Thank you to Quang for taking the time to chat with me.
Retro Faith 