ChambersJudd: Ready Steady Bang

Hi guys, tell us about Ready Steady Bang. What was the inspiration behind it?

It’s a super simple, super sexy Iphone/Ipad game. We wanted to create a game that focuses on the character, choosing to avoid mathematic based imagery such as physics engines and particle effects.

Whimsical games from the 1980s and 1990s like Lemmings and Cannon Fodder manage to negate their violent content by being utterly charming and that’s what we have tried to achieve with the cowboy in RSB.

Why did you decide to base it on cowboys?

Because of the guns and hats. The deaths would have been much less interesting without them. It was a toss-up between cowboys or pirates. If only we’d had RSB at that point to help decide the argument – alas we settled for a coin toss.

We understand there are 30 ways the cowboy can die, was it hard to come up with so many? Was that quite a weird few days at work?

Technically there are 31, although the 31st will probably never be seen as it is only unlocked when the player beats the final level. By nature animators are fixated with death and mortality so it was fairly easy to think of wild and wonderful ways for the cowboy to meet his maker. In fact, we hope to release more deaths as free updates in the near future!

How long did the app take from first idea to completion?

About two months from the initial spark. It was born out of a pub conversation in which we discussed numerous ideas. However, RSB seemed to tick all the right boxes, being simple and satisfying and it catered to our talents.

What are you working on next?

We hope to get the android version sorted alongside supporting the game with updates and new content. We want to keep the cowboy alive as we feel he is such a strong character. However, there have been discussions about a new game, – its working title is Project Dandelion and it may rear its head in 2012.