Go On, Ask Me Anything

Sooo... it's not all that long, is it?

Okay, I admit that my original plan (way back in 2002) was more along the lines of the traditional forty-hour epic adventure. But you know what? I'm glad that I was forced to cut that by about thirty-nine hours, in order to get a game out. I actually like it when games can be finished in one or two sittings. It was great to have to work out what was really worth leaving in the game, what was actually important. Play expecting a ‘short story’ rather than a ‘novel’, and you'll probably enjoy the game a lot more.

Okay, what's with the graphics?

Well, if you're just looking at the screenshots, try playing the game - it does look better in motion. I was going for a sort of ‘moving story book’ vibe. But okay, I'm no Raymond Briggs. I'll work with pros in future, honest!

I'm stuck. How can I get past this certain bit in the game?

The first thing to do is to try asking another character in the game for help. I know some of them are downright rude, but usually there'll be someone who can give some advice. Other than that, you're welcome to contact me with any specific questions. I'm pretty sure I've managed to get back to everyone who has asked. However, I may put up a walkthrough or hints at some time in the future. I know not everyone wants to email the author when they get stuck.

I liked the game. Can I translate it into my native language?

Aw, I just hate to say it, but not at the moment. I've had to turn down a few lovely people who have offered to translate the game into languages like French, Brazilian Portuguese, and Italian.

It's not that I have anything against those languages or any others - far from it! It's just that so much of the humour and story of Nathan's Second Chance rest on the careful presentation of the words. I would want to work very closely with a translator (and be fairly confident in the target language itself) to capture the essence of the game in another language.

I see a lot of tourists in my job, and many are amazed at how much better English-language movies and books are in their original English. I'm sure that I would say the same about (for example) Anne Holm if I was able to read Danish, or Borges if I could read Spanish. Translation is a tricky task, and even the very best can lose something of what was special about material in its native language.

I know this sounds rather negative, but I'm really not counting translation out for the future!

Will there be a Nathan's Second Chance 2?

Again, sorry to disappoint; I don't plan a sequel at this stage. Much as I'm fond of Nathan and the gang, I worked with them for almost three years in my spare time. I feel that I've got other games to make, and other stories to tell for the time being.

So what are your plans for the future?

I've been taking a bit of time out to study more programming (to make better games!), and to work on my other passions: music and songwriting. In fact, I'm hoping to be able to post some of my compositions to this very site before the end of the year.

But what about other games?

Don't worry, I've got lots of cool ideas for future projects. I'm mostly interested in narrative games, so most of what I make will be centred around characters and a story, like Nathan's Second Chance. However, there probably won't be another ‘classic’ graphic adventure, at least for a while; I'm keen to explore other play styles.