[Interview] Dean Elliott | Live and Let Dye with ChromaGun 2: Dye Hard

Dye dye again.

We recently had the chance to head to London ExCeL for MCM Comic Con x EGX, where we witnessed many cosplays, attended panels, purchased autographs and played various games. Having shortlisted several upcoming titles worth keeping an eye out for, we’ve since been catching up with the development teams behind said games and it is our pleasure to share these interviews with you.

In today’s interview, we are speaking with Dean Elliott of Pixel Maniacs, discussing all things ChromaGun 2: Dye Hard:

Dean Elliott | Live and Let Dye with ChromaGun 2: Dye Hard:

Miketendo64: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your role with Pixel Maniacs?

Dean Elliott: I’m Dean Elliott, a student in communication design and an intern in marketing at the studio!

Miketendo64: How did Pixel Maniacs first come about?

Dean Elliott: Pixel Maniacs came around the late 2000s (2010-2011) when Ben employed the first members of our studio and started working on apps – a very successful venture. Out of fun, they participated in the “Ludum Dare” game jam and that led to the prototype of our first game, ChromaGun. And it’s been games ever since!

Miketendo64: In what capacity are you involved with ChromaGun 2: Dye Hard?

Dean Elliott: I’m responsible for marketing ChromaGun 2 and making sure we hit our goals in potential player numbers.

Miketendo64: When did the development of ChromaGun 2: Dye Hard first begin and what inspired its creation?

Dean Elliott: After finishing Cant’t Drive This, and failing to find a publisher for Escape the Loop, the team wanted to make a sequel to ChromaGun. The aforementioned game jam had the theme of “an unconventional weapon” which ended up becoming the titular ChromaGun that we see in both games!

Miketendo64: Can you give us a brief overview of ChromaGun 2: Dye Hard? What kind of game is it and what is it about?

Dean Elliott: ChromaGun 2 is a first-person puzzle game where the player is locked in a seemingly endless series of testing chambers. They are expected to solve puzzles for the disembodied voice of ChromaTechs “unique” CEO, until all hell breaks loose leading the player to be on a constant race to solve tests for their life.

Miketendo64: Dye Hard is a great subtitle, please tell us there are more colorful puns to brighten up our day in Chromggun 2: Dye Hard?

Dean Elliott: Nope! That one took the wind out of our writer. No more color puns.

Miketendo64: Other than having a 2 in the title, is ChromaGun 2: Dye Hard a true sequel to Chromagun in the sense it carries on the original story, or is it the same world, just a different storyline and hero this time around?

Dean Elliott: It is a direct continuation of ChromaGun! Same protagonist, same ChromaTech, same Richard.

Miketendo64: Since we have returned to ChromaTec, how much does ChromaGun 2: Dye Hard differ from its predecessor?

Dean Elliott: It’s a much smoother experience. Since we moved from Unity to Unreal engine, there have been massive graphical upgrades, improvements to character motion. Not to mention, we listened to player feedback on Steam. We ensured that important quality of life features, like the ability to remove Paint from walls, were added to the game. In ChromaGun 2, you can remove paint from walls. Yay!

Miketendo64: As a game where colours are magnets, can you tell us a bit more about the game’s colour-blind accessibility mode and how it works?

Dean Elliott: CG2 expands on the first game’s noteworthy color-blind mode, which GMTK’s Mark Brown featured in his video on accessibility, and accessibility expert Ian Hamilton praised in his GDC talk. You can check out the GMTK episode here. Essentially, we give each colour an easily discernible, bold symbol that is seen directly on or above colorable objects. When they are mixed, the symbols combine. For example, red is a line, and yellow is a triangle. Orange is a triangle with a line going through it.

Miketendo64: Regarding content, since the previous ChromaGun game could be 100% completed within a 4 – 5 hour playthrough, how long do you reckon it will take for players to experience everything ChromaGun 2: Dye Hard offers?

Dean Elliott: About 8 hours, give or take.

Miketendo64: Since ChromaLabs advises players not to activate a portal to a parallel portal, naturally we’re going to ignore that instruction. What kind of antics can we expect when players have made it over?

Dean Elliott: Classic interdimensional chaos. Imagine taking two lego sets, and smashing them together.

Miketendo64: In terms of difficulty, how would you rank the puzzles of ChromaGun 2: Dye Hard compared to those featured in ChromaGun?

Dean Elliott: They’re definitely more layered, with way more mechanics, especially now that Unreal’s physics engine is now at play. I’d say they’re a good 33-50% harder than CG1 – especially in later chambers.

Miketendo64: What were some of the hardest puzzles you created for ChromaGun 2: Dye Hard and are there any tips you can share for those looking to check out the demo?

Dean Elliott: I’d say the hardest come at the later sections after the portal. One that I fought with a while was one in part 4 – where the sheer scale of the chambers lets your mind run wild. My tip? Keep your eye on the prize – escape. Be observant, and follow wires.

Miketendo64: Being as though you’re hard at work on ChromaGun 2: Dye Hard, could you see yourself doing any other ChromaGun titles, such as ChromaGun 3: Dye Harder, or will your team be moving on to something else for the time being?

Dean Elliott: Maybe. it definitely won’t be our next release, but it could be on the table.

Miketendo64: How was fan feedback to those who played the ChromaGun 2: Dye Hard demo at MCM London Comic Con x EGX?

Dean Elliott: Very positive. Testers had lots of fun playing, which was very motivating for the team.

Miketendo64: If you had to compare Chromagun 2: Dye Hard to any other game in terms of gameplay, overall theme or story, what would be its closest match?

Dean Elliott: The classic answer? Portal 2. I’ve seen Splatoon mentioned, but there’s no relation beyond that of a paint gun.

Miketendo64: Lastly, could you list all the platforms on which you hope to release ChromaGun 2: Dye Hard on?

Dean Elliott: Steam.

For more MCM Comic Con x EGX (October 2024) content, click here.

About ChromaGun 2: Dye Hard:

Shoot paint, mix colors, and solve puzzles in this adventure about friendship and redemption. Just don’t enter that portal to another universe, and ᴇᴠᴇʀʏTʜɪɴɢ will 𝐛𝐞 ᴘEʀ𝐅𝓔ᴄᴛʟʏ 𝒇 𝔦 𝓃 ҽ . • °

Welcome to ChromaLabs↤’•ᵂᵉˡᶜome BACKᵗᵒ ᶜʰʳᵒᵐᵃᵀᵉᶜ░𝐻𝑜𝓌𝒹𝓎!░You wondrous little creature. Don’t 𝓦𝓞ℛℛႸ!░ ░ Everything ↤░↤\𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕣𝕖 ░•Ɨ𝓉’ˢ absolutely↤𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕗𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕝𝕪•░░░ SAFE ↤ ░░🅻🅸🅴🆂!░ 𝔫ｏŤ 𝐬ⒶＦε is normal. The uni░IT⅃UM↤verse ░is░𝔂Ø𝔲尺 ˢάғ𝔢𝓣𝐘↤ NOT AT RISK ░ᴚƎ⅁N∀ᗡ NI ↤.

Welcome to ChromaTec — Here at ChromaTec, colors are magnets! Well, not exactly. Magnetoid Chromatism — a physical property of the pandimensional realm — is a bit more complex than that. In layperson’s terms: Walls attract objects of the same color. All kinds of objects! Like large boxes. Or small boxes. Or large crates. Or super-safe, friendly, decidedly non-murderous WorkerDroids*. (list not exhaustive)

*WorkerDroids may be less non-murderous than previously implied.

Use your refined painting- and color-mixing skills to voluntarily solve intricate puzzles on the ChromaTec Testing Track for ChromaGun Research Purposes, Mark II — aka ChromaGun 2. Please note the following are NOT valid reasons for non-participation:

• Not having participated in the Testing Track Mark 1 (i.e. ChromaGun 1; No prior knowledge necessary)
• Color-blindness (A color blind accessibility mode is available at no extra charge)
• Fear of birds (except chickens)
• Fear of magnets (They’re colors, not magnets)
• Fear of being involuntarily forced to perform tests on an experimental color-based firearm (this will never happen)

ChromaTec wants you to know that there is a compulsory awareness of the following informative disclaimer:

• Not solving tests as instructed is not advised.
• Breaking the ChromaGun is not ADv↤ised.
• Activating a 𝕡ⓞRTal to a parallel ALTERNATEʀᴇᴀʟ_ɪᴛʏUNI°VERSE ·.·IS NoT adv░𝓘𝓢𝓔𝓓↤..•

Welcome to ChromaLabs — ChromaLabs is the universe’s foremost, and ONLY manufacturer of the patented ChromaGun. Our world-class engineers are all █████████████ free ███████████████ and █████████████████ motivated ███████████ to ████████████████████████ ensure that our testing grounds meet the following criteria:

• Tests are unbreakable: No constant restarting of test chambers necessary
• Removable paint: Painting and mixing is fine, but undoing it is even better.
• Three dimensions: Where other test chambers are merely 2D in nature, ours are not.
• Advanced puzzles: Physics puzzles, advanced paint ↤mechanics, ¤and_even •░ᵗŴⓄ 𝔲𝐍𝐈𝔳𝔢Ř𝓢ｅ𝓈░pɐɥ ǝuO░𝐼 𝓬𝐚ภｎ𝐨t Ⓔ𝓍ι𝔰t𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 un⅁ɐɯoɹɥƆ ░𝒶 𝒷𝒶𝒹 𝒻𝑒𝑒𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉¿¿sıɥʇ Į𝐧 𝐓ｈＥ Ş𝐀๓𝒆 𝕣𝑒𝓪𝕝ᎥţЎ ɟo ░ǝuou

We hope you enjoy your (░𝙚𝙥𝙞𝙘•α∂νєηтυяє】 brief 𝓅𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓈𝒶𝓃𝓉 participation in the 𝕧𝕠𝕝𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕪 Testing Track.

See you on the other side.