M64 Focus | James Patton (Indie Game Developer) -

James Patton: (Indie Game Developer)

Name/Known Alias: James Patton.

Occupation: Solo developer.

Best Known for/Notable Works: If you have heard of me, it’s probably Silicon Dreams.

Fun Fact: I have two cats.

How did you make your break into the industry: I ran a Kickstarter back when that was a viable way into the industry.

Favourite Projects to have Worked on: I really enjoyed working on The Hidden Isle, which is this tarot-based tabletop RPG. I love working on Silicon Dreams because it felt groundbreaking. I also did some writing for a game called Star Dynasties, and that was lovely because all I had to do was write and do narrative design, and somebody else had to worry about all the production stuff.

Hardest Projects to have Worked on: I think the hardest one was the game after Silicon Dreams that got cancelled. It was very ambitious. It was in full 3D.

It was the most challenging coding thing I’ve ever worked on. The most challenging in terms of interlocking game design. I think I could have got it working, but I would have needed more time.

Currently Working on: Duskpunk, a narrative RPG in a dark steampunk city.

Currently Playing: Baldur’s Gate 3, because it went on sale so I can finally afford it. And I’m also testing and playing Expelled, which is an upcoming game by Inkle.

Currently Watching: I’m currently re-watching season one of Arcane so that I can have my heart broken all over again in season two.

Defining Career Moment: I mean, I kind of hope that Duskpunk will be the defining career moment.

I’ve had some financial success with Spinnortality. I had some chances to stretch my limbs creatively with The Hidden Isle and Star Dynasties. And I got some critical notice and acclaim with Silicon Dreams.

Like John Walker said, it was fantastic, for example. But I think Duskpunk is the first game where I hope to kind of unite all those threads.

Throughout your career, of the many things you have since learned, is there anything you wish you knew at the beginning: Hire artists, because you’re not one and your games look like ****.

If you had the opportunity to work with any IP, what would it be: I would love to work with Dune, the sci-fi universe, because it’s such a rich, deranged universe with so many bizarre actors with so many bizarre motivations. I’m a huge fan of the universe and I’d love to be involved in it somehow.

There’s a number of games set in the Dune universe. There was Dune, the adventure game from like 1991, and then Dune 2 was the first RTS, basically. And now there’s a Dune, a real-time, up-to-date Dune RTS, and they’re making an MMO set on the desert planet of Dune, which I’m very interested in.

But I’d love to make a political intrigue simulator in Dune, because I think that would be incredible. And I think that’s kind of the core of the whole universe, is that intrigue. And I think it would be a great chance to redefine what a political intrigue game even is.

Is there anyone you haven’t worked with yet, but would like to: I’d really like to work with the folks at Inkle. They make narrative games. I really look up to them. I regularly, well, semi-regularly email John Ingle, one of the studio founders and heads.

But I’d love to work with them sometime, because I think the work they do is fantastic, and I think it will be a fantastic time.

For fans of your work, who’d like to get in touch and stay up to date with all the latest news, what are the best places for them to reach you on: So, if you just want to send a message, then you should go to clockworldbird.net, and there’s a contact form there, and I’m pretty good at answering that. If you want to follow the latest news, I think probably, well, you should sign up to my newsletter at clockworldbird.net, because that, I push any, if there’s any big news, then I will definitely send it out there.

And if you just want to kind of follow me for the odd little update, or like sneak peeks into art or whatever, probably the best place is Blue Sky. I’m there as James Patton, with no space, yeah. So that’s probably the best place.