Interview with Jeff Evans

In this inspiring and informative post, we’ll be learning a lot from videogame designer Jeff Evans. He tells us about his passion for gaming, describes his current project, and offers advice for new creators.

About Jeff Evans:

Evans is a lifelong gaming enthusiast and entrepreneur. He started creating board games at an early age and transitioned that passion to computer games in his early teens. In 2003 he began creating video games professionally and in 2008 he combined his two passions together and started his first game development business called Antic Entertainment. Since then he has created 2 other video game businesses (Tiny Titan Studios and Doom Turtle), a Games and Hobby retail store with 2 locations (Mana Lounge) and a Pinball Shop and Arcade (Mana Pinball).

Jeff, when you were hired to work on Battlefield, did you have an inkling that this could spark a career path in video game design? At what point did you decide to venture out on your own as an entrepreneur?

I’ve wanted to make games ever since I was young. I remember writing ideas down on a letter, putting it in an envelope that I wrote Nintendo on and stuffed in the mailbox, hoping they would one day make a game like that. I didn’t even have a stamp or address on it. Woops. I was in Waterloo at the time I found out about Digital Illusions in London. I reached out, performed an art test and was hired within the week. It was a pretty exciting turn of events.

While I worked for a few companies I knew I always wanted to make my own games and in 2008 I took the chance at my first studio. Since then, I created a mobile studio called Tiny Titan Studios, and most recently Doom Turtle, where we focus on quality premium indie titles.

How long does a video game such as Ember Knights take to go from concept to market? Tell us about your source of inspiration. What helps you push through when a project seems stuck or impossible?

Video game production can be a strange thing with many variables to consider. The overall development time can be months to years depending on all the features and scope. With Ember Knights, it actually started as a completely different project on mobile.

As development went on we realized mobile wasn’t where we wanted to be nor the genre it was, so we made some major pivots and turned to the direction that it currently is now. From that point to initial early access launch was approximately 2 years.

I like to say game development is a rollercoaster of emotions. You can feel on top of the world one minute with the best idea breakthrough, then feel utterly defeated when it’s just not feeling right or the systems aren’t as connected as you’d like. You just have to keep plugging away solving one problem at a time until it starts to come together again.

Which is your all-time favourite videogame? In what ways has this influenced design choices for your own projects?

That’s always a tough one to answer. My youth consisted of playing a barrage of Nintendo, Super Nintendo and arcade games so a lot of my ideas are based around nostalgic memories of those.

That said, I’ve always been partial to the greats such as Zelda, Mario, Final Fantasy and the likes. I also can get into competitive gaming (albeit I’m not great) with games such as League of Legends, or Counterstrike. 

You’re a long time MTG player! Tell us about the vision behind The Mana Lounge. In a world saturated with screen-based interactions, are board games and RPGs making a comeback? What might this trend mean for videogame developers?

I’ve been a fan of MTG ever since I was a young boy. I remember having some basic cards back in the early 90s but it kind of fell off, until 2003 when I moved to London and a fellow developer introduced me to it again. I went in and out of phases and got back in heavy in 2019. I didn’t find a place to play that had the aesthetic that I was looking for now that I was a bit older so I put together a concept for a higher end experience and started it in the back half of our game development studio. 

Now more than ever, in person social time is integral to actually feeling connected with people. It’s easy to get sucked into your screen but it doesn’t just have the same satisfaction of sitting across or beside someone playing together and interacting in real time. 

Jeff, you’ve served as an industry advisor with Ontario Creates. What’s the most important thing people need to know before starting a grant application?

It’s a great process to force you to get your ducks in a row. The single piece of advice I would give is make sure you create the application with the perspective of the judges in mind and specifically their goals. The purpose of the grants are to support the Ontario economy and not necessarily to just help make a good game. Make a compelling case for bodies hired, jobs retained and have a good idea to back that up.

Which upcoming London, ON events should gaming enthusiasts attend? What resources do you recommend for Canadians looking to become part of videogame design and development?

It’s never been easier to get into game development. Almost every college offers courses now and there’s a plethora of tutorials online that can take the most inexperienced person through the process of making a small game.

From there, the sky is the limit with the only real factor being your time and resources. So start with a small idea, get it done and out, then try a little bigger one and keep building your experience.  

Jeff, tell us about your upcoming projects. What will we see from you next?

Doom Turtle is working on Welcome to Harmony, a brand new Deckbuilder Rogue-lite set in the late 80s of a podunk small town. The town has been ravaged by an interdimensional portal opening causing an explosion of weirdness. You and your friends must race through town and close the portal before it’s too late. Think Stranger Things meets Goonies in a card building experience. 

You can play the demo and wishlist it here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4447030/Welcome_to_Harmony/

Anything else you’d like to share in this interview?

I’ve been fortunate enough to pursue a career in a passion I’ve had my entire life. I would just say to the younger entrepreneurs reading this, don’t let anything stop you from finding and pursuing that for yourself. Even the smallest start can sometimes cascade and snowball into things you’ve never expected. Get connected to likeminded people and get working on your vision!

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Cover Image: Photo by Monica Silvestre on Pexels.com