The world of game development is a world filled with unique tales and personal stories. And we’re not just talking about the wide range of endlessly creative projects that see the light of day on a daily basis, but also the brilliant minds that will these titles into existence. Our series of game developer interviews began with a simple goal in mind: to introduce you to some of the most wonderfully creative people of the industry, and to learn a bit about their personal experiences and perspectives while working in this field.
It’s shaping up to be an exciting journey, and we’d love to have you along for the ride — so, without further ado, let’s dive right in.
We have quite a special treat for you with our latest interview, as it focuses on the creator of a point & click adventure game that, in our humble opinion, manages to beautifully channel the spirit of the genre's golden age with its imaginative plot, great voice acting and gripping storytelling beats. Today, we're chatting with Dave Lloyd from Powerhoof, the team that brought you the pulp adventure thriller The Drifter.
First things first: could you please introduce yourself for our readers?
My name's Dave Lloyd, I'm one half of Powerhoof – an indie dev duo from Melbourne, Australia. And I've been spending the better part of the last 6 years working on The Drifter!
From the visual style of the game to the eye-catching font of the title, everything about The Drifter seems reminiscent of oldschool mystery thriller novels and movies. You mention “King, Crichton and Carpenter, with a dash of 70s Aussie grindhouse” as some of the game's inspirations, but do you have any specific titles that had a particularly strong impact on you?
I really loved binging 70s B movies and trashy thriller novels when coming up with the story. Andromeda Strain and Prey were big influences on the plot, that techno-thriller combination of modern setting with an injection of sciency sci-fi. The raw, violent urban setting and amazing soundtrack of Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13 was a good touchstone for style. And I couldn't help but try to inject a little of the supernatural vibes the Stephen King does so well. I think it's hard to find “Aussie” feeling games that aren't all about cartoon kangaroos, but Ozploitation (70s Australian new-wave cinema) was a great inspiration: the most famous example being Mad Max, but the over-the-top cheesiness of The Long Weekend, and the unsettling horror of Wake In Fright were a couple among many that really stood out to me.
Judging by your work on The Drifter, as well as various smaller projects like Alluvium, Peridium, The Telwynium and more, you seem to have a unique fondness for point & click adventure games. Can you tell us a bit about your history with the genre, and how it's influenced you over the years?
I grew up in the 80s/90s with a PC as the primary way I played games. Played everything, but point 'n clicks were always the highlight for me. I was in it for the story. And that never really went away – even playing Doom or something, wanting to “see what happens” was always what kept me playing. I still think no other genre really merges gameplay and story as well as point 'n clicks, so I've always sought them out.
What inspired you to get into game development?
The first games I ever made were point 'n clicks- back in the early 2000s. That was a dry period for the genre, but the slack was picked up by the freeware community (long before the term “indie” was coined). So I was playing a bunch of those when I discovered a lot were made in a tool called Adventure Game Studio. I tried it out, stuck some photos in and got a character walking around my back yard, and I was hooked. Been making games ever since.
What would you say has been the biggest challenge you've had to face while working on your game?
Really just the time everything takes: pushing the production values on a longer game like this just meant that every scene took seemingly forever to finish. Things really didn't scale linearly up from the smaller adventure games I've made. My main goal for the future is definitely to get games out faster. Don't think I could take another production cycle this long, it really starts to get to you!
What is the one thing that you believe every game developer should be aware of?
There's always time for game jams! It's a mistake to get so head down in a big project that you don't make time for them, but they only take a few days, you learn so much, and they really remind you why you wanted to make games in the first place. I think I would have gone crazy if I hadn't taken breaks to do a bunch of little things while making The Drifter.
In your opinion, what is needed for a game to be recognized by the gaming public? What will make people pay attention to the project?
Hooks are where it's at. It's something I had to think about a lot for The Drifter. Point 'n clicks aren't exactly the “coolest” genre. And really my goal was just “make a good point 'n click”. So there's no hook there. And story is never a good hook on its own in a game. I ended up leaning on a core pillar of it being a “fast paced take on a point 'n click”. That set it apart and gave me something to talk about.
Do you have any words for aspiring game developers?
Start small and specific. Don't make a game for “gamers”. Make a game for your brother, your housemate, your mum. You'll have a lot more fun and you won't get stuck taking forever to make it “good enough”. Because they don't care, you're just trying to make them smile!
If you could go back in time, what would you tell your past self? Is there anything you'd do differently?
I think I’d have to keep it a secret that The Drifter's taken 6 years... I'd have given up then! But maybe I needed to just try to accept it takes as long as it takes and not sweat it, enjoy the process.
Finally, could you tell our readers where they can follow you and your work if they’d like to stay up to date with any future developments?
Yeah, follow me on Bsky and jump on our Discord and say hi- especially if you wanna chat game dev.
Make sure to also check out our previous indie dev interviews, as well as our very own review of The Drifter!
