Let me tell you how a PlayStation in a Welsh recording studio launched a thirty-year journey into the rhythm action genre. This is the birth of our game, Aaero2: Black Razor Editionwhich is now available on PS5..
As the ’90s came to an end, my band had just signed our first record deal and we were living in a recording studio in Wales recording our first EP. One evening, with the guitar, bass and drum parts already in the bag, the drummer and I noticed a PlayStation under the TV in the living room. There were two games; Colin McRae Rally and PaRappa the Rapper. We played a lot of Colin McRae before we decided to try another weird looking game. This is where it all started for me and rhythm games. I’ve been obsessed with video games since I was a kid. It was huge to discover that playing music and playing video games had something in common.
Entering the gaming industry
After constantly hustling and following the least orthodox path imaginable (musician > engraver > tattoo artist > 3D architectural artist > video game artist), I landed my first gaming job as an environmental artist at Codemasters. It was at Codemasters – the home of Colin McRae Rally – that I first worked with Dan. A brilliant programmer and I’m having a strenuous time finding the right words. Let’s move on to the “enigmatic eccentric”. PlayStation 2 was completely recent and a breakthrough in gaming. It was a really exhilarating time to make games.
B-Boy, PSP and music/game connection
In 2002, a group of six guys broke away from Codemasters and Rare to start a recent studio called FreeStyleGames. They were working on an exclusive game for PlayStation 2 and PSP called B-Boy. The combination of music and gaming was irresistible. Dan and I moved there. In addition to graphics, the B-Boy project and smaller team structure allowed me to get involved in music/audio as well as game design.
Guitar Hero and the golden age of rhythm games
Keeping with the hip-hop vibe, we created a DJ game that caught Activision’s attention and became DJ Hero. They asked if we could aid create content for Guitar Hero. Yes. Yes, I can! I hired a team of absolutely amazing musicians and designers. Some musicians at the time mocked Guitar Hero and suggested that people should play real guitars instead of wasting their time playing games, but we disagreed. It introduced people to music they might not have heard otherwise and allowed them to appreciate it on a whole recent level.
The birth of Mad Fellows and Aaero
Dan and I left FreeStyleGames in 2013 to start Mad Fellows. While people often mention Rez when describing Aaero, and it was indeed one of my favorite games, it didn’t have the biggest impact. He was actually most inspired by Gitaroo Man. The utilize of analog sticks to track music stems from my love for the timeless classic iNIS. I still have my PSP on hand, so I can play around with songs from time to time.
Wired Productions meeting
Showing an early version of Aaero in 2015 at EGX in London, we first met the guys from Wired Productions. As a huge fan of Arcade Paradise, I talked to Leo (Managing Director of Wired Productions and Co-Founder of Black Razor Records) about how much I enjoyed the soundtrack. Authentic 90s songs truly captured the spirit of the era, and being able to bring this music to Aaero2 in the form of the Arcade Paradise Music Pack was a dream come true. The Lania Kea music package just came out of that and at that moment we realized that Aaero2 had evolved into something recent.
Full circle
Aaero2: Black Razor Edition is the culmination of many years of music gaming experience from both Mad Fellows and Wired Productions. The game’s release on PlayStation feels like a milestone in a thirty-year personal journey as a gamer and game developer.
