Valet Hustle interview with dev Andrew Littlefield and the team

Andrew over at developers Factory Games has given some of his time to answer questions for us. As you’re probably aware Factory Games are the developers behind recent iPhone / iPod Touch title “Valet Hustle”, a game that features lead gay characters. Andrew is one of the founders of Factory Games, a San Francisco company who state their objectives are to produce enjoyable videogames, expand the range of stories and characters that are associated with videogames and to give back to the communities from which they have drawn inspiration.

How did Factory Games get started?
Factory Games has gone through a couple of incarnations, the latest started with Eli (our lead engineer) and myself just talking over lunch about game ideas that we thought might be cool. I came up with Valet Hustle, he came up with a physics game based on escape velocities of planets (as I said he’s an engineer) . In the end we agreed that his idea might be just a little too geeky for the general population.

How did Factory Games come up with the idea to release a game featuring gay protagonists?
Most human videogame characters cater teenage boys where they have to fit into what is considered “cool” or even more specifically “not gay”. So we decided that we’d create some characters that would appeal to a more open and adult audience.

Did you expect any sort of backlash for doing so?
I take a very moderate stance on this one. Yes I expected a backlash, and decided that the bigots can go fuck themselves.

Lulu and Andrew, where did you draw your inspiration from when developing the characters?
Andrew: I just borrowed personality traits wholesale from my friends. Ren is based very heavily on Lulu and Akira’s first lover in New York is based on my friend Michael.

Lulu: I tended to draw from personal experience, especially after the odd conversation where Andrew told me that he wanted to base a videogame character on me.

Will Factory Games be releasing further gay friendly titles in the future?
Definitely, although look for us to put a twist on things in our new games.

We hear there may be 4 additional add-ons to Valet Hustle, is that right and if so will these feature new characters or flesh out the characters of Ren and Akira further?
There will be more level packs that include new gaming elements and the backstory will move beyond just establishing Ren and Akria’s sexuality. However we do want to explore the issues around the lack of civil rights for gay and lesbian couples in many states in the US.

We’re also going to be introducing new music packs to give exposure to various musicians from San Francisco and New York. Plus we’re going to be indulging our geeky side and introduce a “Tron” version of out current levels.

Why do you believe there aren’t more games featuring gay and lesbian characters?
As I mentioned before, most games are targeted at teen boys and they largely regard “gay” as a term of derision. That said, if Valet Hustle does well, who knows perhaps a few more companies will follow our lead.

Why did you choose the iPhone as your platform of choice and will you be expanding onto other platforms?
The demographics for the iPhone is dramatically different from the current consoles. It has largely adult demographic generally centered around dense urban centers that tend to be more liberal.

Otherwise we’ll definitely port to the iPad, we already have a working version on of Valet Hustle running on the iPad simulator.

We’d like to port to other platforms, consoles are probably out, but Facebook looks like an interesting opportunity.

To each of the team, what are your favorite games and favorites consoles?
I have a list about a page long from Eli so I’ll just give you the start: Games: Conkers Bad Fur Day or Metroid Prime II, Super Metroid, Super Smash Bros, Zelda Ocarina of Time, Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem, Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, Master of Orion II, Dark Castle, Castles: Siege and Conquest, Majesty.
Console: N64

Andrew: Games: Tempest, Daytona, Sega Rally, Call of Duty 1, Bomb Jack, just about everything by Shigeru Miyamoto. I’m currently playing Tekken 6 and Wii Sports Resort.
Console: Sega Saturn

Lulu is strictly old school: Games: Pole Position, Ms Pacman.
Console: Atari 2600.

And to each of the team, our “Rove” question:
Who would you turn gay for? (and if you happen to be gay who’s your ideal partner (real or fictional).

Great, most of my team have backed out of this question as they don’t want any hassle from their respective spouses.

Lulu: A cross between Amy Sedaris and Penelope Cruz.

Andrew: This is a difficult one! Famous person: Johnny Depp from the first part of the movie Blow. Not famous: My wife likes to take the piss out of me for having a “man crush” on one of my gay friends; who it has to be admitted is stupidly good looking. However I’m not mentioning any names to protect the innocent (specifically me).

Eli: Robert Downey Junior.

One last question….
Andrew, you look pretty out of shape in the press photos, have you considered exercising?
The press photos add about 60 pounds, in real life I look like Brad Pit but with better skin.

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We’d like to thank the team at Factory Games for taking time out of parking an insane amount of cars to answer our burning questions. We’re looking forward to seeing what these guys come up with in the future.

• You can read our Valet Hustle review here.
• Or check out the coverage we had prior to the review here, which includes a trailer.

One Response to “Valet Hustle interview with dev Andrew Littlefield and the team”

1. Thefremen says:

   April 13, 2010 at 6:45 pm

   Heh, cool interview. On the porting front, I actually think it’s odd we don’t see more games from the iphone/ipad making their way to facebook and such, seems like a good fit.