Welcome to another edition of Developer Diaries! We've been speaking to Alfie Wilkinson, the young developer behind Egglien, a game that won BAFTA's Young Game Designer Award in 2022!
START OFF BY INTRODUCING YOURSELF
Hi! My name is Alfie Wilkinson, I’m a game developer from England releasing games under my company Spacespy Games.
Last year I won a BAFTA (British Academy of Film & TV Awards) Young Game Designer award for my game Egglien and ever since I’ve been actively making my way into the games industry.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO GAME DEVELOPMENT AND WHAT DREW YOU TO CONSTRUCT?
Like a lot of kids, during lockdown, I was trying to find something to do. I was playing a lot of games at the time, and it got me more interested in figuring out how they’re made. After watching creators like Nick of Vimlark and Zayne of Let’s Talk Game Design I saw they were using Construct 3 and it seemed like the best option for visual scripting as someone that was frightened by code at the time and just wanted to make games.
YOU WON THE BAFTA YOUNG GAME DESIGNER COMPETITION IN 2022, HOW WAS THAT AS AN EXPERIENCE?
I made Egglien for a game jam in February and learned about the Young Game Designer Awards from a finalist I met at a convention around the same time. I then spent about two weeks total on the game including the week for the original game jam I entered it in for.
YGD later emailed me saying I was a finalist for the competition, by which point the full game I planned for Steam was almost finished, so it was all good timing.
There was then a live premiere where I found out I’d actually won the competition and since then I’ve had multiple visits up to BAFTA HQ in London where I’ve been able to showcase my work and network with industry professionals.
On top of that, at this year’s Develop:Brighton conference, (one of the UK’s best gamedev events) I gave a talk about my journey and met loads of talented people. Plus, Egglien is being displayed at both the London and Manchester science museums, playable alongside the best of video games. I even co-presented a BAFTA to Vampire Survivors for best game design! I’ve since been helping inspire other people into making games in any way I can.
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT EGGLIEN, YOUR WINNING ENTRY?
Egglien is a fast, action platformer about the development and eventual destruction of Earth. You play as the Egglien, Asteri - who’s been chosen as the prophecy that’ll save Earth and un-corrupt it. Unfortunately, evil alien forces hear the news and everyone’s out to stop Asteri in her tracks.
It was made in a few months (2-3) and features 40 levels and 5 bosses, including a Boss Rush mode for experienced players. I originally released it in August of 2022, but I was eager to get it on consoles too. After talking to a couple of publishers, I landed on Penguin Pop who helped get the game ported. The game has performed exceptionally well on consoles compared to my expectations and it shows the power of having a less saturated market.
ARE YOU WORKING ON ANY NEW PROJECTS? ANY PLANS FOR THE FUTURE OF SPACESPY GAMES?
I’ve got stuff on the horizon!
Nothing has been announced yet but I can promise it’ll be exciting, and I’ll still be using Construct for the time being. Though I’m exploring new engines for college, it will always be very close to my heart, and I’ll never stop using it!
DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR PEOPLE GETTING STARTED IN GAMEDEV?
Have fun!
That’s the most important part, a lot of people come into making games with big ambitions, but make sure to reach those goals one step at a time and enjoy yourself while you do it. Engines like Construct are such a cool way to make games and I couldn’t recommend it enough.
ANY FINAL THOUGHTS?
Huge thanks to the Construct Team for inviting me to do this, and allowing me to share my thoughts! I’ve had a rollercoaster ride since I started making games, and I hope I can help and foster new creativity.
Egglien is available on Steam and consoles and if you’re interested in following for updates you can find me in all these places.
Thank you so much for reading!