At first glance, Ivan Kiss After the place He seems to have traveled back in time from the late 1980s. A 2D top-down pixelated adventure game filled with blocky characters, flashy music and retro fonts. If you’re into modern games — and Kice was very much so — it sounds like an interesting visit from an old friend.
“I grew up playing these games,” Keyes said. “I always carried them. And I was the kid who saw a pit cover and thought, ‘That must be the entrance to a prison.’
But for all the longing, After the place It is a very modern game. It’s fast, fluid, incredibly easy to pick up, and has an incredibly huge map. The characters are They look like 1989 but talk like 2023, especially with a sarcastic vending machine that delivers random jokes and a friendly rabbit that offers advice. (Example: “If you think something is going to attack you, don’t be there anymore. Like, stay away.”)
It’s especially impressive when you realize that Keyes is the game’s sole designer, developer, and artist. He started making video games at the age of 11, studied software engineering in college and took a few game design courses. But mostly, he taught himself along the way. “Actually, I’ve just watched a lot of tutorials,” he says. “YouTube is how I learned art, sound, music, and basically everything that wasn’t programming or game design.”
The game is also brilliantly designed for mobile with one-finger controls that make it easy to explore. Tap to interact with something or cut your way out of trouble. Or tap and drag anywhere on the screen to move. In fact, one of Keyes’ first design decisions was to rely on touchscreen interaction instead of drawing controls on the screen. “I wasn’t a fan of virtual buttons or D-pads,” Keys said. “I’ve played a lot of games like this, and I’ve often gone in a direction I didn’t want to. And I personally enjoyed playing with one thumb while standing somewhere.
That motif of simplicity informed the relationship between hero and foe. “Some games have simple enemies, but you’re complex,” he says. “After the place You have simple but complex enemies. When you go to something, you say, ‘What does this person do? I need to know this.’ That’s your whole job. You’re so wrapped up in trying not to break your face that you don’t bother doing double back flips.
I wasn’t a fan of virtual buttons or d-pads. And I personally enjoy playing with one thumb while standing somewhere.
Ivan Kise After the place Creator
Enemies are hidden everywhere After the place Huge worlds. Stairs extended in all directions; The humble library looks like a secret multi-level maze. “I loved it as the game went on,” Keyes said. “I was fascinated by the idea that one game could encompass an entire country.”
He was also fascinated by ancient heroes and villains. “All the characters in the After the place They are the same solution as the characters in my favorite childhood games,” he says. “I really, really liked those characters. But they were only static images; They faced each other with blank stares. As a kid, I used to think, ‘I wish they would do more than just stand there and say a line of dialogue.’ He argued himself inspired After the place To see how revealing the wine decision can be. “They are so revealing!” He laughs.
After the place The character encourages players to be more strategic with their attacks in his wisecracks, “You never know how many Dunderheads you can swing at a monster. The game’s music – which Keys wrote and performed – starts out in an 8-bit style but eventually expands to become more orchestral, a technique he takes from the game. Contempt. “If you start the game with a retro sound, then bring out a string quartet or horror violins, it’s more impactful,” he says. “The rest of the game will probably have three tunes. I pretend I’m a cool designer using leitmotifs, but this is the most melodic I can think of.”
Never a fan of Kice-designed entryways After the place On board to bring the players straight into the action. “I love story in games, but I always skip those intros. I haven’t invested yet,” he says.
After the place It also offers accessibility options that allow players to adjust text scale, camera shake rate, contrast, and more. There’s even an invincibility mode if players really have trouble with those monsters. It’s all part of a strategy to appeal to anyone, regardless of their video game history – if they have one.
I love story in games, but I always skip those intros.
Ivan Kise After the place Creator
“After the place It’s great,” he said. “Maybe for people who don’t play games on mobile. But if it helps bring more people into gaming, I think that’s great.”
Learn more about Afterplace
Download Afterplace from the App Store
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