Mind Candy's offices in London are something to behold. Large, open, and more than a little bit welcoming, the firm's Shoreditch base was witness to BoB's 'hackers' shedding blood, sweat and tears in their quest to deliver a multitude of seven second games in just 48 hours.
They were also party to PocketGamer.biz brewing more than a few sneaky hot chocolate's from the office's luxurious coffee machine, too.
We caught up with Mind Candy's mobile tech lead Moo Yu the hack's more than gracious host for his take on how BoBHack went from his perspective.
Pocket Gamer: How did you originally get involved in hosting BoB's first game hack?
Moo Yu: When I realised I would actually launch [Yu's iOS release] Ring Fling.
I asked Andrew [John Smith of Spilt Milk Studios] if there was room for me in Best of British, and he welcomed me along to the next meeting. It turned out being the main planning meeting for the game hack.
I wasn't really involved in a big way until Will [Luton, of Mobile Pie] shot me an email saying they were looking for a venue.
I love the Mind Candy offices and thought it'd be a perfect fit for the jam so I started asking around to see what kinds of hoops I needed to jump through and what kinds of approvals I needed to get to make it happen.
Turns out the Mind Candy attitude is to just do it and make it awesome. So I tried to do that.
The atmosphere throughout was quite relaxed. Is this a trait of the indie scene, do you think?
I don't know if it was due to great planning or just by chance, but the combination of seven second games and a 48 hour game jam was perfect.
Whether you were a Unity 3D ninja or had never worked with it before, you could create a fun and reasonably polished game or two with time to spare. This let everyone have time to settle into their natural state of being cool and friendly.
I don't think I'd necessarily describe the indie scene as relaxed. I think there's just a huge amount of camaraderie in the mobile indie scene. All of us are making awesome games, but none of us has the secret formula. It just makes a naturally engaging and social environment.
We all admire each other and can't wait to listen and learn. On the flip side, we're all more than happy to help each other out in any way we can.
Moo gets to work while Spilt Milk's Smith fiddles with his face
How did you own input to the game work out?
I decided to only make one game because I was somewhat pre-occupied playing host. It's actually a mechanic I've wanted to work into something for ages so I'm happy that I got to try it out.
I think it plays well, but not having an artist, I spent a lot of time making art that I'm not particularly proud of. I've definitely got a few tweaks to make and send to Alistair [Aitcheson], though.
Anyone else's game catch your eye?
I've always been a big fan of the Big Pixel team and I thought the trampoline and synchronised swimming games looked and played great.
The stand out for me, though, was the rowing game from the Future Games of London team. Before I even had my computer set up to start coding, it was already looking better than anything I was going to make over the weekend.
The hackers, pretending to 'work'
What's your take on the Best of British movement overall? Some suggest it's almost operating as an 'anti-trade body'...
To be honest, I haven't thought about it too much. I'm a relatively new member and still trying to figure out the dynamics.
The thing I'm certain of is that it's currently composed of a group of people who I'm constantly inspired by and love hanging out with.
I hope that in some little way, Best of British helps align quality and hard work with success in the universe, but I'll be satisfied if it I just get to kick it with cool people every now and then.
Can you imagine Mind Candy playing host to any further events down the line?
Mind Candy is a really cool company without excessive rules. As long as there's someone who believes in something and can run with it, they're pretty happy letting them do so.
I definitely believe in Best of British and wouldn't mind sacrificing my hygiene again for the cause.
Thank to Moo for his time.
You can find out more about Moo's games on his website. You can also find out more about Mind Candy here.
