WRITTEN BY
CRAIG GRANNELLf you’re an aficionado of retro-
infused mobile gaming, you’re likely
aware of Neutronized. If not, you
should be. This tiny one-man studio,
founded by Gionathan Pesaresi, is
a regular supplier of arcade joy, from Drop
Wizard’s frenetic single-screen larks to epic
side-scrolling platformer, Super Cat Tales 2.
A decade in, we decided to find out what makes
Neutronized tick.
Unsurprisingly, given the retro stylings of
Neutronized output, old-school gaming is in
Pesaresi’s blood. Many of his early memories
involve classic DOS titles like Prince of Persia
and Lucasfilm graphic adventures – “I loved the
humour, and trying to solve a difficult puzzle
right before I had to catch the bus to school!”- but also coin-op classics. “I was mesmerised
by sprites in games like Street Fighter II,” he says,
“and had already started to wonder how to
create such animated images.”
GAME ON
Additional early gaming experiences further
informed the young Pesaresi’s subsequent
path. With Duke Nukem, he used the Build
engine to fashion new level maps. Then a mix
of emulation and handhelds opened up a
world of Japanese video games. RPGs taught
Pesaresi the value of developing a bond with a
title’s stories and characters. “But Kirby’s Dream
Land 3 had the biggest impact,” he remembers.
“It matches what I most love about video games- peaceful environments and relaxing gameplay
- and influenced me the most as a creator. It’s
the one game I’ll take if I’m to be stranded on a
desert island.”
As Pesaresi reminisces about his school days,
you feel he was always somehow destined to
I
The one-man indie
studio at ten
As Neutronized celebrates its first
decade, we find out what it takes
to be an indie on mobile – and
the challenges ahead18 / wfmag.cc
Neutronized: the one-man indie studio at tenInterface
It turns out you don’t need to be a major
corporation to issue figurines. This one of Alex
from Super Cat Tales is just about purr-fect.