Let me tell you how a PlayStation in a Welsh recording studio sparked a three-decade journey into the rhythm-action genre. This is the birth of our upcoming game, Aaero2: Black Razor Edition, which is available now on PS5..
As the 90s came to an end, my band had just signed our first record deal and we were living at a recording studio in Wales, recording our first EP. One evening, with my guitar parts, the bass and drums already in the bag, the drummer and I noticed a PlayStation under the TV in the lounge. There were two games; Colin McRae Rally and PaRappa the Rapper. We played a lot of Colin McRae before deciding to give the other odd-looking game a go. That’s where it all started for me and rhythm games. I’ve been obsessed with video games since I was little. The revelation that playing music and playing video games had a crossover point was huge.
Entering the games industry
After relentless hustling and following the least orthodox route imaginable (Musician > Engraver > Tattoo Artist > Architectural 3D Artist > Video Game Artist) I landed my first game job as an environment artist at Codemasters. It was at Codemasters – the home of Colin McRae Rally – that I first worked with Dan. A brilliant programmer and I’m struggling to find the right words. Let’s go with ‘enigmatic eccentric’. The PlayStation 2 was brand new and the bleeding edge of gaming. It was such an exciting time to be making games.
B-Boy, PSP, and the music/game connection
In 2002, a group of six guys broke away from Codemasters and Rare to form a new studio called FreeStyleGames. They were working on an exclusive game for PlayStation 2 and PSP called B-Boy. The connection of music and gaming was irresistible. Dan and I migrated over. In addition to art, the B-Boy project and smaller team structure allowed me to get involved in the music/audio side of things as well as game design.
Guitar Hero and the golden age of rhythm gaming
Keeping with the Hip Hop vibe, we went on to make a DJ game which caught the attention of Activision and became DJ Hero. They asked if we could help make content for Guitar Hero. Yes. Yes I can! I hired a team of absolutely incredible musicians and designers. Some musicians at the time scoffed at Guitar Hero and suggested people should play a real guitar instead of wasting time on games, but we disagreed. It was introducing people to music they otherwise may not hear and letting them appreciate it on a whole new level.
The birth of Mad Fellows and Aaero
Dan and I left FreeStyleGames in 2013 to form Mad Fellows. While people often mention Rez when describing Aaero, and it was indeed one of my favourite games, it wasn’t the biggest influence. It was actually most inspired by Gitaroo Man. The use of analog sticks to trace the music comes from my love for iNIS’ timeless classic. I still keep my PSP to hand so I can have a blast through the songs every now and then.
Meeting Wired Productions
While showing an early version of Aaero in 2015 at EGX in London, we first met the guys from Wired Productions. As a massive fan of Arcade Paradise, I had been talking to Leo (Managing Director of Wired Productions and co-founder of Black Razor Records) about how much I loved the soundtrack. The authentic 90s tracks really captured the vibe of the era, and the opportunity to bring this music into Aaero2 as the Arcade Paradise Music Pack was a dream come true. The Lania Kea Music Pack just naturally flowed on from that, and at that point we realised Aaero2 had evolved into something new.
Full circle
Aaero2: Black Razor Edition represents the culmination of many years of experience in music games from both Mad Fellows and Wired Productions. Its release on PlayStation feels like a huge milestone in a three-decade-long personal journey as a gamer and game developer.
Aaero2: Black Razor Edition Is out now on PS5.