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It’s been about two weeks since I (Robin Ek, TGG) wrote about Nick Gregory’s upcoming adventure/platform game “Eagle Island” (the game will be released to Windows, MAC and Linux in mid 2018), and during that time quite a lot of positive things have happened. Right of the bat, “Eagle Island” got greenlited on Steam Greenlight just recently, and the game has managed to collect £6,200 out of £20,000 on Kickstarter (with twenty more days to go). Furthermore, our readers and viewers requested that they would like to see us do an interview with Gregory about “Eagle Island”. Well, done and said 😉

So, I hope that you will enjoy my interview with Nick Gregory =)

“Eagle Island” really does look like a mix of “Yoshi’s Island”, “Super Metroid” and “The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse”.

Robin TGG
Would you be so kind and introduce yourself and your team to our readers?

Gregory
I’m Nick Gregory (designer, programmer, artist) from Hampshire, England. I’m developing Eagle Island and hope to work alongside Deryk Buckarev (artist), Jackelyn Bautista (concept artist), Johan Hargne (composer) and Helen Harvey (writer) subject to a successful Kickstarter campaign!

Robin TGG
When, where, how and why did you get into video game development?

Gregory
I’ve loved video games since a very young age, starting out with an Atari 2600 and promptly upgrading to a SNES. I’ve always been fascinated by the possibilities and started developing my own (bad) games as a teenager over 15 years ago. I used easy-to-learn software such as Multimedia Fusion to learn programming basics before moving into “real” programming in my twenties. University and work life got in the way of my dreams a little, but I’m back on development and more ambitious than ever!

Believe it or not, but you actually use an owl as a weapon in “Eagle Island”.

Robin TGG
What other games have you worked on before you presented “Eagle Island” to the world?

Gregory
As a teenager, I worked on a plethora of mini online arcade games. None of them were good, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. As I learned a lot by creating prototypes and unfinished games between then and now. So now I have the knowledge and skills to make a decent-sized game, and here I am with Eagle Island!

Robin TGG
Now, let’s talk about your current project “Eagle Island”. How did you come up with the idea and concept for that game? And have you had thoughts on making that game for a long time?

Gregory
It was originally based on Rogue Legacy. I morphed it with a few other games I like, including Yoshi’s Island and ended up with Eagle Island. It’s now structured very differently from any game I’ve ever played, a bit like a bunch of mini rogue-likes all bundled one after another with permanent progression between each one. I’ve been working on the game for two years now.

Robin TGG
Is there a story to be told how you came up with the name “Eagle Island”? And did you have a long list of other names before you nailed down that particular name?

Gregory
I had a long, long list of names, and the game also went through a lot of themes. The very first idea was based on an alien warrior trying to escape from a prison planet. Imagine Super Metroid, but you work from the depths to the surface. It then moved to having Super Mario Bros 2 grabbing and throwing mechanic, which then morphed into a Yoshi’s Island egg and bird throwing attack system. I found it hard to weave a story into the game, so ended up introducing Koji, your loyal sidekick owl, to support the story. The worst name the game had at one point was “Aviary Island”.

I would most definitely love to see a “Metroid Prime 4” or a new 2D “Metroid” adventure game in the future.

Robin TGG
You have already mentioned that “Eagle Island” has been inspired by games like “Super Metroid” and “Yoshi’s Island”, but are there any other games that have rubbed off their 16-bit magic on “Eagle Island”?

Gregory
From the 16-bit era, there are two ideas taken from Secret of Mana. The “weapon switch” ring menu is lifted directly from that game. I love the old-school feel of it. I also took the recharge time between attacks from Secret of Mana, with the iconic pink flash to indicate the player is ready for action.

Robin TGG
How many hours of gameplay do you think the full-version of “Eagle Island” will offer?

Gregory
It’s very tough to say at the moment. It will depend strongly on how long the procedurally generated levels are. That will take a lot of play testing to get right. I would expect the main story to take around 5 hours, while getting the 100% complete ending to take about 15 hours. Again, these are just rough estimates taken from how development is progressing.

Not only is the 16-bit pixel graphics on point, but the soundtrack for “Eagle Island” is freaking great as well (props to Johan Hargne for the nice music).

Robin TGG
What can you tell us about the game soundtrack for “Eagle Island”? Because I (and many others) find the music to be very good (will we be able to buy the soundtrack on release?).

Gregory
The background music for levels is inspired by Donkey Kong Country 2. There are several layers, which fade in and out depending on the action taking place on-screen. That’s a really nice touch. It is likely the soundtrack will be sold by the composer, Johan Hargne.

Robin TGG
Quite a few people have stated that they found the 16-bit-like graphics, design and environments to be very beautiful in “Eagle Island” (our viewers and readers really enjoyed the trailer for the game). So what can you tell me about that aspect of “Eagle Island”?

Gregory
It took a very long time to get right. I’m not a natural artist, so I went through a lot of styles before settling on this one. I didn’t lift the style from anywhere specific, just trial and error. The dynamic lighting really brings the world to life. The big and beautiful backdrop pieces are by Deryk Buckarev, who is an incredible pixel artist.

Will “Eagle Island” be able to reach it’s £20,000 Kickstarter goal on time? Time will tell.

Robin TGG
What do you think about your chances to reach the said £20,000 goal on time? And can you motivate why people should support your game instead of any other 2D Metroidvania adventure game out there? (what is it that makes “Eagle Island” stand out from the crowd).

Gregory
It’s a very tough goal to hit for a pixel art platformer. I remain confident and hopefully the reviews from the demo I send out to streamers and Youtuber’s will spark enough interest to hit the target! As for why people should pick Eagle Island? Every room is procedurally generated down to the individual tile – you’ll never play through the same room twice! That, and the fact that the game has an owl as a weapon!

Robin TGG
A reader/fan ours wanted to ask you the following (thanks Switchpoint!):

“I was wondering if this game is going more classic Megaman style, select your level and get to the end or is it going more Mario style, follow a linear adventure, or are we getting more Metroidvania exploration style with some back tracking?”

Gregory
Eagle Island has an overworld (this area is not procedurally generated), which acts similarly to Grunty’s Lair from Banjo Kazooie. The player can explore and find the entrances to the nine procedurally generated levels. The story elements all take place in the overworld too. Each level plays out like a miniature rogue-like metroidvania.

There are plenty of different enemies for you to fight in “Eagle Island”. So, get your battle face on!

Robin TGG
Do you have any idea when there will be a public demo available for “Eagle Island”? Or perhaps the demo will be for backers only?

Gregory
I’m keeping quiet on this one, for now.

Robin TGG
Is it correct that “Eagle Island” is set for a July 2018 release for Windows, MAC and Linux? And do you have any plans to release the game to other platforms? (PS4, Xbox One and the Switch).

Gregory
The date of July 2018 is Kickstarter’s “estimated delivery date.” It is not a set in stone release date. I would love to see Eagle Island on the Switch (and the other consoles, too), but right now that isn’t looking very realistic from a financial perspective.

When Gregory has some free time over, he likes to play games like Ghost Town Games “Overcooked” and Powerhoof’s “Crawl”.

Robin TGG
What games did you play and enjoy as a kid? And which games are you currently enjoying today?

Gregory
I grew up with Mario and Donkey Kong. I really loved my platformers. You could’ve put pretty much any SNES game in front of me, though. Nowadays, I don’t find much time for gaming, but I usually enjoy couch multiplayer games such as Overcooked and Crawl. Single player games I like would include Rogue Legacy and Risk of Rain.

Robin TGG
What are your plans, hopes and expectations for 2017? And do you plan to visit any game events? If so, which events will you visit? And do you have anything that you would like to say to our readers?

Gregory
Well, hopefully Kickstarter can get funded. I would hate to abandon the project so far into development. If it’s funded, I’ll crack on with that and hopefully create an amazing and unique game for everyone to enjoy. I’ve got a couple of events lined up in Southampton in the near future – West Quay Comic Con and Southampton Games Fest, but nothing further ahead than that.

Finally, please do check out the Eagle Island Kickstarter campaign. You can secure the game’s future, grab your copy (or beta access!) and help make my dream of being a game developer a reality!