Hayo Van Reek is an independent videogame developer, who passionately teaches a Multimedia Fusion 2 game development class, while attempting to hone his own game design methods.

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Name?



Hayo van Reek.



Age?



28.



Location?



Oostvoorne, a little town by the sea in the Netherlands.



Development tool(s) of choice?



I have been using Clickteam products since I was 13. I have been using Multimedia Fusion 2 since 2006.



What do you do?



I am a highschool teacher (history and art). I also have my own game making class (using Multimedia Fusion 2) at the same school. Apart from that I do the odd graphic job for little commercial games (for some extra pocket money).



How did you get into game development?



I wanted to create games since I was 10 years old or so, and I used to just sketch my ideas down on paper. Then I read about a game making tool called Klik & Play in a gaming magazine. My good friend and I both got it and started working with it and I have been hooked since.



What are your goals and aspirations as a game developer?



When I was a little younger I wanted to make games for other people and please other people. Now I don’t really want to “make it” as a game designer. I just want to have fun.

Aside from that I find great pleasure in teaching game development. My students are around 13 years old and already make things that I couldn’t do when I was 18. I want to take this to a professional level and write material for it.

When you were younger, were your aspirations to work for a big studio - was that what you would have considered ‘making it’ as a videogame designer?



Not really. Maybe when I was 13 or 14, I might have wanted to work for Nintendo or something, but it never seemed like a nice job to me. For a while I wanted to make it as a well-known independent game developer (have some hits in that sector).

What ultimately inspires you to keep creating?



Something inside me. I can’t not create. Apart from making games, I also make music, cartoons and educational material. It’s just who I am and I can’t stop it. I want to get good at those things.

When did you start teaching a game development class?



Early this year. I had been doing this at a couple of other schools with little groups of students, but this is the first time I have a complete class.

How did this opportunity arise for you?



My school has something we call “modules”. Basically, students get to sign up for classes they normally don’t get at school, mostly creative things. They asked me to come up with something. It is the most fun part of my job now. I get questions by e-mail on weekends from students, who are working on projects in their free time. I don’t see this happen with history or art.

When you mentioned taking the class to a professional level, did you mean keep improving the curriculum you have written for the class?

Pretty much. At the moment, I am writing a little book for teachers who want to use TGF2 / MMF2 in class. It contains all the basics of the programs, some tips on game design and a game graphics section.

What channels are you going to publish it through?



I am not sure yet. I was encouraged by Clickteam to write material and I love doing it. Once it is done, I will see what happens to it. It might just end on my website for free.

Have you had any students that have shown an interest in taking game development to higher or more professional levels and is this something you encourage or is it more about encouraging creativity?



About 5 (out of 75 or so) students carried on with this at home and are doing great things. They are about to form a little school game dev team. I encourage this and will help them (if they want me to). I am just as happy with the students who just enjoy themselves in my class though. I don’t want to force anything on them.

Has the reaction from the school administration been encouraging? Does the class have an indefinite future?



Not really. They don’t really know what this is about and I don’t blame them. My class can be given away to an IT teacher at any moment. Maybe once I can show them results, things will be different.

When did you develop an interest in pixel art?



When my dad bought his first computer in the eighties, he showed me a drawing tool (something like MS Paint but much older). Even though the screen was monochrome, the idea of drawing with little dots using a mouse intrigued me.

I didn’t know that what I had been doing for years was called pixel art. I started showing interest in pixel art techniques around 2003.

Are there any pixel artists that you have taken inspiration from with your own style?



Early on, I just tried to copy the graphics of the games I liked. For a while I tried to merge the style of the Kirby games with the style of Donkey Kong Country, if that makes any sense. When I really got to understand what pixel art is, my main influence was Henk Nieborg. In the last few years, I really learned a lot from artist, Adam Lobacz, who is a short-fused friend of mine.

What era do your games take their cues from?



The starting point is the 8-bit and 16-bit era. I always wondered what would have happened if we stuck to that style and let it mature, instead of being pushed to new technologies by commercialism in the mid-to-late nineties. That is what I am trying to do. I have been getting into 3D lately and I find myself doing the same thing. What if we stuck to the early 3D graphics instead of moving on to texture filters, shaders and all that stuff?

Pixel art certainly seems to be the signature that you place on your games. Are you concerned that your pixel art could possibly be the focal point that attracts people to your games, rather than the gameplay itself?



I am actually pretty sure that’s the case and it has been bothering me for a while. In my opinion, the graphical side of game making is the only thing I am good at. My coding is very basic and my game design is lazy.

I actually realised at some point that my games were just a showcase for my graphics. My focus has always been on the graphics, the characters, the sounds and the music form a certain mood with a lame game tacked on.

Lately I have been getting more into how to make a fun game, and I hope it will show in my next couple of games.

Do they still roots firmly planted in the retro eras?



I think so. They are a platformer, a platformer and a first person shooter in the style of Doom. Very limited palettes, tiny objects and low resolutions. I really like working with limitations.

Bonus: WIP project snaps.