Going from game critic to critiqued game maker is a ballsy move, but Ben “Yahtzee” Croshaw appears ripe for the challenge. After years of cultivating a devout fanbase for his Zero Punctuation cartoon reviews and other publications, the Australian writer with a flair for game design is taking another stab at indie success with the upcoming release of Poacher.
Pitched as a “Metroidvania-style platformer that's somewhat influenced by Cave Story amongst other games”, the project is being coded with Game Maker because, said Yahtzee, “current technology frightens me.” The game follows the adventures of an “unflappable Yorkshireman” named Derek Badger whose love of murdering fluffy animals lands him in the middle of a mystical underground war. A trailer introducing said poacher engaging in heroic acts of daring-do was posted to Yahtzee's blog over the weekend:
This is not Yahtzee's first foray into videogame development. Before finding mainstream success as a games writer, he authored a number of old school adventures including the The Arthur Yahtzee Trilogy, the 5 Days a Stranger games, and the 1213 series. In 2010, he also released his first novel, Mogworld, which he referred to briefly in his latest post, promising, “Rest assured the Mogworld audiobook project still weighs heavy on my mind. Sorry about going quiet on that, too. Basically I'm sorry. I-I'm sorry for everything.”
Look for Poacher to arrive, well, when it's damn well ready to arrive.
