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Finishing Retro City Rampage pushed its creator into illness

by rawmeatcowboy
11 March 2013
GN Version 4.0
A portion of a WiisWorld interview with Brian Provinciano of Vblank...

WW: Everyone asks about game design and development, but what happened after the game was "finished" - what was your approach to getting RCR into our hands? Specifically what was your interaction with Nintendo like?

BP: Well, there were many finish lines, but it was very anti-climactic upon launch. I'd worked so many years and expected to have a big party when it was done. However, I'd pushed myself so hard and was running on such little sleep that I was a zombie and physically ill when that day came. On top of that, once your game ships you're in another massive crunch, working around the clock to get through emails (I had over a thousand in the initial launch week), doing interviews, sending out review copies, handling any support requests, and unsatisfied, I continued to polish the game further even post launch, then had to get the remaining SKUs out the door. I didn't get a chance for a vacation until two months after launch, and still it was just a short one. I have yet to take a full proper vacation five months out, but I will be doing that shortly. Well, I have no choice because I really physically damaged by body from all of the long hours at the computer and need to recover. All just the result of being one man and doing the work of a small company. It's not healthy.
Nintendo's been great to work with, everyone there. Dan Adelman's a champ and works incredibly hard to help Indies and deserves a lot of recognition, and on the European side, Christian, Oliver and Pepe were just as supportive, to name a few. The pleasant experience working with them on a personal level is the primary reason why I'll continue to make games for Nintendo platforms.

Full interview here