We sit down with Jonas Byrresen, creative director at Bedtime Digital Games. Want to learn more about their games and upcoming projects? Be sure to check out this interview!
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
My name is Jonas Byrresen and I am the creative director at Bedtime Digital Games, as well as one of the founders, back from when we were just students. I have a Master in Interactive Digital Media with specialization in game design and development. In my daily work I am responsible for keeping the overall creative direction of our games, meaning where are we going, how much in a direction we are going and how. On some projects I am very hands-on, meaning design docs, planning and development, while more in the background in some other teams and projects.
In my spare time it’s a lot of the classics, like spending time with friends and loved ones, and of course playing games, but also a good deal of Pen & Paper roleplaying. The later gives some nice and totally unexpected gaming experiences and allows for story experimentation in a very free format.
What was the first console/game you ever owned?
Hmmmm, not sure I can remember the first game I actually owned myself. My brother and I, who is only a year younger than me, got a SNES and a handful of games when we were kids, after our dad returned from a business trip. We played a lot of different games, but were not always old enough or skilled enough in English to understand them.
However, I do remember us playing Looney Toons a lot and an old Jurassic Park game that was too hard and brutal when the raptors arrived. But in the end, we just played what we were given. It was not until we got a Game Boy, before everyone else thanks to our traveling dad, that we started picking out games for ourselves.
Do you have any fond childhood memories based around gaming?
My fondest gaming memories from childhood is often with my brother. We were big fans of the Final Fantasy games on the first PlayStation and played them a lot. We had these weekend sleepover at our grandparents, we were snuggled up in blankets the entire weekend, was fed too much candy by our grandparents and played Final Fantasy for hours. Slow and steady getting all the plot and loot together.This was a time honored ritual when we were kids.
Did you always want to work in the video game industry?
Far from it. As a kid I was sure I was going to be a fighter pilot, as my grandfather was in the Air Force and taught me a lot about planes and military history. As I got older I was sure that I was going to study engineering or astrophysics, as I was doing well in those classes.
I had always enjoyed games, but during gymnasium (College) I really re-found my love for roleplaying, both live action and pen & paper, and discovered I had a knack for storytelling and creating experiences for other people. Combining this with my love for digital media was natural, and hey presto! My goal was set. Even though some time would pass before it become a fulltime job.
Bedtime Digital Games was founded in December 2011, but your story is one of passion, determination, and a willingness to succeed. Could you share how the studio came together?
The first stepping stones for the company’s creation was during what was called DADIU, aka the Danish Academy for Digital Interactive Art, in 2011. It is a semester program, often the 9th, where students from different universities and school forms large production teams and seek to create a small game in a semester. It teaches how it to work with different people and take something from idea to working game. With all the challenges that process contains, albeit at a quick pace.
All founding members of Bedtime were part of the same team during DADIU, and it was here the first version of our game Back to Bed was created. Our teachers and many others loved the game, so we decided to keep working on it to make a complete release. First and foremost to have something on CV: This meant creating the first version of the company and lots of weekends working on the game in old freezing offices at the harbour. All this worked paid of eventually. The game got a lot of positive attention and it being part of IGF in 2013 helped us land an investor deal, meaning we could finish the game and start work on the next.
Back to Bed was Bedtime Digital Games’ first official release. Through many years of development, it garnered much attention and received multiple awards. What was the process for you and your team to go from an initial concept to seeing your title released on the PC, mobile, and console?
Back to Bed started out inspired by old cartoons, where characters, such as Donald Duck, sleepwalks through a dangerous area, often construction site, but yet somehow he ends up safely back in bed the next morning. This gave us the idea for a mechanic of guiding a sleepwalker, and the state of being asleep gave us the idea to create a surreal dreamlike game world.
The first version of the game was the core mechanics and 12 levels that led the sleepwalker back to bed. But we decided to make more levels, to show a longer journey and added a story told via hand drawn surreal art and voice acting; plus a hardcore mode. In short a complete game we felt would be a nice release for player to enjoy.
We started out with PC and then moved onto other platforms. Luckily for us the game and focus aesthetics makes it works on many platforms. However, for Back to Bed the big market was iOS, where people often recognize us and the game.
Chronology was the studio’s second title to be released and it’s clear that Bedtime Digital Games emphasizes artistic gameplay mixed with puzzle-based challenges and story-driven content. What is it about this genre that appeals to you as it definitely resonates very well with gamers?
It is a core part of how we look at games. It is a medium that mixes other media together, such as play, rules, audio, art and story. We feel these elements need to work together and enhance each other for a game to be truly great.
It is ok for one element to be more in focus at some times, such as story in a cinematic, but totally neglecting one aspect or not considering them does not work. As an example, we start thinking music right from the start of a project, where many sadly only add it on later. That said, I don’t see puzzles as being our core genre. We focus far more on the world building, trying to create something unique, as we are open for exploring other gameplay genres in the future. But we will always have a focus on creating a game world that sounds and looks aesthetically pleasing and that the player wants to explore.
Moving onto the company’s latest title, Figment, it is also the first one to be featured on the Nintendo Switch. What is it about the Switch that appealed to you?
I would say two things mainly;
1. It is a new growing market with new possibilities in both ways of playing, due to the console being different from others and can offer new experiences, but also in the players that seems to been attracted to the platform. They seem dedicated to gaming as a medium with many niches, but also quality minded in many ways.
2. We also feel our games and their look match up with the platform and many of its users. Our focus is on aesthetic over fidelity, and making sure all elements work together with gameplay and story. Games are about all the elements working together to give the player a good interactive experience, not just telling a story or being pretty. And the Switch speaks to that, or at least we feel so.
Are there plans to release any of your titles in a physical format?
Nothing is totally set in stone yet, but we are looking into physical versions for both games and soundtracks, so do keep an eye out for potential news on that.
Are you able to tease about your next project?
Stuff might always change, especially when it comes to releases and project progress. That is just the name of the game when it comes to game development. But I can tease you a little. It will still be set in a creative and quirky world, with a lot of dreamy and cozy visuals, but it will be inspired by older explorers and dreamers, such as Jules Verne and how he depicted exploration of strange new places. Gameplay won’t be puzzle heavy, but more tactical and action, with a lot of exploration of a quirky and fantastical world. So it will be new, but people will still be able to see our love for creative worlds in it.
What upcoming games, besides your own, are you most looking forward to playing?
As a game developer I just as often look backwards and see what has worked, both because you can go after games that player actually liked, and also because you don’t have time to actually play all the new good games. But I am looking forward to Monster Hunter: World on PC. Most of my gamer friends are PC gamers, and I am looking forward to chasing and being chased by monsters with them, screaming and laughing in Discord. Also hoping to find some more time to get back in Divinity: Original Sin 2 some more. That game just demands a lot of time, so it still feels new to me.
Finally, is there anything else you’d like to share?
I like to always finish up with pointing out that I hope people will try Figment as it comes to their platform. The game actually has a lot of layered storytelling that for many speaks to the core of going through challenges as a human. You can enjoy the game for either the journey or the challenge, but hopefully both.
Follow Bedtime Digital Games
https://www.bedtime.io/
https://www.facebook.com/Backtobedthegame/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGF4uuNcmpX6XEvHFGwtywg
