It took Johnny Galvatron and his small group of neophytes six years to make The Artful Escape, a musical narrative recreation that debuted in 2021. With Mixtape, the group has been engaged on it for about two years.
Annapurna Interactive printed the sport from Galvatron, a former star from the Australian band The Galvatrons, despite the fact that it targeted on a considerably cursed style of music video games. It did properly sufficient for Annapurna, regardless of its recent troubles, to publish Galvatron’s second recreation.
With Mixtape, Galvatron is again with a zany title that in all probability nobody else would dare to make. I performed a 20-minute demo of the sport on the latest Summer time Sport Fest Play Days after which I interviewed Galvatron. The demo in regards to the coming-of-age music recreation begins with a trio of youngsters on their final day collectively earlier than they separate and head off on their very own adventures after highschool.
They’re skateboarding down a mountain street of their hometown, which they name “Huge Suck,” and need to yell out “Automotive!” after they see an approaching automotive. To the tune of a Devo tune, they make it down the hill — portion of which you because the participant need to information the skater to security. After which they cease on the most important character’s home.
There’s a scene when two teenagers kiss and it’s important to take management of their tongues and ensure they’re appropriately mixing collectively. That half was hilarious, and made me really feel like I actually wanted to play the remainder of the sport. Of all of the video games I noticed at Summer time Sport Fest, this was some of the pleasant.
It options music from Devo, Roxy Music, Lush, The Smashing Pumpkins, Iggy Pop, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Pleasure Division, the Remedy and lots of extra. You get to play by way of a mixtape of reminiscences, set to the soundtrack of a technology.
The sport will launch quickly on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Sequence X|S. It is going to be obtainable day one by way of Xbox Sport Go (Sequence X|S, Home windows). Mixtape was a part of the Day of the Devs: Summer time Sport Fest 2025 choice and was exhibited on the Tribeca Video games Pageant in New York.
Right here’s an edited transcript of our interview.
Johnny Galvatron: Mixtape is our second recreation as Beethoven and Dinosaur. We made Clever Escape, which was one other music recreation. Extra about performing music. We wished to do a recreation–principally I simply wished to point out individuals “That’s Good” by Devo, which is my favourite Devo tune. We began with the observe record, initially. I wished to have this actually good, deep reduce mixtape, after which attempt to weave this narrative by way of the songs and the feelings of the songs. Attempt to use the medium, attempt to use gameplay to precise issues that I normally specific by way of video games, like betrayal or teenage freedom. It’s extra about utilizing the medium to attempt to evoke these sorts of emotions, fairly than one thing that’s tough.
GamesBeat: Someway I assumed there was one thing after Clever Escape.
Galvatron: Nope, simply this one. Spherical two. We’ve been engaged on this for 2 years, possibly a bit greater than two and a half.
GamesBeat: Clever was longer, proper?
Galvatron: Clever was like six years. I had no thought what I used to be doing. I’d by no means made a recreation earlier than. Nobody on the group had made a recreation earlier than. Annapurna held our arms the entire method and allow us to get the sport finished, get it to an area the place we beloved it. Huge because of Annapurna.
GamesBeat: Once I first noticed it I assumed it appeared like Life is Unusual. However you then see the motion, and it’s very completely different. How did you provide you with that sort of type?
Galvatron: With a triple-A recreation you can begin with a clean slate and construct up what your artwork type goes to be. In indie dev, when you may have a small, devoted group of simply 4 or 5 artists, you begin with them. They kind the core rules, and you then begin to construct. It’s essential with narrative video games, story-based video games, that you just perceive the sum of the components. How the music goes to work, how the cinematography goes to work, the gameplay. You’ll be able to convey the artwork type to take a seat in that. You’ll be able to reduce it like a diamond going right into a becoming. That’s the artwork type try to be aiming for. Begin along with your group, construct on what they’re good at, after which finesse it into one thing that helps the story. It’s sort of golden and nostalgic. I believe it’s very fairly.
GamesBeat: Have been there any specific inspirations for it?
Galvatron: Clearly the music, initially. A whole lot of films, like Wayne’s World and Dazed and Confused. A whole lot of hangout films. I wished to not solely present these nice moments of the teenage expertise, but in addition the idleness. Gamers name it “The Huge Suck.” If you may get simply the hanging out proper, if you may get the pacing of that to really feel good, then I believe that’s a giant a part of getting the sport proper.
If I may draw any comparability in video games, it might be What Stays of Edith Finch. One thing that was like a collection of vignettes. And you may go all the way in which to the opposite aspect with Wario Ware, the place you may have a group of small video games. However I don’t know if I’ve a direct comparability.
GamesBeat: You didn’t have as darkish a imaginative and prescient for this one.
Galvatron: No. I like making video games which can be hopeful, which can be sort and candy. Hopefully we will get that throughout.
GamesBeat: What sort of reactions have you ever seen to it?
Galvatron: It’s been ridiculous at this time. Individuals have actually beloved the demo. It’s a extremely tight demo. I felt good about it coming in. It’s been superb to see individuals play it, to see them do a horrible kiss. That’s been hilarious to look at. It’s been nice.
GamesBeat: It’s three or 4 hours, the total expertise?
Galvatron: The playthroughs we’ve been doing, in case you go round and take a look at all the things, it’s about 5 hours.
GamesBeat: How did you discover a story to inform in that point window? There aren’t that many video games which can be simply 4 or 5 hours. Possibly Journey?
Galvatron: To me that’s one of many greats of all time. I believe it’s about beginning with music. Since you’re it extra of a musical sense, pacing it in additional of a musical sense, you’ll be able to have these stretches. You’ll be able to have this time of idleness, which is tough to get proper, however I believe we’ve got gotten it proper in Mixtape. We’d draw the narrative beats from the mixtape. We’d swap them round. Typically we’d have this little bit of the sport right here. Then we’d attempt altering the mixtape. All of these emotional beats, getting that in the best order and paced properly. The story was all the time consistently transferring. It will be like in case you had been making a mixtape.
GamesBeat: How did you choose the music? Have been you in a position to get a license for all the things you wished?
Galvatron: It’s all simply music I really like. I received each tune I requested for. There have been some that I simply didn’t hassle asking for, although. I didn’t hassle asking for Pink Floyd. I wasn’t going to get “Want You Have been Right here.”
GamesBeat: However your style in music was what it match to. You weren’t searching for the most well-liked stuff.
Galvatron: No. You don’t compromise on what your musical style is. Typically we might look and determine that we would have liked a distinct tune for a sure emotional beat, however more often than not it was simply the best hits of my playlist.
GamesBeat: Did you consider making an attempt any new songs, authentic songs?
Galvatron: We thought of it, however I beloved that the character, Stacy Rockford, the protagonist, is so caught up within the music. She talks in regards to the music, when it was recorded, and it’s virtually–she’s like a VH1 presenter generally. I wished to have that historical past there for it to be real, to have that real musical love and connection by way of utilizing actual songs. Not all the time, however generally it may be off-putting to have made-up acts.
GamesBeat: Is there something specifically that Annapurna helped you with this time round?
Galvatron: There’s all the time joys in being with Annapurna, the alternatives they offer you. Look, that’s my recreation up there. That’s loopy. Going to Summer time Video games Fest and Day of the Devs. They all the time give me notes. There’s outdated and new Annapurna, and clearly they’ve unbelievable groups. I’ve mentioned this about Annapurna earlier than, but it surely’s like this little library of individuals you’ll be able to take a look at. You want a technical individual to come back make it easier to, otherwise you want somebody who is aware of financing to come back make it easier to. When you’ve got an issue with character artwork there’s another person you’ll be able to speak to. They’ve been unbelievable for us. They’re the one individuals we’ve made video games with.
GamesBeat: What was the pitch like for this one? Earlier than you had something to point out, what had been you in a position to talk to persuade anyone?
Galvatron: We had some good esteem there after Clever Escape. Clever Escape had finished properly. We shortly put collectively what we name a horizontal slice, which was the entire recreation with me doing all the voices. Typically it might simply say what was going to occur. Typically it might simply be essentially the most primary skateboarding downhill, simply to get the vibe proper. It was an fascinating pitch, the horizontal slice. It was like an animatic storyboard, virtually.
GamesBeat: It’s so uncommon that I simply surprise how somebody would get it.
Galvatron: Earlier than they play it?
GamesBeat: “That is what we intend to do.” “Wait a minute, I don’t get it. There’s by no means been a recreation like this.”
Galvatron: Properly, thanks. Please write that.
GamesBeat: What made you decide on the skateboarding scene as the start of the sport?
Galvatron: I’ll inform you a reference initially. The reference initially, after they’re strolling towards the digital camera, strolling sideways and stuff, that opening cinematic? That’s positively a tough reference to the tip credit of Buckaroo Banzai, the Peter Weller film from the ‘80s. That’s my first reference.
I just do love having a bit window of time in video games to introduce the participant to the world in a really informal method, to allow them to expertise it. There are some video games that do that actually properly. The one which involves thoughts is Arkham Asylum. You simply have this sluggish stroll initially as they’re taking the Joker in and also you meet all of the completely different characters. I really like a bit introduction like that. I simply wished individuals to take heed to Devo and cruise into the world, get that vibe.
GamesBeat: I’m sufficiently old to have found what CDs had been for the primary time. I made mixtapes. That resonated with me. That these songs are you.
Galvatron: Additionally, once you’re 17, how a lot you outline your self and different individuals by the music they like. It appears so essential on the time.
GamesBeat: Do you’re feeling like video games and music is your specialty now? The music recreation house, or music-related.
Galvatron: We’ve made two video games they usually’re each fairly musical video games, I’ll offer you that. I toured lots after I was younger man, toured the world. I hated it. Hated touring. I favored the music side. The factor in regards to the music I favored essentially the most is being within the studio. That’s what making a recreation is like. I really like being locked away round all of the analog tools. Now it’s digital. However that’s the expertise I like. I assume there’s a homebody to many artists and to many recreation builders. I positively match that class.
GamesBeat: How huge did your group develop to over this undertaking?
Galvatron: It was 12 individuals.
GamesBeat: That’s a query everybody has at this time. How will you make a recreation with a small variety of individuals? We’re getting a bunch of video games arising which can be astoundingly made by small teams.
Galvatron: It feels very very similar to when music studios got here out of those $200,000 desks, to all of the sudden all being on your property pc. You get new genres popping up, new artists popping up because the medium is democratized. You’ll see that increasingly more with video games. You’ll see that extra with AI. You’ll see new concepts popping out. You’ll see a greater variety of tales that maintain rising, which is why it’s such an thrilling house to be in.
GamesBeat: Did AI make it easier to in any method with this?
Galvatron: No. By no means say by no means, however I really feel like–we work with numerous conventional artists. I don’t really feel nice about AI. However I’m no knowledgeable.
GamesBeat: What do you’re feeling has been completely different about launching this undertaking versus your final one?
Galvatron: The sport itself is much more marketable than Clever Escape. Clever Escape was this bizarre side-scroller. Possibly some persons are turned off by that originally. We’ve had much more engagement on Mixtape. It’s change into much more well-liked, and extra shortly, than Clever Escape.
GamesBeat: I solely received to see 20 minutes right here. What else do you suppose goes to enchantment to individuals about the remainder of the sport? With out completely spoiling something.
Galvatron: What I take pleasure in in video games lots is selection. I believe there’s some nice selection within the recreation – the music, the moments, the mini-games. There’s a extremely good stage the place you toilet-paper a home. I believe persons are going to love that stage.
GamesBeat: Are you involved a couple of sort of Ferris Bueller impact, the place they get extra finished in 24 hours than anyone may usually do in a 12 months?
Galvatron: Completely! It’s extra dreamy than Ferris Bueller. Ferris Bueller presents itself as caught in actuality, whereas I believe that is extra of a music video. You’ll be able to bend the principles of time and house a bit. Hopefully we don’t Ferris Bueller it fairly past that.
