Mike Bithell

Last updated

Mike Bithell
Mike bithell GDC Europe 2013 cropped.jpg
Bithell at GDC Europe, 2013
Born
Michael Bithell [1]

(1985-11-07) 7 November 1985 (age 38) [2]
NationalityBritish
Occupation Video game developer
Years active2010–present
Known for Thomas Was Alone , Volume , Play, Watch, Listen
Mike Bithell talking about Thomas Was Alone
Published June 2013
Website www.bithellgames.com

Michael Bithell is a British video game designer, developer, and podcaster best known for his work on Thomas Was Alone and Volume . He is a regular host of the Play, Watch, Listen podcast, along with Alanah Pearce, Troy Baker, and Austin Wintory. [3] He also co-hosts an evolving pop culture podcast with long time friend, British YouTuber and comedic author Daniel Hardcastle, talking about shows and movies like Star Trek, Fast and Furious, Mission Impossible and various others. [4]

Contents

Career

Bithell credits his high school history teacher for helping him to get into games programming: when their class was given an essay assignment, Bithell asked instead if he could make a point-and-click adventure game about the topic in lieu of an essay. The teacher was impressed with the work and allowed Bithell to continue to present games instead of essays for the class. [5]

Bithell independently developed an early version of the Thomas Was Alone video game in 2010 while working for Blitz Games, where he was a junior designer, and later a level designer on games such as Tak and the Guardians of Gross , Invincible Tiger: The Legend of Han Tao , iCarly and Dead to Rights: Retribution , from 2007 to 2011. [6] [7] He developed the prototype game in 24 hours and released it for free online through the Kongregate website, receiving 100,000 'plays' in the first week. [8] He joined Bossa Studios in February 2011, working to expand the flash-based Thomas to a full title and learning how to use the Unity engine in his time there. [9] The full game was released on 30 June 2012 and went on to sell over a million copies, winning a BAFTA at the 9th British Academy Games Awards in the "Best Performer" category (for narrator Danny Wallace) and receiving a further two nominations ("Best Original Music" and "Best Story"). [8] [10] [11] [12] He left Bossa in January 2013 to "concentrate on indie development". [7] [9] He has since worked on a Robin Hood-based stealth game named Volume , which was released on 18 August 2015 for Windows, OS X, and PlayStation 4 and Vita platforms. [13] In 2016, Bithell released EarthShape, a virtual reality game for Google Daydream. Bithell collaborated with composer Russell Shaw and animator Tim Borelli on the project. The game featured voice acting from British comedian Sue Perkins. [14] In August 2017, Bithell released a new game Subsurface Circular , a first of what he calls "Bithell Shorts" that are designed as short, narrative focused games. [15] In May 2018, Bithell released another short titled Quarantine Circular . [16]

Bithell is the lead developer behind John Wick Hex , a video game based on the John Wick film series. [17]

Bithell has gained significant notability in the video game industry due both to the unexpected success of Thomas and also for his views on the current industry as a whole. [10] [13] [18] [19] [20] He has outlined the problems for fellow indie developers producing mobile games, commenting on the suitability of free-to-play mechanics for indie gaming and other issues. [13] [21] [22]

Games

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Wilson (executive)</span> American video game producer

Michael S. Wilson is an American business executive, video game producer, and film-maker. Beginning his career at DWANGO as Vice President of Development before being hired to lead marketing and publishing at id Software in 1995, Wilson has subsequently co-founded multiple independent video game publishers, including Gathering of Developers, Gamecock Media Group, Devolver Digital, Good Shepherd Entertainment, and DeepWell DTx.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indie game</span> Class of video game, generally independently published

An indie game, short for independent video game, is a video game created by individuals or smaller development teams without the financial and technical support of a large game publisher, in contrast to most "AAA" (triple-A) games. Because of their independence and freedom to develop, indie games often focus on innovation, experimental gameplay, and taking risks not usually afforded in AAA games. Indie games tend to be sold through digital distribution channels rather than at retail due to a lack of publisher support. The term is analogous to independent music or independent film in those respective mediums.

Blitz Games Studios Limited was a British video game developer based in Leamington Spa. Founded in 1990 by the Oliver Twins, who ran the company until its closure in 2013, it is best known for producing games such as The Fairly OddParents, Bratz, SpongeBob SquarePants, The Biggest Loser, and Karaoke Revolution.

Just Add Water (Development) Limited is an independent video game developer based in Leeds, UK. Founded by Stewart Gilray in 2006, Just Add Water has worked on different titles for the PlayStation 3 and PC, notably the Oddworld series. They have teamed up with Oddworld Inhabitants, to recreate the series in high definition as well as working on new installments in the series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bossa Studios</span> British video game developer

Bossa Studios Limited is a British video game developer based in London. It is known for its comedic, physics-based games Surgeon Simulator and I Am Bread.

<i>Thomas Was Alone</i> 2012 video game

Thomas Was Alone is a puzzle-platform game created by Mike Bithell, originally released as a Flash-based browser game in October 2010. The game was expanded and released for Microsoft Windows and OS X in July 2012. It has subsequently been released for Linux, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, Wii U, iOS, Android and Nintendo Switch. In the game, the player controls one or more simple rectangles representing several out-of-control artificial intelligence entities, working with the shapes to get each to their individual end points on each level. Each shape is characterized by a unique name and personality, including the eponymous Thomas, which is conveyed to the player through the use of a narrator voiced by Danny Wallace, whose performance earned the game a BAFTA Games Award.

<i>The Stanley Parable</i> 2013 video game

The Stanley Parable is a 2013 story-based video game designed and written by developers Davey Wreden and William Pugh. The game carries themes such as choice in video games, the relationship between a game creator and player, and predestination/fate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phil Fish</span> French-Canadian former indie video game designer

Philippe Poisson, better known as Phil Fish, is a French Canadian former indie game designer best known for his work on the 2012 platform game Fez. He was born and raised in Quebec, where his experiences with Nintendo games in his youth would later influence his game design. He studied game design at the Montreal National Animation and Design Centre, and worked at Ubisoft and Artificial Mind and Movement before starting Polytron in 2008.

Volume is a stealth and indie game by Mike Bithell Games. It was released for Microsoft Windows, OS X, and PlayStation 4 in August 2015, and the PlayStation Vita in January 2016. The game uses stealth mechanics inspired by Metal Gear Solid series, allowing the player to plan courses of action to work through levels without being detected by guards, dogs, and automated security turrets to reach specific objectives. In addition to the game's levels, Volume supports user-made levels that can be shared with others. The game presents a modern take on the Robin Hood legend, where a young thief discovers a plot for a military coup involving various heists, and uses a device called "Volume", with the assistance of its artificial intelligence to perform these heists in a virtual manner and broadcasting them to the world at large to make the coup known. The story is presented with the help of voice actors Charlie McDonnell, Danny Wallace, Dan Bull, James Stephanie Sterling, and Andy Serkis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SteamOS</span> Linux distribution made by Valve

SteamOS is a Linux distribution developed by Valve. It incorporates Valve's popular namesake Steam video game storefront and is the primary operating system for the Steam Deck, Valve's portable gaming device, as well as Valve's earlier Steam Machines. SteamOS is open source with some closed source components.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simogo</span> Swedish video game developer

Simogo is a Swedish independent video game developer based in Malmö. The company was founded in 2010 and is best known for creating games for mobile devices, including Year Walk and Device 6. Its name comes from the name of its founders Simon (SIM), and Gordon (GO); the 'O' from the Swedish word "och" meaning "and".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curve Games</span> British video game developer and publisher

Curve Games Limited is a British video game publisher based in London, founded in 2005 by Jason Perkins.

tinyBuild American video game publisher

tinyBuild Inc. is an American publisher of indie games based in Bellevue, Washington. The company was established by Alex Nichiporchik and Tom Brien in 2011 to expand Brien's game No Time to Explain into a commercial release. Building from the success of the game's Steam release in 2013, tinyBuild partnered with DoubleDutch Games for the development and release of SpeedRunners, which landed tinyBuild further publishing deals. Since March 2020, the company has been founding or acquiring new studios to expand. It became a public company on the Alternative Investment Market in March 2021.

<i>Dyscourse</i> 2015 video game

Dyscourse is a survival adventure video game developed and published by Owlchemy Labs. It was released on March 25, 2015 for Windows, OS X, and Linux. The game has he player take on the role of Rita, a barista stuck on a desert island after a plane crash. Along with five others, Rita has to lead the group to survive. The game was funded by a Kickstarter campaign, raising over $40,000 from 1,816 backers. Inspirations for the video game are The Oregon Trail, tabletop role-playing game Werewolf: The Apocalypse, and television series Lost.

Good Shepherd Entertainment is a Dutch video game publisher based in Amsterdam. The company was founded in 2011 and opened its equity crowdfunding platform in September 2012. Gambitious' publishing label was opened in 2014, offering publishing services. In August 2017, Gambitious Digital Entertainment was rebranded Good Shepherd Entertainment whereas they ceased their crowdfunding activities and fully transitioned into being a publisher. Having been a consultant to the company prior, Brian Grigsby now became the CEO of the company.

<i>Subsurface Circular</i> 2017 video game

Subsurface Circular is a text-based adventure game developed and published by Mike Bithell Games. The game was released for Microsoft Windows and macOS on 17 August 2017, iOS on 23 October 2017 and Nintendo Switch on 1 March 2018. The game received critical acclaim for its engaging narrative and writing.

<i>Quarantine Circular</i> 2018 video game

Quarantine Circular is a text-based adventure game developed and published by Mike Bithell Games. The game was released for Microsoft Windows and macOS in May 2018 and for Nintendo Switch in December 2018. It is the sequel to Subsurface Circular.

<i>John Wick Hex</i> 2019 fast-paced action-oriented strategy game video game

John Wick Hex is a 2019 tactical role-playing game developed by Bithell Games and published by Good Shepherd Entertainment based on the John Wick franchise. It was released on 8 October 2019 for macOS and Windows. The PlayStation 4 port of the game released on 5 May 2020. The Nintendo Switch and Xbox One ports of the game were released on 4 December 2020. The game serves as a narrative prequel to the film series.

References

  1. ↑ "Michael BITHELL". Companies House.
  2. ↑ Bithell, Mike [@mikeBithell] (7 November 2021). "Oh shit I'm 36" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. ↑ "Play, Watch, Listen". 20 December 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  4. ↑ "Impossible New Worlds on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  5. ↑ Bailey, Dustin (3 January 2019). "Mike Bithell explains how his history teacher made Thomas Was Alone possible". PCGamesN . Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  6. ↑ Chapple, Craig (4 February 2013). "Mike Bithell leaves Bossa Studios". Develop . Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  7. 1 2 Gera, Emily (4 February 2013). "Thomas Was Alone creator Mike Bithell leaves Bossa Studios to begin new projects". Polygon . Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  8. 1 2 Rivera, Joshua (18 January 2015). "Meet Mike Bithell, the man who's reinventing Robin Hood". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  9. 1 2 Weber, Rachel (4 February 2013). "Bithell leaves Bossa to go it alone". GamesIndustry . Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  10. 1 2 Webster, Andrew (26 March 2015). "After a hit game, indie developers struggle to replicate success". The Verge . Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  11. ↑ Martin, Liam (12 February 2013). "Journey dominates BAFTA Video Game Awards 2013 nominations". Digital Spy . Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  12. ↑ Nichols, Scott (5 March 2013). "Journey, Dishonored dominate BAFTA Video Game Awards 2013". Digital Spy . Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  13. 1 2 3 Griffiths, Daniel Nye (6 August 2014). "With 1m Sales For Thomas Was Alone, Mike Bithell Launches Volume Trailer Ahead of E3". Forbes . Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  14. ↑ Conditt, Jessica (4 October 2016). "'Great British Bake Off' host stars in a Daydream VR game". Engadget . Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  15. ↑ Yin-Poole, Wesley (17 August 2017). "Thomas Was Alone dev's new game is a modern take on the text adventure". Eurogamer . Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  16. ↑ Yin-Poole, Wesley (22 May 2018). "Mike Bithell follows up Subsurface Circular with Quarantine Circular". Eurogamer . Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  17. ↑ Capel, Chris (8 May 2019). "John Wick Hex is an official strategy game heading to the Epic store". PCGamesN . Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  18. ↑ Stefan L (20 March 2015). "Interview: Mike Bithell On Volume, A Fear Of Failure & Our Virtual Reality Future". TheSixthAxis. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  19. ↑ Bithell, Mike (23 March 2015). "Mike Bithell's golden rules for media". GamesIndustry . Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  20. ↑ Hawkins, Zoe (26 March 2015). "Cadence launches Noodle Starter and Mike Bithell tells indies how to deal with the press". Lazygamer. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  21. ↑ Hurley, Leon (17 July 2014). "Mike Bithell on Why Indie Isn't Indie Anymore". Kotaku . Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  22. ↑ Clarke, Russell (15 May 2014). "Mike Bithell: Indies, stay off of mobile until you've "built a name for yourself"". Pocket Gamer . Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  23. ↑ Phillips, Tom (22 September 2020). "The Solitaire Conspiracy is a mix of cards and espionage". Eurogamer . Retrieved 22 September 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.