Among gaming developers, Chase Williams is known as something of a guru—a creative tour de force who’s not afraid to make sacrifices in order to achieve artistic perfection—and his highly anticipated new project, Backyard Bramblz, shows why. According to reports from industry insiders, Williams has been making his employees work 18-hour days and weekends to make sure the main character has a purple hat.
Wow, it’s inspiring to see an artist who’s so dedicated to perfecting his craft.
In Backyard Bramblz, you’ll be playing as Flitt, a roguish fox who, thanks to Williams’ bold creative decision to force his programming staff to regularly work 120-hour weeks, will wear a purple hat. Whether he’s making veiled threats about layoffs or straight-up telling his programmers and play-testers that anyone who leaves before 10 p.m. is replaceable, Chase Williams is the kind of visionary auteur who is totally committed to making sure that his main character gets a purple hat that flops up and down when he walks.
“I have all of these amazing ideas in my head, and I’m willing to do anything necessary to make those ideas a reality, even if that means instructing my team to put in 18-hour days and come into the office on weekends,” Williams explained during a Reddit AMA about his process. “I have subordinates come up to me and ask if they can eat dinner with their family, and I have to look them in the eye and say, ‘Until Flitt has a purple hat, you’ll be eating at your desk.’ If I did anything less, I’d be doing a disservice to my art, and Flitt might have a green hat right now.”
Incredible. It’s amazing to see a game designer who’s willing to roll up his sleeves and verbally abuse his programmers in order to create something beautiful. Backyard Bramblz is more than just a game—it’s a case study in the amazing things one man can create with a superhuman amount of work from his employees. We can’t wait to see Flitt’s purple hat when Chase Williams’ stunning achievement finally ships out!
