Special Edition: Pokémon Red 2 interview

Happy Sunday on this day of momma honoring. Go hug yo momma and tell her you love her.

In place of the regular news, we've got a special interview today. Recently, a project called Pokémon Red 2 has taken the Twitters by storm. I got in touch with the creator of this fan game to chat because it looks 🔥🔥🔥.

Here's a double shot of eye candy featuring Viridian City to give you an idea of what I'm talking about:

Explain in three sentences what Red 2 is.

Pokémon Red 2 is a sequel within the timeline of Pokémon Red/Blue and after the events of Gold/Silver. You play as Red, or Leaf for a female option, and head out on another journey to take on the indigo League again, to test your strength. However, not everything in Kanto is what you remember and new foes have risen up to get in your way.

What inspired you to undertake this project?

I played Blue, Red, Silver and Leaf Green as a child, so I am generally familiar with Kanto and have a fair amount of nostalgia that drives me. At the same time, there are things about the region I don't particularly like, such as how simple it is or how incompetent Team Rocket is. So in that way I am both driven by the love I have for my childhood games and the dislikes I have as an adult player.

Are you a solo creator? What is your background in game design?

In this instance I've had a bit of help; I have a spriter for all the battle sprites and a friend or two to help with custom programming and translations. Other than that, I generally have to do most of the work on my own, but I'm also fine with that. I've been working in the fangame field for roughly 10-12 years, most of that on other teams.

My roles vary in scale, usually in the conceptual and finalized art position. I've helped in a small capacity with games like Pokémon Uranium, Phoenix Rising or Dark Rising 3, to bigger roles like Pokémon Epsilon. Besides that I work on my own projects, though not much to show at the moment. Otherwise I work professionally, but I prefer to keep that more to myself, for privacy reasons.

Share what you can about the setting and changes from the Kanto we all know and love.

This version of Kanto takes place roughly 2-3 years after the events of Gold/Silver, but the changes are quite noticeable. The region has some elements of the Gen 2 version of Kanto and as such, you may not see some areas, like Viridian Forest for example. Beyond that, the usual time-skip things have happened to the region; cities have expanded, routes have been detailed with new features and new areas have been found to be explored. Probably the biggest shift though, has been the weather. The Legendary Birds have changed their nesting positions and so some areas you expect to look one way, have been completely turned on their heads. The best example is a snowy Pewter City.

What is your favorite feature so far?

I don't play as much Pokémon as I used to and when I plan projects, I tend to pull inspiration from other franchises. I think my favorite feature is a tie. For those who are a fan of The Last of Us, I've added a collectible-notes feature, so you can get a deeper sense of the lives of people within Kanto. The other feature is the expansion on HM's. Cut isn't limited to just small trees, Strength can push more than just heavy boulders, etc. Exploring indoor or outdoor maps adds a new layer of wonder, when finding new ways to interact with objects around you to discover hidden items or entrances.

This isn't a Rom Hack. Where/how will this game be available?

Correct, this isn't a romhack; it was made with RPGMaker XP and a free fangame-making kit called PSDK. In a couple days i will be making a thread for the game, featured on a popular website for fangames called "Relic Castle". When the demo is ready, it will contain a download link to where you can get it and play it. For now updates are on my personal twitter and when the thread is ready, I will make a post about in there. Oh and before I forget, the game is/will be free by the way.

Any timeline to finish? How much time have you put into the game so far and how much is completed?

I don't actually have a timeline for when it will be done. I know most projects have some sort of idea, but I find due dates rather stressful. I'd like to hope I can get a demo done before the autumn, but don't hold me to that. As for time, I've put roughly 4 years on and off with planning and preparing assets. Only within the last week has development really kicked off and I've had surprisingly good reception. As for how much has been completed, I'd say we're around 1/4 of the demo completed, but that's just because I have been finishing the easy work first.

What can fans do to help?

For help, just a follow on my twitter will be fine. As a general rule, if I want to avoid getting a C&D (cease and desist) from Nintendo, I can't take in any form of revenue; so no donations or any of the sort. I know it probably seems silly to put so many hours and years into a project and not make anything from it, but even if I was allowed to accept money, the point isn't to make money, the point is to create a cool and engaging adventure.

Thanks to Elle for stopping by for a chat! If you'd like to follow along and check out more sweet screenshots of Red 2, check her out on Twitter here.

See you next week for our regularly scheduled Pokémon news from across the internets!