Kyle Banks labored as a software program engineer earlier than transferring to Edinburgh and dealing on his debut sport, Farewell North, which led to his nomination as a BAFTA Breakthrough. The sport contains a border collie journeying via the northern isles of Scotland, restoring color to the world.
You reside in Edinburgh now, however you were not born there, proper?
That is proper, I grew up in Canada and lived there for 30 years. Then my spouse and I made a decision we simply needed a change. So we offered our home, offered our automotive, offered every thing we owned, and simply travelled the UK for just a little bit, then landed in Edinburgh. I have been right here for about six years now.
What’s it that attracted you about Edinburgh?
I labored for a corporation that acquired just a little start-up in Leeds, so I used to be out in Leeds for just a few months, and I did some weekend journeys. A type of journeys was to Edinburgh, and I simply completely fell in love with town. I used to be right here at Christmas time, and the structure, town, the vibe, the entire thing was simply superb.
Behind my head I used to be considering, ‘I hope my spouse loves it there simply as a lot as I do’, after which fortunately when she visited, she beloved it. We each felt instantly at residence right here. However my grandma and my dad are from Glasgow, so getting them on board with the thought of us residing in Edinburgh wasn’t so clean…
The outdated Edinburgh-Glasgow rivalry!
Yeah, outdated habits I suppose. My grandma hadn’t been again to the UK because the seventies, and he or she had some perhaps outdated opinions on Edinburgh. So she had some selection phrases. However we completely find it irresistible right here, and my household’s been out, they usually see the enchantment as effectively.
So inform me about Farewell North. You had been engaged on it for fairly a while, weren’t you?
It was in improvement for 50 months, so simply over 4 years. Not all of that was full-time. I used to be working as a software program engineer for the primary three years, after which within the final 12 months I went full-time on the sport.
It was born within the COVID pandemic. We had simply moved right here and had simply obtained into our flat in February 2020, then a month later we had the primary lockdown. We had all these ambitions to journey round Scotland, however we did not get to do this, so the sport was a solution to discover the nation via analysis and pictures once we could not bodily exit and discover. Then it simply sort of grew legs. Folks appeared actually enthusiastic about it, and it spiralled uncontrolled from there.
It is like a love letter to a rustic you barely know.
Primarily, yeah. It was additionally a extremely nice solution to meet folks. I met voice actors, and composers, and all these individuals who had been based mostly in Scotland and share this love of Scotland.
It is one factor to begin a venture in lockdown, however fairly one other factor to really go on and end it – it will need to have been exhausting to get there.
4 years is a very long time. I believe that was perhaps a bit too lengthy. I had been moonlighting on video games for ten years previous to that, by no means actually doing something substantial, by no means actually releasing something. However as quickly as I confirmed folks Farewell North, there was an instantaneous curiosity, and that basically helped gasoline the motivation to maintain engaged on it.
I documented the entire journey on YouTube, and there was loads of assist there, and lots of people rallied behind the sport, providing to play check it and supply suggestions, so that basically pushed me. Once you’re 4 years into any venture, you are going to begin to really feel a bit worn down at some factors, however the neighborhood and the viewers that grew round it actually helped get it over the road.
You had been a software program coder for tech start-ups earlier than, so how did you discover transferring over onto the inventive facet of coding? Is it fairly completely different?
It is really sort of bizarre how a lot of the underlying expertise is shared between the 2, but how there’s just about no crossover between the 2 industries. So after I inform folks from the tech facet of issues that I am working in video games now, they don’t know what that basically entails, what it entails. Though there may be loads of shared overlap, these industries simply do not actually talk a complete lot.
However I’d argue that while you’re working in tech start-ups, particularly in an organization that is solely ten folks, you’re required to put on loads of hats, so there’s a related inventive vitality. It isn’t the identical as working in a cubicle at a 28,000-person firm the place you are put into a really particular position. You must be fairly inventive, and nimble, and adapt.
I suppose it’s important to put on loads of hats while you’re a solo sport developer.
Yeah, I believe perhaps a bit extra so than on the tech facet. I undoubtedly wasn’t doing music and sound design and all that sort of stuff earlier than. Video games are a complete new world of so many disciplines – and that is with out even fascinated about the accounting, advertising, and enterprise facet of it. There is a ton of issues that it’s important to choose up, however I believe that is the enjoyment of it: on daily basis you get to do one thing completely different.
Had been you shocked to listen to that you are a BAFTA Breakthrough?
Yeah, undoubtedly. I utilized as a little bit of a protracted shot, simply threw my title into the ring to see what occurs.
Why do you suppose they selected you?
Oh, geez. I do not know. I believe I am too Canadian to ever speculate! I suppose they noticed the advantage of the venture and noticed the work and the love that went into that. That might be my hope.
What does it imply to you to be a BAFTA Breakthrough, and the way will it assist you to?
I believe it is at all times actually validating to be seen by your friends. Receiving that sort of recognition is at all times very humbling and really validating, and it means loads.
It is a robust time within the trade proper now with funding and publishers, and I believe that is the sort of factor that may assist you to to face out just a little bit, to present your title just a little bit extra credibility. It is also actually fascinating by way of with the ability to meet and community with folks – it opens some doorways.
One factor I hold listening to from folks within the trade, regardless of all of the difficulties that individuals face and the generally actually lengthy working hours, is that there’s a sense of individuals attempting to assist one another and construct one another up. Have you ever skilled the identical factor?
Yeah. I believe if you wish to make cash, video games are in all probability not the way in which to do it. I believe everybody who’s doing it has a extremely widespread shared curiosity in storytelling and sport design, and all this stuff that carry us collectively. So there’s undoubtedly loads of ardour there, and folks do not actually have a look at one another as competitors: we have a look at one another as mates and colleagues. It is an actual sense of neighborhood.
What are you engaged on subsequent?
I am engaged on one thing that could not presumably be extra completely different. It’s a wholly completely different style, sport design, every thing about it. We have not introduced it but – hopefully early subsequent 12 months we’ll – nevertheless it’s coming alongside rather well.
It took 4 years to make Farewell North, and throughout the trade folks have been speaking about methods to make video games extra rapidly. Have you considered methods to hurry up improvement?
Yeah, completely. Going again to my background in software program engineering, I used to be in a position to construct loads of tooling with Farewell North that’s being carried ahead to my subsequent venture. So from day one, console ports are mainly executed. All my lower scenes and sequencing and all that sort of stuff is able to go. So that you sort of hit the bottom working just a little bit there, and you are not spending a lot time constructing these foundations. I’ve undoubtedly seen that repay within the second sport.
Nobody needs to be spending half their life making a sport. We wish to be doing issues a bit faster – and making video games extra rapidly means that you can take extra dangers. The longer you spend on a venture, the extra of a positive factor it needs to be. Whereas when you are able to do one thing that does not take so lengthy, you is usually a bit extra inventive with it, you’ll be able to take greater dangers, and do one thing that is a bit extra outlandish.
That is the purpose with sport quantity two – to do one thing wildly completely different.
What sort of assist do you anticipate receiving from BAFTA?
What I am actually hoping is to attach with some folks with some narrative, sport design, and perhaps even screenwriting expertise. I discovered with Farewell North, I grew to become passionate concerning the narrative facet of issues, which is one thing I did not understand I used to be so obsessed with beforehand. And that is one thing that I undoubtedly wish to carry ahead into future tasks, and I’d like to get a bit extra perception from individuals who have that background on greatest practices and methods to go about issues, but additionally simply to share some concepts and get some suggestions on what I am engaged on.
A part of the rationale Farewell North took 4 years is as a result of I used to be determining what I used to be making as I went alongside. I’d like to get a way from different writers about how they construction a venture and lay out the foundations of it.
Final query, have you ever obtained a canine?
Sure, I do.
Is it the identical because the canine within the sport? A border collie?
It is only a chihuahua.
No means!
However she was an enormous inspiration, she’s superb. She’s undoubtedly not your typical chihuahua. She’s 15 years outdated, and we simply walked up a Monroe along with her a few weeks in the past – she did the entire thing herself. She’s been up Snowden. She’s very, very energetic, undoubtedly not your typical chihuahua.
So she’s sort of an journey chihuahua?
Yeah. I believe the canine in Farewell North is unquestionably a Chihuahua at coronary heart. Folks simply wanted the border collie exterior to purchase into it.
This interview has been edited for size and readability.
Uncover extra concerning the different members of the 2025 BAFTA Breakthrough video games cohort: Stanley Baxton, Sally Beaumont, Mark Choi, and Cara Ellison.