#LATER ALLIGATOR MOVIE#
#LATER ALLIGATOR TV#

In games, you’re letting the viewer take the wheel, and how you manage that battle for control between you, the artist and the viewer is what makes working on a game appealing. They’re participating in the art, but they’re on a set path with you leading them by the hand. In film you’re directing the viewer entirely, whether subtly or not. It surprised me how the frustrations were so different, despite the project asset requirements being largely similar.

#LATER ALLIGATOR TV#

In terms of difference, I’d say the game and animation for TV or film are about the same amount of workload, but somehow in all different areas. Later Alligator is the first game I’ve ever conceptualized, and the first that Alex and I have made together as SmallBu. Technically no, in that we’ve done a few things here and there asset-wise for places like Wayforward, but that was basically just regular animation or design work. Was this the first game you both worked on? How was animating for Later Alligator different from your experience working on TV productions?

I’m so elated that people are enjoying #LaterAlligator!! I thought I’d share the very first thing we made for it, which was to accompany my pitch of the idea to Pat used to wear a cowboy hat in his early days. Somehow they agreed to do this with us, despite what I just explained.

#LATER ALLIGATOR MOVIE#

I sent them an early movie file of a crudely animated Pat sitting at a restaurant table with talking options, and a rambling audio file of me explaining the game. I did have an idea, but it wasn’t exactly one of those. In the past, Jo and Conrad floated the idea of making a game with us, and at that time had been focused mainly on visual novels and unique, deep story dating sims. They’re located in the DC area, so in 2018 when we lived in Virginia, we’d drive up to hang out with them and eat food. Pillow Fight is composed of Jo Fu and Conrad Kreyling, another married couple who - serendipitously - we’d already been friends with for about eight years before we made a game together.

What led to you collaborating with Pillow Fight on Later Alligator, and how did the project start?

Later alligator