Speedy Gonzales | Game Boy

This was the first video game I ever worked on, back in 1992.  It was created at PAL Developments in Sheffield.  I provided some of the level art (but not the Ice level pictured above  – that’s the work of Darren Hebden).  I also did the main character animation along with some of the surround art and end-of-level boss backgrounds.  Mark Cooksey (of Ghosts and Goblins C64 fame) provided some brilliant music for the game.

I remember that it took a while to get used to working on the tiny Game Boy screen having been used to creating pixel work on a computer monitor.  You had to forget about drawing in pixel detail and make everything chunky.  The artist who drew the boss sprites was Wayne Dalton (I believe Wayne is still working in games today).  The game was coded by Nigel Speight and was *loosely* based on the popular Sonic the Hedgehog games of the time.  The game reviewed very well and was a generally well received.  I even think it picked up an award or two along the way.

It’s worth noting that we also had an Amiga version of Speedy Gonzales in development at the time.  I provided some of the background art for that along with some music.