Games I think almost uniquely are about putting you in someone's shoes. I think the point about characters being small against a big environment is something that really fascinates me about what you can do with games that's hard to convey through other mediums. Sometimes those things work together, but sometimes they’re a little bit at odds, so you have to choose your battles. Harry points out: “There’s always a balance between clarity, readability and creating a sense of place, an atmosphere. MORE FROM FORBES Apple Reveals Jaw-Dropping Upgrade For AirPods Pro 2 By David Phelan One of the great features of the game is how the characters (Alto, his friends whose snowboarding skills you can test when you’ve achieved certain goals, the llamas) are tiny but utterly identifiable, and with individual characters. As well as the artwork, Harry had ideas-the llamas were Harry’s idea-which became important to the game as well. I’d never had a feeling like that from a video game.” Ryan liked snowboarding, so creating a game that had a zen-like feel and Harry’s artwork came together. I could just leave my phone open with the music going and feel like I’m at a beach somewhere. He explains: “I was like, wow, this is just beautiful.
Jordan (Rosenberg, his co-founder at Snowman) directed Ryan to Tiny Wings and Ryan’s response was powerful. “Harry’s style had this almost-Zen, relaxing look which was in contrast to other games at the time. They kept in touch and when the germ of an idea for Alto’s Adventure came up, it was Harry’s art style that Ryan wanted. Ryan met Harry when Ryan spotted cool illustrations on a website that he liked.