On December 27th, 2021, AnimalBot99 had the chance to speak with BeastyBlake101! Hope you enjoy reading!
Blake: Hi there, thanks for having me. I’m the Creative Director and Lead Developer of Arcade Island, a social game on Roblox. I’m also an Event Organizer, and I occasionally stream on YouTube.
Animal: I’ve been looking through your DevForum portfolio and there’s quite a lot that you’ve done. How do you manage everything?
Blake: Keeping a balance between everything I do on a daily basis has to be the hardest part. One day I may be planning to work on fixing bugs and the same day I find myself having to deal with business issues. Stopping myself from burning out has been a difficult skill to learn.
Animal: A lot of it goes hand in hand though doesn’t it? Such as a lot of your events have to do with community and your marketing side must help with the development as you know what the players will expect/want?
Blake: My mindset with everything I do is about being a creative leader, so a lot of it is in fact hand in hand. Being a jack of many trades really lets me see Roblox projects from the eyes of a player and creator at the same time.
Animal: What did you first start off doing because I am sure you weren’t doing this much when you first started off.
Blake: Most people know me for Arcade Island, where my development on Roblox first started with obstacle course competitions that I would develop and host with friends. I started working on arcades when I wanted to recreate one of my favorite machines from a local arcade. I almost gave up on that project, I’m sure glad I didn’t because it has evolved into a life changing opportunity.
Animal: I remember going back to a previous interview you did with DigitalBloxed on his show (Afterwards, I also write for it lol) and remember him asking about Arcade Island. I take it that the place is not “new” but has been out for quite a while?
Blake: Yeah, Arcade Island has been a multi-year project. The majority of the old content has been replaced with newer and better equipped technology, but it’s been a learning process and it’s aweing to look back and see how it has taken shape.
Animal: I noticed that from your marketing side it’s mainly how you market out Arcade Island. Do you have any other projects along with it or are you trying to bet that Arcade Island will be the best source for the players to keep coming back and making revenue off of?
Blake: I have many other project ideas that I plan to develop in the future. As much as I love Arcade Island, and the concept has proven it can be successful, I know for a fact it isn’t the perfect gameplay loop alongside updates being very time consuming to work on. I wouldn’t necessarily say I’m betting on the project, but more I’m so focused on it because I really care for the community I’ve made and how they have brought me to the position I’m in. Opportunity isn’t going anywhere for working on other projects or improving potential income from Arcade Island.
Animal: I think it was Crackop who provided good advice that it’s best to work on many various projects to gain new skills rather than stick to one thing.
Off development for a bit though, I know you are also an event organizer and your first event seems to have been in August. Was it only recently you became an organizer?
Blake: Yeah, I became an organizer a few months back. I have had a hard time finding the time to host events with how much energy I’ve been putting towards getting Arcade Island X released as soon as possible. I really enjoy the program and it's great to see people meet other developers and improve their skills through my own or others events.
Animal: I see that your upcoming event is going to be based around marketing your own Roblox games to reach more people, anything else you want to say about it?
Blake: Definitely! The event is designed to be an entry level, casual, and open event that surrounds how developers can create and maintain momentum with their projects. Headed into the new year, I thought this would be a great way to kick off and help people get on their feet with starting their journey towards their goals.
Animal: Is most of the marketing you’ve learned self-taught through trial and error or have you taken classes on marketing?
Blake: Most of the experience that I have through Roblox as a whole is self taught. What I really love about the Roblox platform is the player creator journey, and that many players, like me, learned the ins and outs of Roblox game development and growing projects through playing on the platform themselves.
Animal: I can tell that you have learned a lot through projects on Roblox seeing you went to RDC ‘21, runner up in the 2020 holiday game jam, along with your experiences with Arcade Island. Do you think that each project you’ve taken on you’ve learned a new trick or another way to do something to speed up the development?
Blake: All these experiences have been unique in their own way. RDC was a momentum to network and communicate new skills, the Game Jam really helped my endurance in working on projects, and Arcade Island is the project that has taken me from square 1 to the place I am now. I really aim to soak things in as much as possible and take on as many opportunities as I can.
Animal: I have to ask, if you could only do one thing (market, develop, events) what would you prefer to do?
Blake: I really like being a leader, so that’s a pretty tough decision. But if I had to stick with one thing, it would be developing, because I really like the concept of designing something for an individual.
Animal: One of the quotes I find a lot throughout your socials is “The best ideas are the ones you don’t force yourself to think of.” How much does this quote mean to you in terms of what you do?
Blake: A lot of times I can find myself getting hyper focused. It’s important to take a step back and allow new ideas and solutions to come towards you naturally. No one can force themselves to think of a great game idea, or force themselves to get on the front page the next day. Game development is really about trusting the process and those that are able to do that are the ones that find themselves successful.
Animal: Off to other questions, have you met any event organizers you would suggest we check up on/join in on their events?
Blake: There’s so much incredible talent and unique perspectives in the Event Organizer program that it would be hard for me to recognize just a few. The events website has all the incredible people listed!
Animal: I remember reading this topic on the DevForums this morning ranting about “old Roblox being better,” from a development perspective would you say that old Roblox was better or would you prefer all the features Roblox has today?
Blake: Roblox two or three years ago is a whole lot different than Roblox today. But that said, Roblox’s tools, technology, and community are absolutely incredible and present the opportunity to create magnificent work compared to previous times. Roblox may have lost some of it’s nostalgic feel, and development may be much more competitive now, but that’s going to happen with any platform growing up.
Animal: That’s true, I am sure a lot of people will say with the tools now it’s a lot easier to create than what was provided in say 2011. Do you have any favorite games, ones that you did not make or contribute to?
Blake: I honestly don’t play enough other games on Roblox. Some of my favorites would be Bloxburg, The Normal Elevator, and Sound Volblox. I should really take some time to play more games to be honest with you.
Animal: As of now I see you are playing your own game. Go expand out! Anyways, what advice would you give others that wish to accomplish as much as you have, whether it be development or marketing or anything.
Blake: Something that a lot of people don’t really realize is that quite literally anything is possible, if someone is both internally passionate about something and wants it bad enough. It’s cliche and a lot of accomplished people like to tell you to work hard, never give up, and that anything is possible, but the moment someone takes that to heart and understands it is the truth, that is when the journey begins.
Animal: Nicely said. Well Blake I must thank you for your time and I wish you the best of luck with Arcade Island, Arcade Island X, event organizing, game jams and whatever else you may do in the future!
Blake: Thanks for the opportunity for us to chat, it’s been a pleasure!
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