The Swedish developer Southend Interactive is developing a new puzzle game for Xbox Live, called ilomilo. The cute duo Ilo and Milo are the stars of the charming video game, which mixes a childbook look with European art styles. Beauty of Games talked with Art Director Simon Flesser about the main characters, dreams, the magic of photographs and balloon men with mustaches in womens clothing.

Do you remember the moment when you decided that you want to dedicate your life to art?

I don't think there was a turning point or anything. So, to be honest, no I don't remember a specific moment, but I've always had gaming and art related things as a my big hobby so I guess it came natural.

Please tell us something about the art related education that you’ve got. Have you studied or are you a self-taught artist?

I didn't really study art. I applied for a cartoonist class, but did not get in. I had to do something, so mostly for fun I applied to a 3D graphics education that I got in to.

What is your most favorite tool/material to work with as an artist (photoshop and pen tablet, pencil to scribble, etc.)?

My favourite tool is a black ink pen. Besides that: Photoshop (without a tablet, I can't use one of those!), Maya and copic markers.

What have you done before you joined Southend Interactive?

I worked at Ghost VFX in Copenhagen as an animator. Animated on a lot of lego (bionicle) commercials there.

How did you get involved with this company then?

Southend? I applied for a job and I got it!

What is the game ilomilo about?

It's a game about the space marines ilo and milo and their eternal struggle against alien soldiers and space zombies. Maybe.

Was ilmomilo a puzzle-game right from the beginning or did you have something else in mind at first?

Ilomilo was always a puzzle game. Actually, the art style came first, which is quite unusual, so some different puzzle concepts were floating around in pre production phase.

How about the art style? Have you (Southend) always wanted to make a “cute game”?

I don't necessarily think that there has been a desire within Southend to create something cute. Ilomilo just happens to be my personal style. And sure it is cute, but I think there's also a sort of melancholic tone to the art style.

What kind of emotions do you want to evoke on the player’s side?

Simple! With ilomilo we're hoping to bring smiles to people.

We're also hoping that playing ilomilo is an experience they will share with a friend, and communicate to help eachother to solve puzzle. In a way ilomilo is a just a big compatibility test for you and your friends.

The look of the game is very childish, but what is your target group?

I'm not a marketing guy so I don't tend to think about demographics or target groups. My personal target group is the group consisting of people with good taste that wants a new fun toy to play with.

How did you develop the look of ilo and milo as the game’s protagonists?

Since I was a kid I've drawn characters that look like ilo and milo with square faces and antennas.

What are they? With their little antenna they remind me a bit on insects. Fleas maybe?

They are whatever you want them to be. They're not fleas, but their helpers oli and moli, that you can control in the multiplayer mode, are some kind of insects.

What’s the role of all the cubes in the game? There are so many! Could you also reveal a few new ones to us?

All the cubes had a secret plan to take over the world and rule it with violence and pure evil. But their lack of arms and legs made this difficult so instead they act as tools for ilo and milo in their adventure.

Some cubes we have not yet shown are the lantern cube and the elevator cube. Just by hearing their name you might guess their functions...

What role do other creatures play in the game? For example we have seen the dog fish, the plunger creature or the little guys with their instruments.

All creatures have different purposes. Creatures like the dog fish are just passive inhabitants of the world, the player can't really interact with them. Then there are creatures like the plunger, the muncher that acts as sort of living cubes that ilo and milo can't pick up.

The music men you can control and make irritating sounds with during multiplayer sessions.

What is the possibly weirdest or craziest thing you created for the game?

Hm. My favourite character of the game, Sebastian, is quite weird. He's the only talking character and acts sort of lika a guide in the game. He's unpleasant, narcissistic and ugly, but in some ways I think he's very lovable. The ballon man with a mustache wearing womens clothing is also a bit weird, I guess.

You decided to tell the story of ilomilo with photographs. Do you just use pictures as in a comic book or do you use some kind of stop-motion mechanic to animate them?

They are just still pictures, but they are watched in a three dimensional space, so there's fancy camera work and stuff going on.

Read the second part of this interview on the next page.