Indie Game Developer Interview with Brad Smith Miracle Tea

Please introduce yourself, your game and your studio.

I’m Brad Smith, the co-founder and creative director for Miracle Tea. We’re best known for our game Ruya and are currently working on our new game Alula.

Can you tell me about Alula, what makes it awesome?

Alula is a stargazing gardening game about what it means to be alone in the universe. You solve constellation-based puzzles in the sky to collect stardust and use that stardust to decorate an island. Players can then visit other gardeners online in a digital commune.

Indie Game Developer Interview with Brad Smith Miracle Tea - Alula

What has the journey been like making this game?

So far, it’s been great! We were fortunate enough that Alula was successfully supported with a grant by the UK Games Fund which has helped us a lot. They’ve been amazing to work with.

We’re really enjoying the process this time around and feel like we’ve learnt so much about making games since Ruya launched. People that resonated with Ruya will really appreciate Alula. It’s already a big step up for us as a studio in terms of design but still feels achievable and in scope.

What got you into making games and making indie games in particular? 

Making independent work kind of formed naturally overtime. It’s perhaps the catalyst of my hippie bohemian upbringing and the influence of an anti-job punk mentality from my parents that led me into this role. Making games always felt personal and challenging which had a lot of appeal to me.

I found the people I most looked up to in the games industry in my formative years were for the most part independent developers. Though, a big factor was doing a work experience placement at Media Molecule as a teenager and realising developers were just normal people and that I could do it too.

What have you learnt from making games?

I’ve learnt a lot about people and our emotions, how we’re wired, what makes us tick and our psychology. I’ve learnt a lot about myself and what I’m capable of and what my limitations are as a person. I’ve learnt that making games can be a noble profession that actually adds value to people’s lives.

Most of all, I’ve learnt how little I actually know. There’s always more to learn, making games will take a lifetime to master. It’s perhaps something that can’t even be mastered but it’s cool to try.

Indie Game Developer Interview with Brad Smith Miracle Tea - Ruya

If you had advice for indie games makers, what would it be?

Perhaps ask yourself if you like making games more than you like being a indie game maker. People tend to pursue something because it sounds cool to tell someone else rather than pursue something simply for the love of the activity itself, you know? You can waste your life doing something that isn’t really for you purely because of an external expectation or social pressures.

How can people support you and your game?

Follow Alula on Twitter, retweet us and tell your friends!

Where can people buy/play the game? And learn more about your studio?

Ruya is available on Steam, Itch.io and iOS. You can learn more about us and sign up to our mailing list on our website miracleteastudios.com. If you want to reach out to us personally with questions about us or our games, you can find us on Discord, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Thanks for reading our Indie Game Developer Interview with Brad Smith Miracle Tea. For more Indie Game Developer Interviews visit our features pages.

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This Article was written by: Harry Cole

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