Neo-retro game collection UFO 50 was born from friendship, says Spelunky creator

Derek Yu is just happy to be making games again with Jon Perry, his childhood friend and the co-creator of Time Barons, Eternal Daughter, and Diabolika. Speaking with him at PAX, Yu gave more me a few more details on the genesis of UFO 50, and what it's been like to collaborate with four other indies on 50 original, '80s-style games.

"In a way this was a game that was designed so that all of us could work on it together. One of the team members, Jon [Perry], is a friend of mine from second grade," says Yu. "And we used to make games together as kids, we'd make small games together over the weekend. So we wanted to make a game again now, and it made sense to go back to our roots and make small games again. And we thought, 'Why don't we do 50 of them?' Because I think that'd be an interesting idea, I think it would really get people's attention. It's been a pure joy to work on."

Yu says that UFO 50's development has been "a lot like a game jam," but that all members of the team do work on different games. "We do a lot of planning to make sure that that the games all feel cohesive," he added.

UFO 50 will be out first on PC next year before moving to other platforms. "We're still deciding on the price, but we want it to be an easy purchase!" reads the FAQ.

Evan's a hardcore FPS enthusiast who joined PC Gamer way back in 2008. After an era spent publishing reviews, news, and cover features, he now oversees editorial operations for PC Gamer worldwide, including setting policy, training, and editing stories written by the wider team. His most-played FPSes are Hunt: Showdown, Team Fortress 2, Team Fortress Classic, Rainbow Six Siege, and Counter-Strike. His first multiplayer FPS was Quake 2, played on serial LAN in his uncle's basement, the ideal conditions for instilling a lifelong fondness for fragging.