Jon Ingold and Joseph Humphrey
Writer and director of A Highland Song
Sam Riley
- Rob Leane
What are your early gaming memories?
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Jon I started playing text adventure games in the 1980s, which were stories that you typed into and got a story back from.
Joseph I had a Mac, which had a niche set of games like Escape Velocity and Monkey Island.
How did you become game developers?
Jon I started off making games on my own for quite a few years, then I got a job in a studio and learnt how bigger games were made. That’s where I met Joe, and then we founded our company, Inkle Studios.
Where are you based?
Jon The company is based in Cambridge, but the game is very much a love letter to the Highlands and to Scottish history and mythology. We also have music from two of Scotland’s greatest folk bands, Talisk and Fourth Moon.
Joseph I’m pseudo-Scottish. I was born and grew up in Scotland but my parents are English. I spent a lot of time in the Highlands as a kid, and that was the main inspiration for the game.
What advice would you give others interested in gaming as a career?
Joseph If you really want to get a job in the game industry, you need to have a really strong portfolio. A game company is more likely to hire you based on the work that you’ve done, maybe in your spare time, than what degree you’ve done at university.
How would you describe your game?
Jon There’s that classic conversation we always have, where we tell people we make games. And they say, “Oh, is it about murdering or stealing cars?” And we’re like, “No, it’s about hiking in the Scottish Highlands.” It couldn’t be more different.
How does it feel to be Bafta-nominated?
Joseph Bafta is one of the very few institutions that brings credibility to the games industry. Because even now, I think games have a little bit of a struggle compared with films, books and TV. So the work that Bafta does, and the opportunities they give to indies like us, is incredible.
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Authors
Rob LeaneGaming Editor
Rob Leane is the Gaming Editor at Radio Times, overseeing our coverage of the biggest games on PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, PC, mobile and VR. Rob works across our website, social media accounts and video channels, as well as producing our weekly gaming newsletter. He has previously worked at Den of Geek, Stealth Optional and Dennis Publishing.
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