Pac-Man 256 developer Hipster Whale on distractions, appealing to fans, and more

Developer Hipster Whale wasted little time making its followup to Crossy Road, but the studio now has to deal with splitting its attention and making something that it designed with a smaller audience in mind.

Pac-Man 256 is the latest mobile release from publisher Bandai Namco. The company enlisted the help of Hipster Whale, which is coming off the megahit Crossy Road. That game, a Frogger-style arcade app where you try to cross as many roads and rivers as possible, has surpassed 100 million downloads. But Hipster Whale and its founder, Matt Hall, has shifted focus in recent months to design and finish a new take on Namco’s beloved pellet-munching classic.