The DeanBeat: Why making great games takes time

One of the most awkward introductions I’ve ever had to a game developer was with Dino Patti, a founder of a game studio called Playdead, back in 2011. He and his cofounders were walking on the red carpet at a big game event, and he was ushered over to me. We had no idea who the other was. I asked him to tell me about his game, Limbo, which was nominated for an indie award. He had no idea what to say, and I didn’t know what to ask. Our conversation was very short.

It was only later that I realized that Limbo was one of the most acclaimed indie titles in years. We both remembered our initial meeting when I saw him again yesterday at the Gamelab event in Barcelona, Spain, where he talked about Inside, his former company’s latest hit. That side-scrolling thriller took him six years to make, and it once again won many industry awards. In an interview, I asked him what took Playdead so long to make.