April 2024
Jake Muehle
Chief Creative Officer
What is your role in Solar Forge Games?
I handle gameplay and economy balance and general creative direction of Tower Rush.
What is your favorite card in our game?
I really like the Poison Tower. Lots of damage with some interesting vulnerabilities, plus the card art is hilarious.
What have you enjoyed the most about developing Tower Rush?
It’s really exciting watching Sean’s visuals come together for the game.
Every time there’s a new addition for art I always take a moment to appreciate how much better the game looks.
What is your favorite game, or the game that has inspired you the most?
I’m a huge logistics game fan, so games like Factorio, Satisfactory, and Dyson Sphere Program are my favorites.
What is your background? Did you go to school for game dev, or even see yourself going into games?
I graduated with a Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Utah in 2012 and had a connection with the faculty at the master’s game development program there. I wasn’t planning on getting into game development, but I fell in love with it right away and have been alternating between an engineer and design roles ever since.
How does indie dev compare to AA/AAA?
Indie dev is surprisingly not that different. There’s obvious things—the team and the game are both smaller. There’s less red tape and meetings that you have to go to. The actual work isn’t too different at all: game development is about solving interesting problems and going through many ideas to get to the idea that works.
What was the hardest part of creating Tower Rush?
We had to make a lot of hard sacrifices to get the game out in a timely manner. It’s always tough to cut your favorite feature, but it’s even tougher to cut huge categories like “social interaction”. We’ll get there eventually, but it hurts to put out something before all your favorite features are in.
Any recommendations for people who want to get into game development?
Be nice. Be social. Be patient. Either be an engineer or make friends with engineers because they’ll get jobs first. Jobs are based on who you know and who will recommend you.
What are your favorite hobbies?
Video games. I play Minecraft with my kids, it’s very rewarding.
If you couldn't do game dev, what do you see yourself doing instead?
I have a soft spot for tool development (it’s surprisingly similar to game development), I’d probably be making tools for Amazon or Adobe or something.
What is your favorite TV show?
My wife and I cycle through the golden years of sitcoms from the 2010s: The Office, 30 Rock, Parks and Rec, Community.
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