Terry Cavanagh, best known for Super Hexagon and VVVVVV, is an indie game designer from London. His interest for developing video games began with Final Fantasy VII. He experimented with many small games in school, self-taught in the old Qbasic engine before moving onto Flash games. An active member of small game communities, he posted a number of tutorials (e.g. how to build text-based adventures) and reviews of other indie games over the years.
After graduating from college with a degree in math and working at a bank as an analyst for a year and a half, Cavanagh took a risk and quit for his game design career. Rather than aiming for a large ambitious project, he began to churn out a large number of small games and prototypes primarily made in Flash. Participating in game jams like Ludum Dare, he found inspiration in everything from Greek mythology (the Orpheus and Eurydice myth in Don’t Look Back) to combining game contest themes. His activity on small Flash sites like Newgrounds and Kongregate, as well as larger communities like the Independent Game Festival, slowly cultivated a fanbase for his experimental games.
I admire Cavanagh’s dedication to design and self-creation. Though he admits he is no artist, he creates his own simpler 8-bit graphics which achieve a minimalistic yet unique style. He works in small teams, usually alone or with a single composer. By prototyping a large number of smaller games rather than focusing on huge projects, he has been able to release many projects, good and bad. The quantity alone has led to both lesser-known and popular hits, including the Kongregate platformer Don’t Look Back and gravity-bending VVVVVV. His games are designed with a simple gimmick and easy controls, yet build up to complex and fun levels. He is the paradigm of an indie developer who quit his job for his passion and made it to fame through hard work and a large number of small but fantastic games.
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