Interview with the Solo Developer of GIGASWORD, Jack Breen

It’s that time of year again! The Six One Indie Showcase is in full swing and that means loads of amazing indies being shown off and, of course, we’ve got more developer interviews for you. This time we sent questions over to Jack Breen, solo developer of Metroidvania puzzle platformer GIGASWORD.

A huge thank you to Jack for being a part of our September showcase and for allowing us to show off GIGASWORD.

• Can you tell me a little bit about yourself and your game development journey?

  I’ve wanted to be a developer since I was old enough to hold a controller. I was always drawing characters, writing music, and making up stories for games that didn’t exist yet. In highschool, I started learning how to program. I didn’t think I would enjoy it (given that I was always more focused on the artistic side of things), but I quickly became hooked.
  
  After that I worked on a few small projects and demos, but GIGASWORD will be my first commercial release. I have about ten years experience making games at this point, and six of those have been spent on GIGASWORD! Crazy that it’s been that long, but it’s been more than worth it.

• How did the idea for the game come about? Were there any notable sources of inspiration?

  Back in 2016 or so, sitting in my friend’s dorm room, he told me I should “make a buster-sword platformer” because, in his opinion, not many people had done that yet. Most people making a game focused around a big sword probably would have immediately started designing some sort of in depth combat system. But as an avid Zelda fan, my mind immediately went to puzzles. I thought, “well, if you really had a sword that big, it would be pretty heavy. So maybe you would be allowed to put it down, and then you could jump higher”. I wrote my initial ideas down and didn’t touch the project again until 2019, when I officially started development. Originally, GIGASWORD was just a temporary name, but as I continued to work on it, I realized there was really no title that fit the game more perfectly. It’s catchy, simple, and immediately gives you a decent idea of what the game is about.
  
  Many players assume I must be either a huge Berserk fan, or a huge Cloud Strife fan. The reality? Soul Calibur 2, baby. Can it GET any cooler than Nightmare?

• I first played GIGASWORD at PAX East 2025 and left incredibly impressed. How has reception been for the game at the convention and afterwards?

  I’m so glad you enjoyed your time with it! Fortunately, that seems to be the general reaction! Everyone that played the game at PAX East seemed to really have a blast with it. Their favorite part? The way the sword leaves a little dust trail. I don’t know why, but EVERYONE comments about that.
  
  Given that this game has been in development for six years, GIGASWORD has had a lot of time to accrue a strong number of dedicated fans. GIGASWORD had a Kickstarter campaign in 2022, which was supported by over a thousand backers. I also started an official Discord server for the game in 2021, on which many members have spent time collaborating with each other to try to figure out the lore of the game. It’s been really rewarding seeing how invested players are in the game’s story!

• What lessons have you learned from previous projects that have helped you develop GIGASWORD?

  The other projects I worked on in the past really gave me the time I needed to hone my pixel art skills. I would say the background art specifically is one of the aspects I’m most proud of in GIGASWORD. It’s also what I usually have the most fun doing! That probably explains why there are so many different backgrounds in this game… guess I kind of got carried away…oh well!

• GIGASWORD looks like it can be a game that speedrunners would love to explore. Was this type of player or play style something you thought about through development?

  I’m not a speedrunner myself, but speedrunning is absolutely something I had in mind. GIGASWORD is a game in which you are constantly encumbered, and I think there’s a certain group of players who are gonna have a really fun time trying to break out of those restrictions and see just how quickly they can actually beat this game. Akupara and I ran a speedrun competition for the demo a few weeks ago, and some of the skips that players found blew my mind. I cannot WAIT to see what crazy strats people come up with when the full game drops.

• What does “indie” mean to you?

  To me, I think the backbone of the indie scene is made of the people who “make games against all odds”. They have no funding, no formal training. Just a dream and a computer. Sitting in their bedrooms late into the night, pouring their souls into the screen of a laptop. These are the ones who know what it means to be truly inspired by video games; and if you ask them about their favorite one, you’ll briefly see the world in their eyes. They aren’t doing this for money or fame. They have seen, and felt, the potential that games have to impact people’s lives. And they want to be a part of that impact. 

I will never forget the feeling of home that Katalox Island provided me in Megaman Legends, or how badly I wanted to ride in one of those airships. I will never forget the beaches of Mario Sunshine, and how calm they make me feel, even just recalling them. I will never forget the excitement of crossing the finish line in F-Zero GX, or the epic accomplishment of finally slaying the Nameless King in Dark Souls 3. These moments, these memories, have made my life better; more meaningful, more vibrant. If I can provide that kind of experience to someone else through my work, I couldn’t possibly ask for a more fulfilling life.

GIGASWORD is set to launch on October 2nd, 2025. You can wishlist the game on Steam now to stay up to date on upcoming news and check out the demo while you’re there.