Interview with Nick Lee

- How did you get involved in the development of Putty Squad?

Nick Lee: Putty Squad was the first game I'd worked on. I'd just met Phil Thorton and Mark down the pub, and got a job as a trainee artist... They'd just released the original Putty on Amiga. I started work immedietely on Putty Squad with Phil Thorton.

- A number of magazines reviewed Putty Squad. Does this mean that a full version exists?

Nick Lee: Erm, possibly. It's probably lost now though... Mags also have a habit of saying they've reviewed a full copy when it's sadly not true ;)

- Why was Putty Squad not released?

Nick Lee: I think it was released briefly on the SNES. I definitely saw it in the shops, but neglected to buy it =/....hahaha.. I'm also sure we did the SNES one first.. and when that got withdrawn I guess the Amiga one just kinda petered out.. It's all a bit hazy to honest;)

- How many levels were in the full game?

Nick Lee: Oh there were sh*tloads. I got very sick of piecing maps together.. I think including the small secret rooms there must have been close to a hundred...

- What influenced the decision to follow Putty with a sequel?

Nick Lee: Cos the original sold well I think, and Mark let Phil do whatever he wanted. Which was a bit random. hahah

- How does Putty Squad compare with the original?

Nick Lee: Well, to be honest, I probably prefer the original because it was all unique and Putty Squad had masses of huge levels that got a bit repetious. There's still some funny bits in it though..

- Are there any reasons for Putty Squad being an AGA A1200-only game?

Nick Lee: Well, technically speaking - I think it was quite a big game for starters.. took a lot of memory perhaps. (i'm guessing)

- How was the game designed?

Nick Lee: The game wasn't exactly designed. Not much on paper at all. Probably left anything of note in the pub. We just kind created daft sprites and backgrounds, then threw them all together.(with a bit of coding help).

- What was it like working for System 3?

Nick Lee: hahaha. It was very funny. A bit chaotic to say the least. I can't comment any further as I'm still there on and off.

- Can you tell us anything about other versions of Putty Squad (e.g. SNES, Playstation 2)?

Nick Lee: There was a released SNES version.. There was also a Megadrive version, and also some sort of PC incarnation... and a few years I did redo all the sprites twice the size for a PS2 version.

- If Amiga Putty Squad is ever released in its full version will it lose something of its mystery and cult status?

Nick Lee: yep. I would have thought so. But maybe I'm just cynical.

- Do you know anything about Alive Mediasoft, an Amiga company that claimed to be releasing Putty Squad in 1999?

Nick Lee: nope. never heard of them. I was aware that somebody was trying to release it at some stage though...

- What are your favourite Amiga games?

Nick Lee: Hmmn. That's hard to remember. Alien Breed was pretty good. Double Dragon was comically brilliant. New Zealand Story was good. Run The Gauntlet had some fun driving. Bloodwych was fun. Hired Guns pretty good too. Dungeon Master? and I couldn't forget Laser Squad and Chaos.