Reece Millidge

Reece Millidge (born 1975^[1]) is a Brighton-based British Flash and mobile game developer, also known under the pseudonym Damp Gnat, which is also the name of his (one-man) studio. He is best known for the games Wonderputt, which was a finalist for the Independent Games Festival Excellence in Visual Art award, and Icycle.^[2] Millidge was named a "Breakthrough Brit" at the 2014 BAFTAs.^[3]

Reece Millidge
Born	1975
Nationality	British
Other names	Damp Gnat
Occupation(s)	Animator, game designer
Website	dampgnat.com

Life and career

Millidge's father was himself an independent game developer, releasing and self-publishing a single game for the BBC Micro in the 1980s, when Millidge was only 7 years old.^[2][3] Millidge was an early fan of video games, finding himself especially spellbound by the game Exile for the BBC Micro at the age of 13, which also inspired him to make his first own game together with a friend for the Amiga 500.^[4] The game was eventually released under the name Odyssey in 1995 by publisher Audiogenic for the Amiga 500/600/1200.^[5][6][7] A fan letter sent to Peter Irvin, the co-creator of Exile, led to some work at the studio Frontier Developments, where Millidge worked as an artist on the 32X game Darxide (1996).^[2]

After Darxide, Millidge worked as an advertising animator and would not return to video game development until 2009, with the release of the Flash game Icycle.^[7][8] That game was followed by Microputt (2010), Adverputt (2010) and the IGF Excellence in Visual Art finalist Wonderputt (2011). His latest release is the game Wonderputt Forever (2022).^[9]

In 2016, Millidge joined BAFTA Crew, a program that aims to support career progression by connecting upcoming talent with their peers and established industry figures.^[10] He was also a jury member for the BAFTA The Ones To Watch Award in the same year.^[11]

Games

Date	Title	Platform	Role	Notes	Ref(s)
1995	Odyssey	Amiga 500/600/1200	Artist, composer		[9]
1996	Darxide	32X	Artist		[9]
2009	Icycle	Browser
2010	Microputt	Browser			[12]
2010	Adverputt	Browser			[13]
2011	Wonderputt	Browser, iOS, Android
2013	Icycle: On Thin Ice	Browser, iOS, Android, TvOS, PC			[8]
2022	Wonderputt Forever	PC, iOS, Android

References

1. "Trace your Family Tree Online | Genealogy & Ancestry from Findmypast". findmypast.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
2. "Gamasutra - Road to the IGF: Damp Gnat's Wonderputt". gamasutra.com. 8 February 2012. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
3. "Reece Millidge". BAFTA. 24 September 2015. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
4. "In praise of a BBC Micro classic: Forever playing in Exile • Eurogamer.net". eurogamer.net. 8 April 2018. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
5. http://amr.abime.net/review_3251 Amiga Format 76 (Oct 1995)
6. Slater, Harry (7 March 2014). "Genre Moves Special Feature - Damp Gnat's Reece Millidge on touchscreen platformers, down buttons, and Icycle: On Thin Ice". www.pocketgamer.com.
7. Donlan, Christian (27 October 2013). "Reece Millidge and the power of gimmicks". Eurogamer.
8. "Icycle: On Thin Ice review • Eurogamer.net". eurogamer.net. 13 December 2013. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
9. "Reece Millidge Video Game Credits and Biography". MobyGames. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
10. "BAFTA adds 90 new games members to BAFTA Crew". GamesIndustry.biz. 14 April 2016. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
11. https://issuu.com/bafta/docs/bafta_games_awards_brochure_2016 British Academy Games Awards in 2016 programme. Published on Apr 5, 2016. The official programme handed out to attendees of the BAFTA Games Awards, held at the Tobacco Dock in London on 7 April 2016. The specially created cover depicts the explosion of ideas and rush of imagination that go into the making of games.
12. "MicroPutt". newgrounds.com. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
13. "Serious Game Classification : Adverputt (2010)". serious.gameclassification.com. Retrieved 2021-08-02.

External links

• DAMP GNAT (official website)
• Reece Millidge on Twitter