Snap decisions

What inspired the creation of Downpour, which invites you to turn photos into games?

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One thing interactive entertainment has always been short on, when it comes to covering life’s essential subjects: games about tea. Correcting this imbalance might not have been V Buckenham’s intent in developing game-creation app Downpour, but it does seem to be infused within it. In January 2022, Buckenham began tweeting short games made using a tool she’d been tinkering with since leaving her role of lead game designer at Niantic (see ‘Passing Go’). The first of those games, posted on New Year’s Day, opens on a photograph of a kitchen counter holding a kettle, teabags and milk, which must be tapped in the correct order, lest you find yourself scolded.

In March, when Downpour launched in app stores, developer Terry Cavanagh tried his hand at the nascent tea-making genre, with just the kind of mechanical twist you’d expect from the creator of Super Hexagon and VVVVVV. Unlike Buckenham’s game, A Proper Cup Of Tea (at the risk of spoiling it, for those who haven’t played yet) rewards every possible combination of ingredients, in any order. A triple-teabag-and-milk brew, a cup that holds only sugar cubes, even a straightforward cuppa – these are all equally viable routes to an S-Rank.