DANIEL and Evan Scott’s father Alan was never a fan of them playing video games as children.
“He used to yell at us for playing violent ones,” Evan told the Sunday National.
“I remember we had this soft body physics demo where you would cut up this zombie-looking creature.
“It looked really violent and horrible even though it was super basic.
“But he would walk in and say: ‘That’s bloody disgusting, get that off!’”
There’s a certain irony, then, to the brothers immortalising their father as the AI assistant AL4-N in their newly released video game Scunners Run.
Players pilot a spaceship while battling various enemies and obstacles through the eponymous Scots-named gauntlet.
The character of AL4-N is funny, occasionally supportive and seemingly untrustworthy.
But despite being a product of AI, AL4-N injects a humorous and human element to a game otherwise populated by atmospheric and richly illustrated space scenes.
Daniel, a software engineer, handled the programming while younger brother Evan, a mental health support worker, handled the art.
It’s the first game either of them has completed and was done entirely independently.
“We were only able to work on it in our spare time,” said Daniel.
“In my day job, the more senior I get the less actual coding I do.
“I have to go to more meetings and there’s all these rules and requirements you have to follow.
“Whereas, when you have your own project, you’re your own boss.
“Sitting down and writing code for hours on end in the evening actually ended up being really fun.”
The influence of their father Alan – who previously worked as a graphic design and illustration lecturer at Perth College – is also visible in the game’s title.
“We wanted a Scots word,” said Evan.
“But we also wanted it to be kind of subtle and not stupid like 'the haggis game' or something.
“Our dad has a website, stooryduster.co.uk, where he illustrates descriptions of Scots words.
“It’s all about trying to keep Scots alive so I suppose, in a way, we wanted to do our part, too.”
Scotland’s gaming sector continues to grow and has garnered a “phenomenal” reputation across the globe, according to a Scottish Government minister.
Yet neither Daniel or Evan have ever studied game design or development.
Scunners Run is a project built off the backs of two brothers who one day hope to turn their passion into a profession.
“We’ve definitely got plans to make more games,” said Daniel.
“This one took us about three or four years in total but now we have experience I reckon we can cut down that time a lot.”
Evan added: “It would be great to be able to dedicate more time to it.
“This is the first big project I’ve ever completed but I’ve really enjoyed seeing the finished product and being happy with it.
“It eats in to other parts of your life – seeing friends, cooking the dinner – but it was definitely worth it.”
What, though, did their dad think of it?
“I think he’s just happy his children have completed something,” laughed Evan.
“I just feel sorry for mum. She’s not in it at all.”
“She can be in the next one,” said Daniel.
Scunners Run is available to purchase and play on Steam.
