Today, we warmly welcome Ryan Daly, aka A Fellow Player on LEGO Ideas. In just over 1 month, Ryan managed to rocket propel his Untitled Goose Game from 0-10,000 as he captured the interest of gamers around the world. Read on to learn all about Ryan, his creation and what it took for him to get here. As always please help us congratulate him in the comments below too!
About Yourself
- Whats your name?
Ryan Daly.
- Where are you from?
I live near New Orleans, LA in the US.
- How old are you?
I’m 16 years old as of now.
- What do you do for a living?
I mostly study for school, at least for another year or two.
- What hobbies do you have?
I like coding, editing videos, sleeping, and playing with LEGO.
- Have you created any LEGO MOCs (my own creations) that you’re particularly proud of? What is it, why are you proud it and do you have a photo of it?
I’m pretty proud of my Tricaketops, which was an entry for the Hybrid Dinosaur contest. It was the first thing I built that I thought really looked good.
- How and when did your interest for LEGO come about?
I don’t remember what my first LEGO set was. The oldest one I can remember was a DUPLO Pirate Ship (I think set #7880). I remember how it had tons of play features that kept my infant self occupied for hours. Ever since then I’ve been hooked.
- What is your favourite LEGO theme (current or past)? Why? And has any theme inspired your building style or preference in any particular way?
Star Wars by far. My favorite movie series combined with my favorite toy line.
- What is your favourite official LEGO set? Why?
I think my favorite LEGO set is Star Wars 8038 The Battle of Endor. I think it’s the perfect blend of playability, displayability, and the best mix of good minifigures and builds.
- Is there a LEGO designer (official LEGO designer or fan designer) who you are inspired by and look up to? Who and why?
I like the 2x2 round tile. It’s just so versatile printing-wise. It can be a clock, pizza, eyeball, sewer grate, dartboard, etc.
About Your Project
- Where did your interest in this particular model come from?
I was playing the game one day while thinking about ideas and something just clicked.
- How long was the process of making the project did, and what did you have to research as well. What kind of prep, research and design phases did you go through to produce your creation?
It took me a few days to figure out what part of the game to recreate. I started with the pub scene but in the end, I didn’t want the model to end up costing more than the game itself. I eventually landed on the garden scene and after a few iterations, I got the final model.
- What special challenges did you face creating the model? What was the most difficult part to recreate?
The bushes were the hardest part by far. I wanted to make them thick enough to match the ones in the game, but also posable enough to fit in the model. It took a good few hours to get them right.
- If you could talk to yourself before you started on this project, what would you tell him/her? What do you know now that you wish you knew then?
Start a month sooner. We barely missed the cutoff for last year’s third review, so yeah, coordinate things better. Also, maybe add some more scenes like the courtyard.
- How long did it take to complete the model? Did you finish it fairly quickly, or did it take a long time? And how did the build time compare to the time you spent promoting your Product Idea to reach 10,000 supporters?
It actually didn’t take that long to build. I wanted to keep it simple and low in cost like the game. The model mostly promoted itself so I didn’t need to spend too much time promoting it either.
- How did it feel when you reached the magic 10,000 votes and how long did it take?
It felt great! The last two days took us from 5,000 to 10,000, something I never expected. Overall, it took only 22 days to get to the goal because of this.
- Approximately how many LEGO bricks did you use to create your model?
The model itself is only about 170 pieces.
- If you built your model digitally, what software did you use to build and render your model?
I used LEGO Digital Designer to build the model and stud.io to render the model.
- If you used custom stickers or prints for your design, how did you create them or where did you get them?
I used the stud.io part designer to make all the prints for the gardener and jam. Sadly, the goose piece isn’t texturable in part designer so I had to use Google Drive for it.
About LEGO Ideas
- Do you have any useful advice about creating a successful LEGO Ideas project?
Make sure your model has a strong enough audience for support, and it would fit on store shelves.
- What (if any) methods did you use to advertise and attract support to your Product Idea?
Most of the support came from YouTube but I didn’t have to specifically advertise it. I guess the model spoke for itself!
- What is your favourite LEGO Ideas Product Idea (besides your own of course)? Are there any Product Ideas you think have been overlooked?
I have to say KMei’s Space Blockade – Playable Arcade Game. I think it’s the perfect mix of detail and playability. I really hope it hits its goal in time.
- What is it about the platform that attracts you? What tips would you give to anyone who is thinking about uploading an idea?
What attracted me at first was the contests. They had design challenges that helped my creativity. They also only lasted for about a month so they were good practice and offered good feedback. I’d recommend starting with contests.
- Do you have plans to submit any other Product Ideas in the future? If yes, can you give us a hint what that might be?
Yes, in the future, I want to focus more on properties that are nostalgic for me.
By
hasanjensen