Kenney's Twitter banner, which I stole, and his upcoming game: Make Room
Kenney is well-known in the game development community for his contributions over on gameassets.com, where he has created over 40,000 individual assets between models, sounds, materials, and more, all released into the public domain.
Some time ago, we noticed Kenney showing interest in S&box, so we asked if he’d be open to an interview. He graciously responded.
What are your thoughts on S&box as an engine? Do you plan on using it in the future?
I’m not sure if I’ll be using S&box myself (that’s mostly a lack-of-time thing) but I love seeing it progress. It’s certainly something that I know a lot of people will absolutely enjoy. I only recently learned that people can publish their games outside of the S&box platform, to me that’s a game changer!
Do you plan on bringing your assets to sbox.game? Some users are eager to do it themselves but are waiting for your input.
Yeah I’d love to! I’m always so busy creating game assets that I often just lack the time to actually distribute my assets. A lot of asset stores (of game engines) have been asking me to upload but I just lack the time. I’ve already made sure that a lot of my systems are automated, but I’m still just one person.
Users have already started bringing Kenney's assets in S&box
You’ve released over 40,000 assets in the past 14 years, that’s almost 8 pieces a day! Our artists are curious: How do you manage burnout?
That’s a great question! Personally I make sure that any hobbies I have are away from the computer. I don’t play games myself, but I do love hikes in nature and boardgames. It allows me to recharge, and make sure I’m at my best when creating game assets. I’ve struggled with some personal things in the past, but it’s always okay to step back for a while and work on yourself.
S&box uses one of your sound packs for all of its UI. In a way, you’re already part of the project. How does that make you feel?
That’s great! I’ve been following S&box for a long while now and while I’m not an active user (yet!) I just love reading the changelogs and seeing all the new features. It’s an honor to have my game assets featured, of course!
Some of Kenney's sounds inside of the core folder
We can draw some parallels between you and Kevin MacLeod, your love for sharing and the fact that both your names start with ‘K’. Was he an inspiration to you? And have you been approached for a documentary yet?
Being compared to Kevin MacLeod is an absolute honor! He certainly was an inspiration. Back before I created game assets myself I used his music all the time, he was such a great resource back then and still is today. I haven’t been approached for a documentary yet, although I recently found out someone wrote a (Dutch only, unfortunately) Wikipedia page about me - that was really awesome to find out!
Is there anyone or anything you’d like to give a shout-out to?
I always like to give a little shout-out to Kay Lousberg (kaylousberg.com), he also published game assets (together with his wife now!). He especially has a ton of characters which I’m sure work great in S&box!
Bouncy Quest tiles, one of Kay Lousberg's asset packs ready to be ported into S&box!
Many thanks to Kenny for answering the questions and putting up with us, make sure to follow him on Twitter/X, perhaps wishlist MakeRoom too if you’re into isometric dioramas.
Just keep swimming!