Malone was part of the renowned British studio from 1989 to 1995, arguably defining the company's 'signature' style in that time. His exceptional skill was especially evident in Speedball 2 and fellow Amiga hit The Chaos Engine, giving these games a distinct look that other developers found hard to match.
Since then, Malone has revisited The Bitmap Brothers' world more than once, creating concept art for an unreleased Speedball game in 2000 and helping with projects about the company's history, like The Bitmap Brothers: Universe and The Bitmap Brothers: Odyssey.
His career has also included work for big names like EA, Sony, System 3, Pepsi, Revolution Software, and HotGen. But despite his ongoing productivity, it's shocking to learn that Malone wasn't involved in Rebellion's recent Speedball reboot.
"I've had zero input on the new Speedball remake," Malone tells Time Extension. "I didn't even know it was happening until very recently. I doubt they really mind, though – too many in-house folks must be eager to work on it [and] not much space for [the] original designer/artists to be included."
Malone says he's come to terms with Speedball no longer being his creation. "It's happened before with the various Speedball 2 follow-ups. I wasn't part of any of them, though I did some sketches for the failed Speedball 3. I'm kind of used to it! Doesn't mean I like it, but what can you do?"
When we recently tried out the new Speedball, now in Early Access on Steam, we noticed its visuals lack the raw edge that made the second game so special. It's not an ugly game by any means, but it seems like a mistake not to have included Malone's input, given how crucial his art is to the series' most loved entry.
