Art of Play Director Ash Nicholls Talks Danger Mouse – Interview Series

Melbourne-based game developer Art of Play has lifted the veil on its joint venture with Boat Rocker Media and BBC to bring the “bad old days” TV series Danger Mouse to a brand-new side-scrolling adventure on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Switch, and PC via Steam. In the words of its creators, the upcoming game will serve as a celebratory milestone for the show’s 45th anniversary, and will feature “super danger-filled levels” across fifteen stages that will pay tribute to the beloved British series.

At the time of writing, Danger Mouse is due to launch its Kickstarter campaign on October 1, 2025, and will eventually release alongside a physical version on both PlayStation and Switch at a later date.

In an attempt to learn more about Danger Mouse ahead of its Kickstarter launch, we decided to reach out to Ash Nicholls, Director and Owner of Art of Play.

Firstly, it’s fantastic to see Danger Mouse returning to our screens after all these years — and in a video game format, no less. Tell us, what inspired you to revive the eponymous spy saga for a spin around the side-scrolling world?

Ash: I grew up in rural Australia in the 1980s and Danger Mouse was one of my favourite shows on the after-school cartoon lineup along with Inspector Gadget and Astro Boy. It played a large role in the development of my creativity. We all wanted a bright yellow sports car that could fly, but I must have spent hours and gone through countless yellow markers recreating the show on paper. I even begged my father to spray paint all my LEGO bricks yellow so I could make the Mark III.

We had originally written the story and requested an audience with the BBC pre-pandemic. But we got caught up working on other projects for them. It wasn’t until 2024 that we met the wonderful people at Boat Rocker and things really took off from there.

The side scrolling world WAS our childhood. Sure there were other games, but we always came back to what we could play together and that has formed a huge part of where we want our studio to go. Danger Mouse and Penfold are the ultimate duo and being able to play as them in an 80s/90s arcadey side scroller is all I ever wanted as a kid – so why not make it now?

Of course, Danger Mouse isn’t something that needs a formal introduction, what with its legacy being stitched into countless accolades and an almost international cult-like status. That said, for the sake of covering all bases — how would you best describe it?

Ash: Danger Mouse is something that has come to mean a lot of things to me over the years. I would have described it in the early 80s as a cool spy/action show. Then as I got a bit older, the comedy and spoof side came out a bit more. As an adult watching the reboot and original series again, it was a combination of all of the above, with everything dialled up to 11. Australian’s got a lot of British TV in the 80s and to me now, the comedy is timeless. The set pieces are iconic and the tech was brilliant then and still awesome now.

Some jokes never get old. The fact that The Colonel still can’t remember Penfold’s name after all these years is priceless.

So, what trouble has been brewing since we last saw the British spy grace the Secret Service’s globe-trotting affairs? What is the story here, if you don’t mind me asking?

Ash: Well a lot and also not much at all. Actually, DM and Penfold are rather bored. You see Greenback has fallen on hard times. He’s broke and sentimental for the bad old days. After so many defeats at the hands of DM, he’s turned to ‘KickStomper’ the crowd funding platform for super villains to raise money for his most diabolical plan yet: To encase the earth in a giant hologram so he can re-live his glory days and epic showdowns with DM.  – with funds pouring in from known baddies, it looks like Greenback will get his way and DM and Penfold will be called back into action.

We wanted a story that allowed us to introduce the existing cast of awesome characters whilst also poking fun at the retro wave us oldies are helping to cultivate as classic 80s and 90s TV shows are getting a second, third, fourth life through reboots, games, comics and toys.

Greenback has been ironically written to represent us, the fans – the old fans – who want to play the type of game we should have been able to play in the 80s.

Can we expect to unearth any hidden Easter Eggs in this next chapter? Will there be any special cameos, or any references to the original series, perhaps?

Ash: Yes and yes. There will be unlockables that take players directly back to the classic series. PLUS our visual style is very much founded in the 80s with hand drawn and coloured animations and backgrounds. We want the spirit and intensity of the reboot series, with the visual charm of the original. Stiletto, Greenback’s loyal right hand raven, is back, along with a series of villains from both new and old.

Let’s talk a bit more about these fifteen levels that will feature in Danger Mouse. Gameplay-wise, what can we expect to find here? You’ve mentioned things like “mini-games” and a cooperative multiplayer mode in earlier elevator pitches. Could you tell us more about these?

Ash: The entire premise of the game is to give players the chance to have fun in more of a casual/arcade-y experience. We’re not into grinding for XP or micro transactions. The game will be the game and all the effort will be put into the missions at hand.

The core gameplay will be battle. We’ve been working hard to capture how each character would move and behave. DM is confident. Penfold is reluctant (at best). So gamers will have two completely different playing styles with the characters.

But most importantly, we wanted to give gamers the opportunity for Penfold and DM to perform team moves together. A lot like The Simpsons arcade game back in 1991. These moves range from as simple as giving each other a fist bump to Penfold riding on DM’s back with his hands over DM’s eyes – creating a crowd clearing move.

There will be boss battles involving both strategy and combat skills, plus the ability to drive and fly the Mark IV in 1 or  2 player mode. Couch co-op 2 players allows for one driver and one player focussing only on attacks.

The mini games serve as callbacks to the retro era as well. Instead of ‘Test Your Might’ from Mortal Kombat we have “Toast Your Mite” asking players to karate chop a loaf of bread. Just dumb, silly stuff that you’d see as a side gag in the actual show.

You will also be able to collect elements for DM’s utility belt and Penfold’s bottomless pockets usually filled with Jam Sandwiches.

You may be able to also earn the classic 80s skin for each character *winks*

We understand that the Kickstarter campaign  will be going live on October 1, 2025. Tell us, what are you hoping to achieve through this crowdfunding effort?

Ash: We really wanted to setup the Kickstarter to offer fans of Danger Mouse the opportunity to be part of the production and build a community. We’re offering a stack of exclusives including having yourself hand drawn as an extra in the game, having your portrait as a fellow secret agent alongside DM and a whole stack more including 45th Birthday exclusive physical editions of the game.

The goal here is to not raise money to make the game, rather give people the opportunity to be part of it and help us create some really cool physical merch and editions of the game that regular publishers have been turning away from.

We still consider physical to be important. We are getting constant requests from gamers of all ages and campaigns like this make it easier for us to produce that content and not have to rely on any 3rd party interference. There was something special in being able to just smash a cartridge in your console and just play. We want that back – without losing some modern gaming traits of course.

With a Danger Mouse revival officially afoot, we have to ask — what are the odds of seeing another animated classic in video game form? Could you see yourselves dipping into an additional dimension in the future?

Ash: We have worked with a lot of classic 80s and 90s IP over the last 15 years. But there’s so much still out there that never made it into video game form. We’re in constant discussions with IP holders and there are two more brands we are hoping to secure for releases through to 2029. It is difficult at times to secure deals – largely because the 80s were the wild west of licensing and records of who owns what are almost impossible to find. There’s also a lot of skepticism with investors as to what will and will not make back their investment – which is another reason why we conduct Kickstarter campaigns. It allows us to build up evidence that markets for these iconic shows exist. Which then helps us get the next project off the ground.

So, how can we stay up to date with the Danger Mouse revival? Would you mind pointing us in the direction of any useful reading materials or social media handles?

Ash: There are three main points of connection with the new game.

You can sign up for email updates on the official game site – which we personally manage:

https://dangermousethegame.com/

You can check out the official Facebook page which will have weekly updates on production:

https://www.facebook.com/dangermousethegame

Our YouTube channel will be updated with Kickstarter information, new trailers and updates from our team as production kicks on:

https://www.youtube.com/@ArtOfPlayGames

Thanks again for taking the time to speak with us — you’ve been great! Before we go, is there anything else that you would like to add for our readers?

Ash: It is a common misconception that games like this are made off the back of an offer being made to our studio. The reality is we have to seek out these projects, offer our vision and hope we can get the project off the ground. Danger Mouse is more than just another game to us. It is 3 years of our life and an honour to represent such an iconic part of our culture. We’re hoping fans will get behind us on this one and we can’t wait to share more!

You can learn even more about Danger Mouse by following Art of Play on Facebook. For additional pre-launch updates and news coverage on the game, visit the official website here.