When you think of The Bitmap Brothers, you probably think of Speedball 2 – and when you think of Speedball 2, the incredible artwork of Dan Malone will almost certainly spring to mind.
Malone worked at the famous British studio between 1989 and 1995 and arguably shaped the company's 'classic' look during that period. Certainly, with Speedball 2 and fellow Amiga classic The Chaos Engine, Malone's incredible talent shone through, giving the games a unique look that other software houses struggled to match.
Malone has returned to the world of The Bitmap Brothers on more than one occasion since then, creating concept artwork for an unmade Speedball game in 2000 as well as contributing to projects which focus on the history of the company, such The Bitmap Brothers: Universe and The Bitmap Brothers: Odyssey.
His career has also seen him work with the likes of EA, Sony, System 3, Pepsi, Revolution Software and HotGen, but despite a prolific work rate that continues to this very day, it's staggering to hear that Malone wasn't involved with the recent reboot of Speedball by Rebellion.
"I've had no input whatsoever on the new Speedball reboot," Malone tells Time Extension. "I didn't even know it was in production until very recently. I'm not sure they really care, though – too many people in-house must be chomping at the bit to work on it [and] not much room for [the] original designer/artists to be included onboard."
Malone says he has long since made peace with the fact that Speedball is no longer his baby. "It's happened before with the various post-Speedball 2 sequels. I wasn't involved with any of them, although I did do some drawings for the ill-fated Speedball 3. I'm kinda used to it! Doesn't mean I'm happy about it, but what can you do?"
When we recently went hands-on with the new Speedball, which is currently in Early Access on Steam, we noted that its visuals lack the gritty look which made the second game so unique. It's certainly not an ugly game by any means, but it feels like a mistake not to have included Malone's input, given how intrinsic his art is to the franchise's most beloved instalment.