Why Charlie’s Island
Howard, the creator of Charlie’s Island, explains how the game came into existence…
I’ve always had a dream to build a video game, ever since I was little. It was a very loose dream and one that I didn’t think would become a possibility.
My wife likes playing some video games, especially Farming Sim and similar games because, basically, you can’t die in them. There’s no kind of risk. She started playing a game called Stardew Valley. I remember it was a kind of clone of the Harvest Moon game, which I remember playing when I was a kid. It was really fun and engaging, and simple but clever – just a really nice game.
In early 2020, I read that the Stardew Valley game, created by Eric Barone, had sold 10 million copies. I thought, wow, that’s amazing! What’s more, he had created this simple game in his basement! If he could create a game in his basement that sold 10 million copies, I thought, why not me? If he can do that, why can’t I? It suddenly made this dream that I had since being a little kid a possibility. Also, after recently losing my best friend, it hit home that life is short. I had to try to achieve my ambition.
At the same time, I was raising money for a young boy called Charlie Ilsley who had cancer. I wanted to help contribute something but didn’t have any money spare so I thought it was a good idea to donate a Nintendo Switch. I didn’t know if he had one or not, but I thought he could make use of it – either enjoy playing it or sell it to help pay towards his cancer treatment.
Watching Charlie’s social media feed, I saw that he was often playing video games. He was always at his Playstation, controller in his hand and his headset on, no matter where he was in the world or what hospital he was in getting treatment. Charlie was obviously a huge computer game enthusiast, and that was a big part of his life, as it seems to be for most youngsters. So I thought, would he like to be in a video game?
I approached Toni, his mum, and said: “I’m making a video game. Would Charlie like to be in it? Does he want to be the main character?”
Toni loved the idea, and so did Charlie.
At the same time, I was raising money for a young boy called Charlie Ilsley who had cancer. I wanted to help contribute something but didn’t have any money spare so I thought it was a good idea to donate a Nintendo Switch. I didn’t know if he had one or not, but I thought he could make use of it – either enjoy playing it or sell it to help pay towards his cancer treatment.
Watching Charlie’s social media feed, I saw that he was often playing video games. He was always at his Playstation, controller in his hand and his headset on, no matter where he was in the world or what hospital he was in getting treatment. Charlie was obviously a huge computer game enthusiast, and that was a big part of his life, as it seems to be for most youngsters. So I thought, would he like to be in a video game?
I approached Toni, his mum, and said: “I’m making a video game. Would Charlie like to be in it? Does he want to be the main character?”
Toni loved the idea, and so did Charlie.
So I started making the game. The planning began around September 2020, and that first involved building a team. Meanwhile, I continued to try and help Charlie along the way. I donated prizes, helped with raffles, and chipped in what I could.
I began to fear the worst about Charlie’s condition. His family had been told that he was untreatable and that the NHS couldn’t do anything more to help in the UK. Charlie had previously received specialist treatment abroad, and that helped. The cancer went into remission. And then a year or two later, the cancer came back. Charlie and his family battled on, and he received treatment in Mexico. All the time, they had to raise money for flights, hotels and the actual treatment. His mum was just like a tireless warrior, desperately fighting to save her son’s life.
I focused on making the video game. If we were lucky, Charlie would be here to play himself in the video game. Whatever the outcome, we would make a game about Charlie. People from around the world would get to play the game and speak about this courageous boy. Charlie would live on.
So we set about this quest. First, we changed the game’s name. It was going to be Wonderlost Island, same as Wonderlost Studios, and it became Charlie’s Island.
Sadly, in December 2020, just before Christmas, Charlie lost his brave battle against cancer. This time, he didn’t win the fight.
His death spurred me on. Creating Charlie’s Island would be an opportunity to spread Charlie’s name and the story of his brief but courageous life. Through playing the game, it was an opportunity for people to live a story for him in a million different ways.
I don’t know if we’ll sell 10 million copies, maybe not even a million, but maybe 10,000? My head tells me we can. If my head didn’t tell me things like that, I probably wouldn’t be here right now making a video game.
My head tells me that people all around the world can be playing Charlie’s Island – smiling, and getting enjoyment, and chatting about it online, chatting about Charlie, from all corners of the earth. What a beautiful thing I could do in Charlie’s memory. What a beautiful gift.
For me, making this game not only fulfills my dream, my ambition, but I get to give back something to a family who have lost their son. So that’s how and why Charlie’s Island started. And, like all good video games, it’s just the beginning of an adventure.
– Howard Smith
Messages For Charlie
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