SPOTLIGHT: Matt Bozon, Founding Member of WayForward and Co-Creator of Shantae

Buy Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution now on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox, and Steam. Pre-order the physical version on Limited Run Games, including the Standard Edition, Revolutionary Edition, and a Classic Edition.

A Spotlight Series Interview:

This week, Corey Dirrig⁠⁠ and ⁠LeRon Dawkins sat down with Matt Bozon, founding member of WayForward and the creative mind behind the beloved Shantae series. Matt talked about his unconventional journey into game development—starting out as a caricature artist at Six Flags, studying animation, and eventually helping shape some of WayForward’s most celebrated titles.

He opened up about his unique design philosophy, where 80s and 90s animation, hardware limitations, and gameplay guided the creative process rather than traditional methods. From there, the conversation moved into stories from his time at WayForward, the many games he worked on, and the creation of everyone’s favorite purple-haired genie alongside his wife.

Finally, they discussed the incredible story behind the revival of Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution with Limited Run Games—why it was brought back after nearly two decades, how the vision compared to the original project, and what fans could expect next.

Follow our Guest:

Matt Bozon, founding member of WayForward and the creative mind behind the beloved Shantae series.

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