The Collage Atlas interview: From passion project to Apple Arcade

Apple Arcade offers a collection of free mobile games to subscribers on iOS devices. Featuring some of the finest games on the platform, Apple Arcade recently added The Collage Atlas. Developed solely by John William Evelyn, The Collage Atlas was in the works for years before it found its home with Apple. We spoke with Evelyn about his experience working on the game and collaborating with the tech giant.

The Collage Atlas is a first-person adventure game done in a black and white hand drawn art style. Though the game is narrative driven, the story itself isn’t set in stone. When speaking to John William Evelyn about this, he stated that the narrative is more “open to interpretation” and that players should project their own experiences onto the game. 

This comes as a result of the fact that The Collage Atlas was a passion project for Evelyn. First going into development nearly four years ago, this adventure title is reflective of Evelyn’s own life experiences. This is evident in the game’s mechanics, as the developer inserts some of his favorite creative outlets, such as music and drawing, into The Collage Atlas. Beginning as a small prototype, The Collage Atlas was able to grow into a bigger project thanks to a grant Evelyn received from a UK program. 

Apple came in further down the road and also backed the game. It was this partnership that led to Cloud Atlas being a premiere entry to Apple Arcade, where the game can now be found. With the project being so personal, I asked Evelyn if he had already been making plans for his next project. He responded saying that if there’s anything he learned from developing The Collage Atlas, it’s that plans hardly ever go as you imagine.

If you’re interested in checking out The Collage Atlas, you can give it a go on Apple Arcade. You can learn more about the game’s development on John William Evelyn’s website.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_