To kick off X-Play's unprecedented coverage of the 2008 Penny Arcade Expo, we've asked each of the PAX 10, the Expo's top ten highest rated indie games of the last year, to answer some questions for us.

Dylan Fitterer, salf-taught developer of the highly popular AudioSurf, was more than happy to answer our questions and tell us what it's like to create a game on your own as well as be honored as one of the PAX 10.

G4: How long was the game in development?

DF: Audiosurf has been in development for quite a long time, but it hasn't always looked like Audiosurf. Years back it was a 1st person shooter built on top of your music library called Orchestrated Assault. While the core idea of enhancing your music collection was the same it was quite a few tries later that Audiosurf took shape as a music-rollercoaster ride.

G4: Where did you get the idea/inspiration for the game?

DF: I can't remember if this was an inspiration, but at some point BMW introduced a stereo that got louder as you went faster. Audiosurf is like that except the music is the driver; the music pushes you faster as the song gets more intense. That feeling of having the music propel me downstream resonated and kept me going on the project. It was the perfect expression of my experience with music.

G4: What's your all-time favorite game?

DF: I should probably steal a line from Erik Wolpaw and guess that it will be some game made in the future... That's a tough question, but maybe Magic: The Gathering.

G4: If you could have dinner with any one developer, who would it be and what would you eat?

DF: Richard Garfield. We would eat magic card paper airplane nachos.

G4: With unlimited resources, what kind of game would you make?

DF: With unlimited resources I'd make a giant catapult of course. It wouldn't be too hard to invent a game with it once it's ready to fire.

G4: Which existing franchise would you like to work on?

DF: It would be fun to see what I could do with something somewhat forgotten like Die by the Sword. More people need to play the Ogre Hockey mode.

G4: Where do you see indie gaming going in the future?

DF: Digital distribution is getting bigger and bigger and I expect the number of indie developers will keep increasing in response. Hopefully that will mean tons more unexpected game designs for us all to play.

G4: What piece of advice would you give to someone looking to develop their own indie game?

DF: Write code now. Don't let yourself get stuck in distractions like constantly researching engines or writing design documents. Just start creating in Flash, Javascript, PHP, it doesn't matter what. Making games is the best way to get better at making games.

G4: What was the biggest lesson learned from your development process?

DF: UI localization is painful.

G4: Besides the obvious—making games—what are some of your hobbies?

Cycling, but for me even that kinda falls under "making games". Some part of my brain must only run when riding because it often solves design problems that way.

G4: Favorite movie, food, sports team, video game character, and actor/actress?

DF: Idiocracy, bacon, sports team, manahoar, Larry David