Tag Archives: indie developers

Nintendo ‘Making A Big Move’ To Help Indie Devs

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wii_U_whiteNintendo has had its fair share of knockbacks when it comes to the fickle industry, but there is one aspect the company is making a big effort to catch up for lost time – its relationship with indie games developers. According to Capybara Games’ co-founder Nathan Vella – who brought the great Might and Magic Clash of Heroes to the Nintendo DS – has seen Nintendo personally up their game when it comes to indie devs. Speaking to VG247, Vella said:

“I’ve seen personally, first-hand, Nintendo making a big move to try and get smaller, unique, independent games on Wii U downloadable. They have a really great team there; Dan Edelman who runs that division is one of the raddest dudes in video games, and I would say easily one of the most respected people by the independent community.

“Nintendo is reaching out and trying to do something. They’re playing catch up, obviously, and that’s a hard spot to be in when it comes to getting the new stuff, but they’re really putting in.”

And in support of indie developers from an interview conducted by Gamasutra back in March, Dan Edelman insisted that getting your game onto the eShop is fairly easy to do, and Nintendo has tried to make it as ‘frictionless’ as possible. He said in succinct terms: “Our philosophy is that if you believe enough in your game to build it, we want to do what we can to support you.”

Indie Dev’s Personal Dream To See Rex Rocket’s Nintendo Console Debut

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Since Nintendo has opened its doors to indie developers by handing out free dev kits, games developers are looking more and more to Nintendo consoles in order to create ports for their upcoming titles. And Rex Rocket indie developers are hoping to add the Wii U and 3DS to their PC-only game.

In a recent interview by Joystiq, Rob Maher and Tyler Bud are making it their ‘number one goal’ to see a port of Rex Rocket to Nintendo consoles. Their Kickstarter campaign was a rousing success and has currently raised over $7,000 of their $6,000 goal – a relatively small target compared to other Kickstarter pages such as the Wasteland and Torment sequels, but one that was significantly important to their development team.

Rex Rocket – a traditional 2D platformer which pays homage to classic NES titles such as Mario, Mega Man and Metroid – is currently planned for PC, of which you can see the trailer above. But it is Maher’s personal dream, however, to see Rex Rocket on Nintendo consoles:

“That is definitely my number one goal. I’ve been a huge Nintendo fan my entire life, and if Rex Rocket does make it to Nintendo, that will be another dream come true for myself. I know Tyler’s a huge Nintendo fanboy. He’s already started researching what goes into getting on the platform and all the little intricacies that go along with it.”

Rex Rocket is hoping for a January 2014 release on PC, so it’s still a long way off and the Wii U or 3DS port even longer still. But is it a title that you’d like to see on both consoles?

Indie Title Forgotten Memories Officially Coming To Wii U

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forgotten memoriesThere’s been some positive action for indie developers porting their games for the Wii U after Nintendo started handing out free development kits for their console. And Psychoz Interactive has finally got the go-ahead they deserve to bring Forgotten Memories: Sixth Sense to the Wii U.

Psychoz Interactive studio owner Georges Paz confirmed via his twitter account yesterday that the survival-horror title will be safely landing on the Wii U. He said: “I’m proud to announce that we are now Nintendo licensed developers! Forgotten Memories will be our first title on the Wii U!” Forgotten Memories: Sixth Sense will be released on the Nintendo eShop this summer.

Kickstarter Title Buddy & Me May Yet Be Coming To Wii U

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Buddy & MeKickstarter funded Buddy & Me was hoping to come to the Wii U after a stretch goal was added to provide extra support for the Nintendo console port. Sunbreak Games reached their goal of $40,000 but didn’t quite make it to the Wii U target of $55,000. However, that is not to say that it will never reach the console, thankfully, as Sunbreak Games have announced that they will try to find the financial backing to provide their fans with their fantasy forest platformer.

“First up, let me say that we owe our loyal Nintendo fans so much. You guys have been amazing, and are one of the biggest reasons this Kickstarter survived after its first three weeks. You’ve reminded the team of how much our previous games meant to you, and really inspired the team. We will not forget that. We don’t want to let you down.

“Bottom line, it does cost a lot extra to port to Wii U, and we will need to find that funding somehow, somewhere, sometime. We can’t in any way promise or guarantee it until we’ve figured out how to do it… but what we can promise, is that we’ll try.

“You’ll be happy to know, we’ve already reached out to Nintendo (Nintendo of America headquarters is just a few miles away from us), and are trying to figure out exactly what it would take to get development kits, and get more familiar with the technology.”

- Sunbreak Games

Kickstarter Title Buddy & Me Intended For Wii U Conversion

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buddy and meIndie developers Sunbreak Games are hoping to bring their 2D platformer Buddy & Me to the Wii U after a new stretch goal was added to its kickstarter campaign. Created for iOS and Android devices the lighthearted adventure, plugged as a ‘game for everyone’ but with enough depth and challenge for serial gamers, is aiming for enough backers to reach their $40,000 goal. But they only have one week to go, so they need the help of backers to get Buddy & Me converted for the Wii U.

Buddy & Me is a tale focused on friendship where the protagonist is followed by a giant orange mythical flying creature, striking a similar cord to the 80s film The NeverEnding Story. Every night, after the boy has fallen asleep, he is transported to an enchanted forest where he jumps, runs, plays, glides and swings through the treetops with his flying best friend. You can check out the trailer for Buddy & Me here, and if you’d like to pledge your support for the magical game just visit their kickstarter page.

Thanks, Tyler

Future iOS Ports May Arrive On Wii U eShop

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Hot on the heels for Indie game developers, Nintendo’s deep roots have branched out to accommodate the Wii U for iOS ports. According to a tweet sent out by Tizen App Developers’ Stewart Christie from GDC 2013 saying, “we have free s/w to convert iOS to JavaScript and CSS, then you can deploy on Nintendo Wiiu”, an iOS to Wii U conversion could be on the cards.

Stopping by the booth would allow consumers to test the demo version, getting a feel for the possible future conversion. If it goes ahead, Wii U owners could access the eShop and directly download indie ports, making fresh, creative content even more accessible.

Forgotten Memories Indie Devs Hoping For Wii U eShop Port

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Unity-based game Forgotten Memories: Sixth Sense is hoping to become the next survival-horror game to make their mark in Nintendo’s Wii U eShop. It’s good news for game developer Psychoz Interactive, who also wish to bring their port to both iOS and the PS Vita, after working on its development for several years.

Lead Programmer Georges Paz tweeted earlier saying they would be “happy to hear from Nintendo and discuss an exclusive deal with them”, as Forgotten Memories nears the proverbial finish line. Given Nintendo’s recently updated rules for indie developers, this looks more than likely.

Nintendo Says It’s Easier For Indie Devs To Develop For Wii U And 3DS

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Dan Adelman, who works as Nintendo’s liaison with indies, has told Gamasutra that the company has made it a lot easier for independent developers to create games for both the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. Adelman says the controversial office requirement is now a thing of the past and developers can create games anywhere they want. He also went on to say that developers can set their own pricing for games and can make price changes permanent.

“I know we’ve shied away from talking about these things publicly in the past, so I’m glad that I can officially confirm that the office requirement is a thing of the past.”

“Anyone from any country can make their games available on the eShop within the NOA and NOE region — i.e., pretty much everywhere outside of Japan.”

“Developers set their own pricing for their Wii U and Nintendo 3DS content. As one example, Little Inferno launched at $14.99. They did a sale for $9.99, and it went so well, they decided to make that price change permanent. It’s completely in their control.”

“In addition, at GDC we’re going to be talking about some new tools we’re rolling out for developers to use HTML5 and JavaScript to make games. The thing I’m most excited about for this is how easy it is to prototype new game ideas to find the fun quickly and easily.”

Nintendo May Remove Office Space Restriction For Indie Developers

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Nintendo is looking set to remove the office space restrictions set upon independent developers who wish to develop games for Nintendo platforms. One of the biggest problems for independent developers wishing to develop for Nintendo platforms is that they need to have a dedicated business place, such as a rented office, in order to receive a Nintendo development kit. With this hurdle out-of-the-way, presumably we will see a number of new eShop titles announced in the future.

Thanks, theoriginalunation

Tomorrow Corporation Shares Little Inferno Tidbits And Applauds Nintendo For Supporting Indie Developers

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Tomorrow Corporation’s first Nintendo eShop game, Little Inferno, is scheduled to release alongside Wii U. The game takes place in a cold, snowy world and centers on a Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace, a new, hot toy that’s desired by every child. The children in the game can purchase a wide variety of items, including robots, batteries, credit cards and squealing bugs, toss them into the fire, and then watch them burn. Little Inferno may support multiplayer and launches on the 18th of November.

According to Tomorrow Corporation’s Kyle Gabler, Nintendo has been a fan of indie games for quite a while. Gabler is surprised, but pleased, that a lot of indie games are being developed for Nintendo’s forthcoming console, Wii U.

“Little Inferno is set in a place where it’s been snowing for as long as anyone can remember, and it’s getting colder. The new toy on every kid’s wishlist this year is the Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace. Children can buy toys and other products from a catalog (items such as robots, tiny galaxies, batteries, or squealing bugs), toss them in the hearth, and then play with them as they burn up. Everything reacts differently Sometimes [it's] adorable, surprising, or explosive. As objects burn, they pop out coins — and other things — that you can use to buy more objects and catalogs. But that can’t last forever!”

“I think the previous description is a fairly accurate summary, but it’s also kind of like saying ‘a city is a bunch of bricks stacked into buildings.’ Half the fun of Little Inferno is discovering exactly what’s going on.”

“We’re hoping we can also sneak in multiplayer, so the whole family can sit around and poke and prod their glowing high- definition fire together — using a combination of Wiimotes and GamePad — but that may have to come in an update. We’ll see.”

“And now, getting to be a launch title on a new Nintendo console feels dazzling and surreal, like finding a secret warp zone and eating all the mushrooms. I think the Wii U launch lineup surprised everyone with the strong presence of indie games.”

“Nintendo has been a fan of indie games for a long time, in a way that’s probably a good illustration of how companies are made of real living, breathing humans. Dan Adelman, the fellow who heads up the downloadable services [at Nintendo], is a big supporter of indie games and genuinely seeks to help out indie developers. He made sure we didn’t implode back when we were clueless kids trying to get World of Goo on WiiWare a billion years ago and is likely responsible for the large indie presence we’re seeing in the upcoming Wii U launch games so far.”

- Kyle Gabler, developer, Tomorrow Corporation