Respected Nintendo centric developers Shin’en have given some insight into the development of all of their acclaimed games since Nanostray. Shin’en art director Martin Sauter has written a paragraph on each of their games to give everyone an insight into the development process. You can read his thoughts, right here.
Nano Assault Neo
Due to the close relationship with Nintendo, Shin’en was able to get an early devkit for the WiiU. The plan was to make a game for the console launch. The biggest challenge for this project was the limited development time, as the team needed to port the engine, explore the new capabilities of the hardware, plus add features to make the game an overall better experience. It was smart to use the existing Nano Assault IP, as the game itself was well received by the press, so we could build on mechanics and assets that worked. Additionally we took the opportunity to enhance the game in every aspect, based on input from critics and fans. Visually it was a challenge to use the new CPU and GPU power to push the look to an even crisper and vibrant microscopic world.
Jett Rocket II: The Wrath of Taikai
Jett Rocket – The Wrath of Taikai is the successor to the WiiWare game released in 2010. Originally, we wanted to make a small surfing game, but found out that this did not meet our expections and standardds of an eShop game. While the first title was a 3D action adventure, the second title mixes 2D and 3D platforming and is closer to the classic approach of this genre. The focus was on a varied gameplay experience and much content to meet the high standards of the Nintendo eShop. Artistically, I tried to stay with the shiny and colorful look of the franchise, but make sure that everything still can run fluid on the limited 3DS CPU and GPU unit. This project wasn’t an easy job, as all models and environments needed to meet special gameplay specifications first and sometimes it was hard to find a solution without using too much processing power. In the end, the game turned out nice, but the new knowhow will help too make the next platformer even more appealing and better to play.
Thanks, Charles
Nano is one hell of a game.
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So Nano Assault NEO was made off of a “PORT” on the Wii U and it looks that good only using one core? Wow…….
Indeed it was, plus Shin’en said that they didn’t even really tap into the eDRAM on the GPGPU, and nothing was optimised. Plus they could have used better to pipeline to render everything up to 40% faster.
This is the very reason why the Wii U’s hardware shouldn’t be taken so lightly. When used properly, we will get some really good looking games.
Furthermore, this makes porting 360 games over to Wii U practically pointless as it’s using nothing the console can actually pull off.
It’s no wonder some games were becoming so laggy and framerate issues were sprouting like daises. And yet we have asses like EA spreading crap as if it’s the language they only speak!!
Exactly but Sicr wouldn’t put it in his Splinter Cell selling 2% on Wii U though. That’s why it didn’t sell. But Sucr rather play dumb as if it’s 360 port graphics were on PC level.
People will do that as long as they can because it is easier to do that than to build an separate engine from scratch. I guess since Shin’en is basically a 2nd-party studio they can afford to dedicate time to build an engine from the ground up on Wii U hardware for their future titles, but truth be told the big 3rd parties could do. They just don’t want to.
How stupid are they gonna look when little ole’ Shin’en starts showing off games that look better than major studios ports.
Makes you wonder what they don’t. I’d pay for something that looks fun. I guess Nintendo legendary games are unprecedented.
nano assault neo is not a port
it features different content and an all new engine (of course.. can’t very well use the 3DS engine)
all he said is that they’ve been able to reuse some assets and gameplay mechanics but that’s not nearly the same as a port
sorry the engine is not completely “new” per se but it’s a heavily updated version of their c-engine
“The biggest challenge for this project was the limited development time, as the team needed to PORT THE ENGINE.”
I’m not gonna play semantics with you on this because there was really no reason to even bring this up. Think as you like.
porting an engine is not the same as porting a game
i did already correct myself, the engine is in fact not new
but the game is not a port, period
Shin´en is one of the most promising studios. Nano Assault is excellent. Art Of Balance for the 3DS is a great puzzle game. Jett Rocket II seems great too. They´re able to make good games with low budgets and step by step they´re improving their catalogue. I´m looking forward to their upcoming racing game
sick ass game!
which one is that, the new nano game?
The new one they’re doing is FAST Neo Racing from my understanding. That game should look really good as they’re trying to pull off 4K visuals. If it can do that, then the console can pull off anything.
What is 4K. I asked someone if it was the 4K that supports a 4K TV. I was told “no.” So what is 4k and how much more powerful is it above 1080p? And how many cores does it take up inside the Wii U?
4K is basically UHD or 4x HD 1920*1080.
In each 4K TV there will be a maximum of 4000 pixels. Can’t quite remember what the PPI of that will be, but it will be much higher than HD. The colours will be more immersive and vibrant.
I am not sure how many cores it will need, but the 32Mb of eDRAM will be handling it, rather than the CPU as it would be visuals.
Actually resolution makes the image detail more clear, but has nothing to do with contrast and color. Bit depth has to do with color and saturation. Contrast or deep blacks often are done through backlighting in the TV such as LED and OLED. OLED creates a much great black color giving it more contrast and the illusion of extra saturation.
I think what Shinen is talking about with 4K is not the resolution of the overall game but the textures in the game are scanned for a 4K asset. The tv and game system would still display the game at 1080p. Any game system would need a higher level HDMI 1.4 cable (or high) or a Thunderbolt cable.
But that is a guess of what they are doing just 4K texture, but that would me no blockiness if zoomed in.
“I think what Shinen is talking about with 4K is not the resolution of the overall game but the textures in the game are scanned for a 4K asset. The tv and game system would still display the game at 1080p. Any game system would need a higher level HDMI 1.4 cable (or high) or a Thunderbolt cable”
That’s precisely what I doing I would imagine. Although I reckon the console could output the visuals.
Give this a read. Should fill your mind – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4K_resolution
Something tells me i need to get a wii u faster than i thought, but if nitendo shows a direct this month that will blow my mind I’d be like “Ok….now im getting a wii u..IMMEDEATLY!!!!”
I love the Shin’en Tribe…
They always deliver their best products to our empire and shall always be rewarded with praise!
this game ddont sell anyways just like Bayonetta2
Are you talking about Fast Racing Neo? You should re-phrase that.
Also how on earth can you predict the sales of these games when they’re not out.
Get real bud.
3rd Party games never sell Well on Underpowered Nintendocrap consoles
Ive heard the same thing over and over again. Tell me why its underpowered. Don’t you know a single core of Wii Us CPU is just as powerful as 2 x86 cores?
Didn’t I tell you by next week you will have to prove Wii U ain’t weak. because someone else forgot you proved it last week, and the week before and the week before then the week before and the week after that. Next week you will have to prove Wii U ain’t seen again.
Well if some people actually bothered to read about it’s hardware then they’d know. But I guess people are too stubborn to even realise this.
Makes me a little bit angry. There is a reason Nintendo did what they did, and it’s logical.
I am finding it progressively amusing how people like you are saying such rubbish and are not actually able to back the claim up. No links, nothing. Not even a shred of intelligence or understanding of hardware. Makes me laugh.
i wish nano assault would get pro pad support :(
I am thinking you are on about the Wii U Pro Controller? I agree too.
I would like to see them do that. I would also like to see Nintendo do an update so that the Gamepad can be switched off. The fact that even if you turn the screen on, it’s still actually on – therefore it wastes power when it doesn’t have to. I’ve been using my Pro controller with 3D World lately, to give it a better experience.
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