Noitu Love: Devolution, the PC action game from 2008 is coming to Wii U and 3DS thanks to porting from MP2 Games (who handled the Wii U port of Freedom Planet). The game will support Pointer controls with the Wiimote and Nunchuck, and touch controls with the Gamepad and 3DS stylus. The game looks amazing and seems to take after games like Contra and Metal Slug in many ways. We are eagerly awaiting this game. Here is the trailer below in beautiful 1080p HD and 60 FPS.
Ha, I interviewed the creator after his 2008 IGF win.
Here’s the interview….
I recently got the opportunity to interview indie games developer Joakim Sandberg and ask him his thoughts on Wii Ware, and to ask him about the possibility of his games coming to Nintendo’s download service.
Here is the interview in full…
Joakim: Hello! I will answer as best I can 😀
Q: Do you have any plans to submit Noitu Love 2 to Nintendo for approval onto Wii Ware?.
I myself think that the Wii is perfect given the nature of the control scheme you have devised, in fact I would say it could possibly improve upon the existing method. Do you think the same also?
I would absolutely love to see it on the service as, yes, it is very fitting of the gameplay, but given the nature the game was made it would basically have to be rewritten as a dedicated Wii project, which really sucks, because I don’t know any portable programming language. Maybe someday I’ll have the resources to, or someone else is willing to help me.
Q:What are your overall thoughts on the service Nintendo are now providing?. Have you managed to play any of these Wii Ware games yourself, like say Lost Winds etc, and what are your thoughts on them.
Of course I like it, it lets smaller studios get their ideas out there. I’ve played Lost Winds so far and I enjoyed it. I do find it a bit of a problem with storage space on the console, though, as most other avid gamers, but it’s not as large an issue for me just yet as I don’t download a lot of games.
Q:Is what Nintendo are offering with Wii Ware attractive to you as a indie developer?
Of course. If I had a small group of people (a small studio, if you will), I’d go for WiiWare first as I love to think of new ways of playing games. The process seems painless, but it seems you can’t really know exactly when your game hits the service once you’ve submitted it. I might be wrong. But definitely, I’d love to work on it.
Q: What have been your favourite Nintendo games over the years, and what gaming systems were you raised on and from what age?
I played a lot of Sega when I didn’t own a console and just rented one, but when I finally got some it was always Nintendo for some reason. First of those systems was the NES, and I’ve owned all of them since sans the Virtual Boy. Out of all games ever my favorites are Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island, Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask and Metroid Fusion. From those three one can tell I love it whenever Nintendo tries something different with their main franchises.
Q:What are your thoughts on the direction Nintendo have taken with the Wii and the DS.
It has been very successful to them and it was the right move. Personally, as a gamer for many years, I don’t play the new “casual”-labeled games much as I like games with action. I don’t play many new games anymore, though. It’s not that I am lost in nostalgia, I just don’t find many games appealing anymore.
Q:Is there any possibility of a DS version?
It’s the same dilemma as with Wii; it’s not easy to port, unfortunately.
Q: If so are you able to see ways now in which you could utilize the unique capabilties of the DS such as dual screens and microphone in a Noitu Love game?
I wouldn’t use the microphone. I see the Wii as having a lot more better features for the game. Compare it to how you make a special move by flicking the mouse right. On Wii you would just flick your wrist regardless of the edge of the screen, while the DS does have its boundaries. You could just lift the stylus and drag over and over, but I think Wii would work better for overall fluency.
Q:Considering the success of Gunstar Future Heroes and Astroboy on GBA Noitu Love 2 which has many similarities also seems perfect for a handheld version.
Maybe so. To me I play all games at home anyway, I don’t really make use of the “portable” aspect. I think most “hardcore” gamers do as well. I’ve played very little true action games; I often tend to make games in genres I don’t really play for some reason. I do love Metal Slug and Contra 3 though, but those are hardly portable.
Q:Is there any possibility for a fully fledged Wii game with greater polish and strengths all round in future?.
The possibilities is entirely in the hands of some company that would hire me to do so. I have one idea, I’d love to develop for it.
Q:Are you currently seeking to tie up some investment into such a project or you open to the idea of working with another licensed Wii developer in order to make that happen?
I think I’d rather get hired by someone considering I don’t really know the people to form my own business at that scale.
Q: If not, are you a one man show and intend on staying that way?
I don’t particularly enjoy being a one-man army anymore as it gets tiring. I want to make bigger games now, but I don’t have the resources just yet.
What’s next for Noitu Love?, and what’s next for you?
I’m not making a sequel to Noitu Love anytime soon if we’re talking about making games the way I made NL2. I love that universe though, and I’d like to get back to it sometime. Right now I am still sort of contemplating my next move, but I am still trying things on the same platform as NL2.
Q: Do you have any projects you are working on that you can give me some sneaky info on in teaser form?
I constantly change my mind on these matters. Since I’m still starting with new things it could change tomorrow, but as of right now I am working a little on a game that involves a suitcase.
Thank you for your time Joakim, I wish you and the game all the success you can muster 🙂
Joakim: No problem, it was a pleasure 😉