Article by Matt S.
As our regular readers would know by now, we have launched a Kickstarter to fund the production of a book on the topic of games as art.
And core to that book will be interviews with some of the games industry’s most prominent artistic game developers. With that in mind, I thought we would do a series of developer profiles to introduce you to some of the developers that you’re perhaps not as aware of.
If you want to hear more (much, much more) from these developers, then please do back the Kickstarter; it will provide you with some genuinely unique insights into how games are made, straight from the minds of the developers that make them.
I’ve known Watt for quite some time now; as we’re both based in Sydney he’s been a regular go-to guy for news and industry insights (and it helps that he and his team at Nnooo work in a seriously awesome office).
Most Nintendo fans will known Watt’s work as well. From the very launch of the WiiWare download service Nnooo has supported Nintendo’s console with top quality software, starting with the therapeutic bubble popping simulation, Pop, and then moving on to the Nintendo DSi and DSiWare download service with a lineup of surprisingly useful productivity software.
Those notebooks, diaries, and postcard apps helped fund the next stage of Nnooo’s development as a business, and it stepped up and into higher profile game development. Spirit Hunters was an under appreciated augmented reality game, and escapeVektor is the team’s finest work to date, being a brilliant mix of retro and modern aesthetics and play styles.
Now the team’s working on its most ambitious title to date; a PlayStation 4 HD shooting gallery called Blast ‘Em Bunnies.
In The Interactive Canvas we’re going to be talking to Watt about his approach to game design, which is very much a case of keeping things simple and elegant, and exploring a single idea in depth in each of his games. From my previous conversations with Watt, he thinks very deeply about user experiences and how interactivity works in games, so this interview will be a truly fascinating insight into the way that developers think about the games we love to play.
If you’re keen to read this interview and dozens others, be sure to reserve your copy of the book now!
– Matt S.
Editor-in-Chief
Find me on Twitter: @digitallydownld
