ALMOST MONUMENTAL

Earlier today I had the pleasure of chatting with Nifflas, one of the finest game designers in the indie gaming community. He's mostly known for his 2D platform-adventure game Knytt, which was inspired by such games as ICO and Shadow of the Colossus. His games are free, awesome, and available for download right here, so definitely check them out. He's currently working on a new project with a working title of Night Game.

How long have you been making games?

I guess that depends if you mean attempting or actually finishing them. Attempted: over 10 years I guess, my parents had given me Klik & Play as a present, but I was never able to finish anything. I started #modarchive story in early 2004, so that's when my game development really started.

Did you consider it easy to get your foot into the indie gaming scene?

Yeah, I think so, if you manage to create a few solid games... solid as in something without too many glitches, and something that feels 'complete'.

I read that you now kind of want to keep your future projects secret until they're released... are you willing to share any more light on Night Game at this time? From the screenshots it looks a bit more puzzle-oriented than the last few games.

Yeah. It's definitely a puzzle game. I suppose that I could always let another screenshot out (click it for a bigger version):

But I'll keep the rest secret.

Wow, it's looking great. What inspired you to make this kind of game?

Well, there are plenty of ball games which I like a lot, Ballance for example. And then just environments around where I live or places I've been to. Of course the places in real life don't look like those in the game, but inspiration is seldom about creating a clone of something.

Yeah, I remember reading in your donation history that you recently went to Norway, right? And you took photos that you'll incorporate, in a sense, into Night Game.

Yeah, I'm building a photo library of pictures which I will use in my future games. I've used some of them in NG, but they will probably appear in more too.

When I played Knytt, one of the things that I really enjoyed was the atmosphere you created. The music played a big part in that. You make most of the music for your games, right?

In Knytt I created a little more than half of it and in Knytt Stories I composed all the music in the 'A Strange Dream' expansion. But I get a lot of help too... There are a few musicians who frequently help me out.

Have you started thinking about the music for Night Game yet?

That part is really secret. There are certainly plans, but nothing I can reveal.

Fair enough. So, what happened with Knytt Experiment? It seems as though you gave up on it because you started to lose the inspiration you first had when designing it. It almost seems like that was due to your fans...

Naah, it was my own fault. It's of course common for everyone to give their opinion about things in other's work, which I value a lot; even I comment on things a lot. My problem was that I sort of forgot to just create the games to express me, and started to get worried about the game's popularity instead... so I suddenly found myself changing the entire game into what the audience would like. So I value the opinions and comments, I still need them... I just had to remind myself that I can't let them control me too much.

It's pretty clear that you use games as a way of expressing yourself. Would you consider games to be a form of art?

I guess it depends. All games contain some kind of art, but I think that the more 'arty' ones are those which aren't built around specific 'a good game should contain this' formulas, but rather when the authors get a chance to express something. I like to think that it's pretty easy to spot which games are designed like that.

You're a fan of jazz and ambient music, right? But what movies orbooks... do you have any favorites?

Yeah, lots I have to think... Spirited Away definitely appears in the top 5.... well, lots of Studio Ghibli stuff probably shows up in that list.

Nice. What games you have been playing recently, if any?

Most flash games posted at www.jayisgames.com and... I guess I haven't played that many other new games. The latest thing I bought was probably Shellblast.

What do you think of the 3 "next-gen" systems? I imagine you'll definitely  get a PS3 when Team ICO's next project is released...

Yeah, I did think that the Xbox and PS3 needed an update. I was actually pleased to see that not only large mainstream productions showed up on the PS3, but that a PS3 version of flOw was released too. If it means that other smaller companies will be able to create games for the consoles, that would be great. And if Team ICO releases a game for the PS3, that will be the moment when I get that console.

Would you ever consider submitting one of your games, or even make a new one, for those consoles through a download service, such as Nintendo's WiiWare Channel?

I would definitely. Since I use Multimedia Fusion 2, it's not technically possible right now, but it might be in the future. MMF2 is getting java export, so that might open up a few new things.... But I'd probably have to use a more sophisticated language to create things for the PS3 or Wii anyway.

One more question. I've read that you're concerned with the future, specifically in terms of technology and the environment. How would you describe the world, as you see it, 100 years from now?

That's a good question. I do have hopes that people (myself included) learn to take better care of the planet, but well, there's a risk that things will go seriously wrong. [pause] It's hard to know exactly how to respond; I don't have a specific idea of the future since I haven't studied the effects of global warming in detail that much.

Yeah, it's pretty hard to say.

Yep, but another issue I have with everything is that it's hard to get away from all man-made noises these days. If I had the power to make all cars on the planet disappear, I would probably use it without thinking too much about the consequences. I guess it's because I often want to enjoy the sounds of nature when I'm outdoors, but I seldom get the chance to. That's why it's an important aspect in Knytt and Knytt Stories.

They almost feel like they take place in a different yet familiar world.

Yeah.

Well, it's been great chatting with you. The Almost Monumental staff is really looking forward to Night Game. Thanks a lot for doing the interview.

No problem at all.

By Shagr

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 6th, 2007 at 1:56 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.