Few companies have embraced Nintendo’s download services as fully as California-based WayForward, which is developing original IP for both WiiWare and DSiWare. With its first salvo of download titles already released in the US – Wii survival horror puzzler Lit and DSi platform puzzler Mighty Flip Champs! – it’s been a real change in direction for a developer best known for licenced DS titles like Contra 4 and Duck Amuck. We caught up with Matt Bozon, the studio’s creative director, to discuss the current state of Nintendo’s online marketplace, and how it’s helping to shape his company.
Have you been tempted to work with either PSN or XBLA? Are there specific advantages that Nintendo’s services promise?
We’ve looked into all of the download services, and they appeal to us on different levels. But we’ve had such a strong focus on Nintendo over the years that it made sense to take our first steps with WiiWare and DSiWare. Our tech runs on all platforms, so I wouldn’t rule them out, but we’ve always connected very well with Nintendo fans.
How do the downloadable platforms impact game design and game creation? Is file size the biggest factor to take into account, or do you approach the games in entirely different ways?
The size is a factor, but I think in both cases we tried to cater to the specific audiences, people who would like something new in a download game. Both Lit and Mighty Flip Champs! were designed to take advantage of the hardware in unique ways, but are also scaled to the delivery method.
Lit, which is set in a darkened high school, is already out in the US but only due for release in the UK in the coming months
How big are the teams involved compared to a traditional team?
So far, both of our games have had smaller teams and shorter dev cycles. But there’s no real reason we couldn’t do retail sized game. Still, it’s fun to get an idea out there, take it as far as it can go and then move on to something fresh. That’s the beauty of download: games can be more spontaneous. And I suppose that’s our biggest challenge. What to make next?
What kind of effect has developing for downloadable platforms had on your company? Is new IP more viable on download games? Has WiiWare changed the kind of games you’re likely to make in the future?
Yes, it’s had a very positive effect. We’re feeling more enabled to create outlandish games, maybe things we wouldn’t have tried before. That’s amazing when you consider our ratio of original games to licenced games over the last 16 years: You can count the original games on one hand. I could see us at a 50/50 split one day if the customers keep coming back. That’s another great thing; that players can more directly influence what will succeed or fail. So buy good games!
Does WiiWare make smaller developers more viable in the current game development climate?
WayForward has definitely benefited from WiiWare, since Lit gave us a chance to experiment on the system and step up as a publisher. It also opened the door to DsiWare and Mighty Flip Champs!, so I can say it’s played a critical role in our efforts towards new IP. It hasn’t changed the fact that our bread and butter are still licenced console games. But we love the freedom to make unique titles for these services.
Is raising awareness of the game a problem when they’re tucked away on the Wii or DSi shop? How do you go about advertising these kind of games?
[Laughs.] Yeah, that’s our current dilemma. Both Lit and Flip Champs got terrific reviews, but if we have to constantly find ways of reminding people that they exist. We’re forced to make shameful plugs in magazines saying things like, "Hey you! Buy Lit and Flip Champs!" Stuff like that. The silver lining is that we don’t land in bargain bins and used game racks. Finding good forms of advertising will probably be our next challenge.
Are there features you’d like to see incorporated into WiiWare/DSiWare titles that the service doesn’t currently allow for?
Definitely. What we want to see most of all is user-generated rankings. We make quality games that get 8s and 9s. We think they should be at the top of the list. Popularity isn’t a good quality gauge: it just tells you what the masses are buying. Second, we’d like to see both services opened up to include free demos. We want players to find out how great our games are from within the device itself before they buy. We want the consumer risk removed, because that’s when popularity and quality will line up.