Author: sick skills

Not long ago Kid Tripp arrived on the 3DS eShop, an auto-running platformer that offers snappy but challenging stages. Some balked at its mobile origins but that was to do it a discredit; in our view it’s a well-constructed and fun game.

Four Horses produced that version and is now working on a Switch port, so we caught up with director and programmer Michael Waites to learn more about the process of jumping a generation in hardware, and why this was always a ‘console’ game despite its smart device origins.

How has the development process been on Switch?

So far, it is all going well. I’ve taken a little break from it to help out another publisher with a conversion of a Unity project but I expect to be back onto it shortly.  Some of the work on the other project crosses over with Kid Tripp anyway, such as handling all the controller configurations that are possible and other aspects, which have inspired ideas to make Kid Tripp even greater on the Switch, so it is all good!
 
When did it start?

I started the conversion to Switch in the week of the launch of the 3DS version. Getting the game running with identical content to the Nintendo 3DS version was fairly rapid as all it involved was getting my in-house engine up and running on the Switch.  All that remains is to get the Switch-specific functionality added.

What attracted you to develop for Switch? 

I’m a huge fan of Nintendo, both the games they make and the hardware they release, so as soon as I heard about the Switch I wanted to own one for game playing. I love the design of the console and wanted to get set up as a developer as soon as possible as I have a few ideas for games that make some use of the unique hardware. Getting Kid Tripp onto the platform seemed to be a good springboard to getting hold of the development hardware, getting familiar with it and then going on to develop the ideas I have into full games.

What was your exposure and interest to the rumours of the ‘NX’? 

Sadly no different to any other Nintendo fan. As a developer, I had no early access to the hardware or any information about it.  It wasn’t until what seemed like an age after the launch of the hardware in March that I got access to the Switch developer site. In some ways, I’m happy with that because I did enjoy all the hype as a consumer.

It must be exciting to launch on Nintendo platforms that have huge popularity at the moment, one well established and the other in its infancy? 

It really is. I never thought I’d be self-publishing a game on Nintendo hardware within a year of its launch, but that is going to happen.  Plus, the 3DS has had a special place in my heart since its launch. Hopefully I’ll be able to develop and publish on its eventual successor, too!

The game is certainly charming visually, yet has elements and a degree of difficulty associated with classic platformers. How was this aesthetic/ gameplay balance approached (to appeal to different ages and skill types)?

I wasn’t involved in the design of the original game, so I don’t have too much information on that front. I do know that Mike Burns, the original creator, spent many hours with friends and family balancing and tweaking the levels based on their feedback. I’ll hand over to him!

---

Mike Burns: I started making Kid Tripp as a hobby way back in 2011. At the time there wasn’t a huge catalog of challenging, quality platformers on the iOS App Store, so I figured I’d jump in and help fill the void. I’m a big fan of New Adventure Island (the TG-16 one — I actually discovered it on the Wii Virtual Console!). It’s fast, colorful, and fairly tough. One of the cool ways that the Adventure Island games differ from the Mario games is that they kind of subtly encourage the player to never stop running. The more I played it, the more I realized I could beat pretty much the entire game without ever letting go of the right arrow on the d-pad. I think that’s what sparked the idea to bring that kind of classic platformer gameplay to mobile devices (via an autorunner.).

The decision to go with the game’s cute pixel art style was definitely influenced by games like Adventure Island and Super Mario Bros. (Bright, colorful pixel art just makes me happy!) The difficulty was a bit of a different story. The plan was always to make a tough game, but the funny thing is that I didn’t think the game was particularly hard when I first finished it up. I had spent about two or three years testing it almost daily, so by the time I got around to creating the final level design the physics were totally second nature to me. The thing is, because I designed the levels to feel challenging for me, personally, they ended up being super difficult for people who had never played the game before.

That said, I did offset the difficulty with some other design choices, so I think it worked out pretty well in the end. For instance, the player respawns practically instantly, and the levels are short enough that dying doesn’t feel like a huge loss of progress. The satisfaction of beating a super tough level is always just a few seconds away (which works great for holding a player’s interest), but it’s also really easy to just put down and jump back in later. I knew that that was a really important thing to have, especially for a game people would be playing on their phones.

---

With the ‘endless runner’ genre being linked predominantly with iOS, was this technically expanded and tweaked for consoles? 

Michael Waites: The original game was developed as a console game that could be played easily on a touch screen with two fake buttons, so to a degree it already was a console game. Having said that, the game is considerably more difficult to play in two button mode as there are three controls – running, throwing stones and of course, jumping.  We made the decision to split those controls fully for the console versions but retain a Hardcore control option that just uses two buttons the same as the iOS version. I don’t know if anyone really wants to use those “authentic” controls, but I didn’t want to make any irreversible changes to the original game.

How was the transition from one to two screens – from iOS to the 3DS, and now being able to transfer between home and portable with the Switch?

In some ways it was really difficult, mainly because we decided to just use the top screen – it is that decision which was difficult.  We had some ideas for things we could put on the touch screen such as a permanent display of your current statistics and a little mini-map of the level with markers for all the places where you lost a life, but in the end we figured that it was additional work that would only delay the release without adding any value for the player. If you take your eyes off the top screen whilst playing, you tend to lose a life!

So, with that in mind, how did you decide on unique features for each system? 

Since the game was already designed we were never going to be making any changes that would affect the content of the game, so unique features were never factored into the game. I was always going to be making use of the 3D effect of the 3DS, though. I personally don’t like getting multi-platform games on the 3DS that don’t utilise the 3D effect when they could do. For the Switch, the only thing I can confirm right now is that we are supporting all controller configurations – attached to the console, dual Joy-Con, single Joy-Con (left or right) and Pro Controller. We are experimenting with another feature based on the controller, but until we know if that is going to add value to the project are keeping it to ourselves!

---

We’d like to thanks Michael Waites and Mike Burns for their time.

Damien has over a decade of professional writing experience under his belt, as well as a repulsively hairy belly. Rumours that he turned down a role in The Hobbit to work on Nintendo Life are, to the best of our knowledge, completely and utterly unfounded.

• 
• by Matt Forde
• 22 hours ago

• Share:
• 131

To say Stardew Valley has a lot for you to do is a little bit of an understatement. With so much farming, mining, fishing and rummaging through bins to do, it can be a bit overwhelming the first time you set out.

As such we’ve put together the video above with 8 handy tips that should help you on your way to becoming the farmer you’d always dreamed you might be (at least in a video game). Do you have any tips of your own for fresh-faced farmhands? Let us know what they are down there in the comments.

Twenty years ago a bizarre amalgamation of card game, board game, and video game first released on the Sega Saturn, and made waves with its strategic depth, addictive gameplay and unique concept. Subsequent titles have shuffled the formula since, but that core blend of number-crunching, dice-rolling and card collecting remained, carving a niche in the market that drew in a dedicated fanbase. Its been nearly ten years since we’ve seen the release of any Culdcept game here in the West, but for anyone who recently dusted off their 3DS to go Metroid hunting, that is about to change.

Depending on your experience with gamepieces, dice and cards, either in digital or tabletop form, Culdcept Revolt can be an extremely daunting experience; downright intimidating at first glance. Competitive card games are increasingly popular nowadays, with many major franchises even offering spin-off titles based around this, but Culdcept is a totally self-contained entity and bears years of history. Despite its intricacies, which are absolutely intact in this latest release, Revolt now brings the series back to the West with confidence, eager to both introduce new players and challenge those more familiar with its addictive gameplay. 

Though it’s drawn fairly accurate comparisons with Monopoly in the past, some may find that Culdcept has more in common with Fortune Street, emphasising multiple pathways and a greater sense of control over the board. Up to four players roll dice each turn to determine how many spaces they move around a variety of different maps, claiming squares as their own by placing guardian monsters on them, which then demand a toll off any other player who subsequently lands on the space. These territories can be upgraded, monsters can be equipped with special items, and magic spells can be employed to help seal victory, all based on your customised selection of cards. Battling comes into play when trying to seize control of more territory or defending your own against invaders. If you’ve ever landed on a pricey hotel in Monopoly and wished you could attempt to tear it down instead of paying, then this is exactly the kind of capitalist catharsis you’ve been looking for.

Each board features between two and four gates, each corresponding to a cardinal direction. Passing through every one of these gates is considered a ‘lap’ of the board, and grants you a magic bonus for your trouble. Magic essentially acts as your currency in game, and is spent on summoning monsters as well as paying any tolls for landing on owned spaces. To win, you simply gather up enough until you reach the predetermined limit, and then race towards the nearest gate to claim victory. Expanding and upgrading your territory adds a steady income of magic, and of course you charge a toll for any player unlucky enough to land on your turf. Gates also heal your battle-weary monsters and activate them again after they become fatigued through use. They’re vital checkpoints that make sure you keep moving around the board, forcing players to put themselves at risk.

While we could go beyond this simplified abbreviation and detail just how each facet of gameplay works, or share our top secret strategies (fat chance), it would be a disservice to Revolt itself, which does a wonderful job of easing the player in slowly but surely. New mechanics are introduced with enough restraint that it never feels overwhelming, and even with such a huge amount of information to dive into there’s a limit on how much is heaped into your lap until you’re more comfortable with the basics. Right from the start there’s an extremely useful explanation of the game’s setting and what the general concept is. Despite how genuinely helpful this can be, it does rely on the tired cliché of amnesia as an extra crutch. 

Your self-titled character has no recollection of their past, but is told that they are a cepter: one who can control the cards of culdcept and perceive hidden pocket dimensions called battle spaces. Lost and confused in a strange city you’re found by a rebel group known as the Free Bats, who operate in secret to fight back against the tyrannical rule of Count Krannis. Under his command cepters are being hunted down and eliminated, while the city gates remain closed, trapping every citizen inside. With a ragtag bunch of heroes and a fiendish villain to fight back against it’s certainly well-worn material, but acts as a solid platform to support plenty of opportunities to engage in battles. We were initially detached from the events of the story but things did pick up, and with rebellion at the heart of the adventure the drive to escape makes it easy to sympathise with many of the characters. 

The single-player campaign is broken up into chapters, each containing the main plotline missions with optional side stories to complete as well. Inevitably, every single little disagreement or challenge throughout the story will result in a card-based confrontation – even among allies – but the gameplay is interesting enough to warrant the repetition. Don’t expect much in the way of variety however, as there’s no opportunity to actually explore environments or interact with NPCs outside of set cutscenes. Your input into the story is confined solely to the board, which is a bit disappointing. There are still some weird quirks of course, with the sudden arrival of a cowboy character early on being a jarring example, and the fact that your evil-doing opponents frequently give you kindly advice about the current map, without any ulterior motive or smarmy attitude whatsoever. The game does an effective job of making you dislike your rivals, so it’s strange to receive helpful tidbits of information from them before charging into battle. 

We have to admit though, it’s usually pretty good advice, and there’s plenty to wrap your head around. Creatures have specific abilities and elemental traits for example, and these can define their purpose as either aggressive invaders or staunch defenders. When forming your deck of fifty cards, which are here named ‘books’, you need to keep in mind the more attack-oriented fire and earth elements, while balancing trickier water and air elements that boast special abilities. Items to help attack and defend – as well as magic spells – are also vital, with powers ranging from something as simple as an extra dice roll, to some game-changing abilities that effect the entire board. There are over 400 different cards to collect in total and it’s important to spend time rearranging and updating your book of cards regularly. This is especially important as certain cards are objectively better than others, making earlier items and creatures obsolete as you progress. There are plenty of slots for different books, encouraging experimentation and adaptive strategy to fit the map, your opponent, and your own preferences.

Returning players will find that there are some key changes to the formula this time around, which may seem subtle at first but go a long way in streamlining the experience and mixing things up a bit. One of the most obvious changes is the way in which you earn cards, which ties into the gradual introduction of mechanics rather than being overwhelmed all at once. They aren’t immediately unlocked upon completing maps like in previous titles, instead you earn money by playing matches, which can then be spent on randomised packs of cards each with a set theme, such as a specific elemental type for example. More of these themes unlock as you progress, granting the chance to find rarer, more powerful cards that in turn allow for very different types of books. 

Smaller tweaks such as the fatigue that afflicts monsters, the fact that you now discard at the end of your turn, and the introduction of new buildings also change things up, but another major addition are the slightly bizarre Evo cards. These are special dragon creatures that ‘age’ through use, allowing you to level them up and partially customise each card to suit your needs. Up to two of them can be in your book at any one time, and keeping them there will add evolution points with each battle you complete. These points are then spent on increasing the card’s strength and HP, adding new abilities or changing its elemental type. It’s an interesting idea that’s pretty well executed, though it’s entirely possible to continue your game with just the standard cards in tow. They’re fun and unique, but not crucial.

The more you play, the more you’ll begin to develop your own style and gain confidence in your book of cards. The AI opponents can put up a stiff challenge, but as is the downfall with many board games luck plays just as much of a part in victory or defeat as raw skill does. There are ways to manipulate the dice roll, and to negate certain traps, but sometimes you’ll just suffer a run of misfortune and fall victim to one bout of bad luck too many. It’s frustrating to see games turn around so quickly on a total whim, but it does admittedly add to the excitement sometimes. You’re always kept on your toes, challenged by new opponents with new books, and being able to see what’s in their hand at all times makes it a tense affair as you try to predict their next move. If anything, the game can move too slowly at times, especially as you wait on multiple AI characters to finish their turns. It’s also a bit of a hassle to restart games if they aren’t going your way, as you need to wait your turn, manually resign, and then load that mission again from scratch.

The simple 2D sprites set against a 3D background are pleasant if not amazing, while more elaborate character art features the impressive work of Kinu Nishimura, known for Code of Princess and the Street Fighter series. The cards themselves are also well illustrated by various artists, while battle animations are restricted to some limited effects that do the job, but pass on more elaborate visuals as creatures clash. We enjoyed being able to zoom in on card art however, as some of the detail is lost on the small-screened handheld. There’s some English voice acting mixed in alongside a forgettable soundtrack, announcing card names and offering encouragement during games, but we ended up turning the sound down and sticking on a podcast when settling into longer play sessions.

Outside of the campaign you can set up customisable single matches for fun or practice against AI opponents, who can display surprising tactical intelligence, as well as comment on specific events within that particular game. If one character trails just behind you in magic then they sure won’t stay quiet about it, goading you with taunts of their encroaching comeback. We’d estimate that a standard game with a limit of 8000 magic takes around thirty minutes to complete on average, but there are plenty of options to mess around with to affect game length, alter card allowances (it’s possible to ban Evo cards entirely, for example), as well as customise the look of your cepter and even the style of dice you roll. 

Of course there are plenty of options when it comes to multiplayer as well, both online and local. For local play you have total control over the game, and can choose from a number of customisation options. Anyone who wants to join in will need to have their own copy of Revolt, however. The online mode itself will actually reward players with a daily bonus just by logging in, ranging from in-game currency to a random card. While online you can enter into a match with friends, or battle other cepters around the world. The Free Match will link you with active players, and sets up three different difficulty levels to choose from. There’s far less customisation here as the game sets its own rules in these arena-style lobbies, but it means that beginners can jump in without much fear of being swarmed by expert players. 

Separate from the in-game shop, there’s also an online store which currently offers up a variety of both free and paid DLC in the form of extra quests and cosmetic items such as outfits or book covers. Some of these items are fairly pricey, but thankfully they don’t have an effect on the game itself, as you can’t buy exclusive cards or pay your way to victory. It’s possible we’ll see additional free DLC in the future, though the main game itself is still a fully-realised experience.

Rogue Trooper Redux is a pretty interesting upcoming release, as it’ll tap into nostalgia while also offering some shooty-bang-bang gaming on the Switch. The good news is that Nintendo fans will no longer need to wait longer than PS4 / Xbox One owners to play it, with development getting ahead of schedule to ensure a shared release date.

It’ll arrive on 17th October in North America, with the same date expected (but not 100% confirmed yet) for Europe; the price will be £19.99 / $24.99. Check out some details and a ‘101’ trailer below.

---

• A BAFTA-nominated story faithful to the 2000 AD comic and universe of the same name.
• A thrilling singleplayer campaign blending stealth, action, cover-based shooting and epic set pieces. 
• Tactical smarts: Listen out for Helm’s strategic advice and confuse the enemy with distractions and holodecoys.
• Withering firepower: Transform Rogue’s sentient rifle Gunnar into a sentry gun, sniper rifle, mortar, missile launcher and more.
• Powerful upgrades: collect salvage to upgrade weapons and order Bagman to manufacture explosives under fire.
• Two intense co-op modes for 2-4 players online (or in single player offline).

---

Will you be tempted to give this a try on Nintendo Switch?