The indie scene has progressed forwards during the last few years faster than anyone could have imagined. Success has been seen both with console exclusive games as well as games released on multiple platforms. Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo have all taken a positive attitude to bringing new titles to their consoles without the need for help from large publishers such as Activision Blizzard, Ubisoft or Electronic Arts.
A few days ago, I saw a chance to contacting a relatively new developer responsible for a completely new Wii U indie title. The result of the messaging back and forth is this interview with Tommy Nordered, the lead developer of Swipe Knight (working title).
Who are you and what do you do? Could you give a small introduction of yourself to the readers here on GBAtemp?
I am Tommy Nordered, the lead developer of Swipe Knight. I do all the programming and design for the game and I love every second of it! I am a guy who has been making games for the past 5 years, but on a much smaller scale than I am doing now. You could even say that the last 5 years have been a learning curve up to this point.
About 2 months ago I showed one of my games to Nintendo and applied to become a Wii U developer. They said yes which was a big step for me. At first I didn’t believe it was true because it all happened so fast. When Nintendo called me on my home phone, I finally understood that it was true. That was a truly great day!
I can imagine the feeling! Going years back, how did you originally get into video games?
When I was 4 my parents bought an 8-bit Nintendo system and from that day on I have been hooked!
What was the spark that made you begin thinking about changing your ideas to reality and eventually start developing games yourself?
I am glad you asked and I really hope my answer inspires people out there to do the same decision themselves. I had always dreamed about making games, but also always felt that I would never be able to do it because coding seemed too hard to learn for me. Then I saw a Flash game platform tutorial on YouTube, which I followed and eventually got to work. That’s how easy it was to get started. After the initial success, I studied C++ for a couple of months and also a couple of other programming languages. This gave me the grounds I needed to be able to take any ideas I had and put them in a game.
Many people are bound to be interested in what you have studied before getting to this point. What is your educational background?
Not much really, since I started working when I was 16. When I had turned 23 I began studying programming, design and other stuff like that on distance for a few years. In Sweden we can pick online courses and study from home, which helped quite a bit. Apart from that I don’t really have an educational background. Most of the things I need I’ve learned by myself.
If you weren’t a game developer, what would you be doing?
T: Wow, I don’t even want to think about it. I would probably be working at some job I hated like I used to do when I was younger.
Why do you make games? Do you have a specific reason for your drive?
Because I love games, it’s a huge part of my life and has been since I was 4 years old. Also there is so much you can do with games since it’s an interactive experience. I love the fact that I get to create a whole world and an adventure that other people out there will experience.
How many games have you worked on so far?
I worked on about 5 games that have been finished, and a handful of games that never saw the light of day.
An interesting aspect about game development is the amount of different options for creating games. Which game development tools are you using at the moment? Is the development kit enough by itself or do you also use third party tools?
I am going to have to skip this question because Nintendo is extremely strict about us devs not talking about anything involving the development kits or stuff like that. If you watch the trailer, I even mention that I wasn’t allowed to show the Wii U devkit.
It was worth a try, but lets move on to the next question.
Do you have any recommendations for someone wishing to get into game development? What would be the recommended first steps for an aspiring developer?
Just do what I did and find yourself a tutorial on YouTube. Once you get the satisfaction from getting it to work, grab yourself a book on C++. Everything is so easy now days with the internet, since there is always someone out there ready to answer any question you might have and there is always someone who has done a tutorial online of something you are trying to do. What I am trying to say is that if you get stuck then you won’t be stuck forever.
So, what is your favorite platform to develop for?
That’s going to have to be Wii U. It’s the first real console I am developing for and getting to this point has been a goal of mine.
Do you require a high-end computer for your development needs?
You don’t need the absolute best thing out there, I would say a few steps above average.
Environment concept art from the worlds of the future
Now into the juicy stuff! How would you describe Swipe Knight for someone who has never heard of the game?
Swipe Knight is a very unique Metroidvania game not set in an isolated planet or castle, but instead out in the open. You travel through a variety of worlds very reminiscent of retro platform games. You get to visit unique worlds like “30’s cartoon alley”, “cyberpunk zone”, “survival-horro mansion” and also some the classis ones like a forest, desert and more.
What also makes Swipe Knight unique is that you control the hero with swipes. You swipe up to jump, you swipe down to slide, you swipe in the direction the hero is walking to attack and you swipe in the opposite direction the hero is walking to make him turn around and walk in the opposite direction. There is also an option to play with the left analog stick on the Wii U gamepad, if you prefer to not use the touch inputs. Swipe Knight is being made for the Wii U with its unique hardware in mind so people can expect A LOT of dual screen levels and boss fights.
I’m personally very interested in how you came up with the game’s concept. What’s the story behind it?
It all actually began when my wife asked me to help her get an high score on this game called Cookie run for the mobile phone. It’s a runner like so much else on phones these days, I liked the gameplay but got bored because I want to be able to explore, find new items and fight bosses and stuff like that. And that thought alone was the ground for Swipe Knight.
Swipe Knight seems like a unique mixture of many game genres. What were your inspirations for Swipe Knight?
The game Battle Kid has been a huge inspiration for Swipe Knight, and I took some elements from that game but changed them and made something completely new. Battle Kid is a metroidvania game divided in to lots of small segments, just like Swipe Knight. In Battle Kid if you take a hit you die and have to restart from the last save point. I liked the challenge and reward the game created but it unfortunately became too hard and frustrating to be truly enjoyed. So what I did was doing so when you take a hit in Swipe Knight you die and lose 1 health point, but you re-spawn direct in the beginning of the segment. This way I think I have managed to create the perfect balance between challenge and reward.
The segments can be hard at times but are all fairly short, so having to replay a segment a few times won’t get too frustrating. They are still punishing enough to get you that sweet rewarding feeling of accomplishment once you beat them.
The other games, which inspired me when creating Swipe Knight, were Zelda and just retro platform games in general.
Well, that’s quite a mix! If you had to choose something outside of gaming for inspiration, what would it be?
Everything. It could be a song, a movie, a situation, or a joke. I am going to give you some examples. You’ve probably seen the image of the boss “The 4 Horsemen” that I posted in the forum. The idea from that boss came from listening to a song by Canibus where he mentions his group The Horsemen. I enjoyed the song so much that I had to take something from it and make it my own. I have created the world of Swipe Knight in a way that I am free to add anything that inspires me, it’s not restricted to just a medieval setting as one first might think.
Another example is the “30’s cartoon alley” world that is going to be in the game, the whole idea for that world came from hearing the piano song “the entertainer” by Scott Jolpin. I heard the song and thought it would be so awesome to have that song playing in the background while walking around in a 30’s cartoon setting. Scott has been dead for so long that everyone is free to use his song for commercial use and when I found that out I decided to include the “30’s cartoon alley” world.
Monochrome world is a go!
You mentioned that you have been chosen as a Wii U developer. Did you have a specific reason for choosing Wii U as your primary development platform for Swipe Knight?
It’s because I love Nintendo and it’s a childhood dream to make games for their consoles. Also the Wii U has sooooo much untapped potential, almost no one is using the dual screen in a unique way that feels natural. Most games just give you the option to play the game on the gamepad. Ever since I got approved by Nintendo to make games for their Wii U, I’ve been writing down my dual screen ideas every time I had one, and now I got a whole book full of them. But I don’t want to go in to detail because I don’t want my ideas to end up in someone else’s game. I have had ideas stolen before and that’s worse than being robbed of your money.
But I will give you one idea and hopefully that’s enough to get people excited and see where I am going with this. You can control the hero with either Swipes or the left analog stick, that means your right hand is 100% free which means just can use your right hand to control another character with the right analog stick. So there will be segments where you control 2 characters separated from each other at the same time, one on the gamepad and one on the TV. Something like that has never been done before, and I hope Wii U owners see a value in that and want to support it.
Will there be a version of the game for the 3DS or other consoles?
Probably not, but there might be ports for iOS/Android and PC. In any case, those versions will be significantly shorter than the Wii U version because around 30% of the game will use both screens or some of the Wii U’s other unique features. I made the choice to make this game for the Wii U with its unique hardware in mind and to not skip on my dual screen ideas just to be able to get it out on all platforms.
How has your game been received so far in the gaming community?
Very good. Sure some people nitpick but overall it’s been received very well. Except that people constantly compare the game to Shovel Knight and complain about the name. Let me make one thing clear, the name Swipe Knight comes from the fact that you are a KNIGHT that you control with SWIPES. I really love the name because I think it describes the game so well, but I consider changing it because I get a headache from having to explain the names origin to people who compares it to Shovel Knight 20 times a day.
How long have you been working on Swipe Knight?
About 2 months in total. It has been very stressing to get the demo ready for Indiegogo in time because I am not making any money during this whole time and I got a family to take care of. So I just want people to know that what you seen so far should be viewed as a tech demo. I will be re-designing everything once the Indiegogo campaign is over and I don’t need to rush anything.
How many folks are involved in the making of your game?
The team consists of me, my best friend Olle Laver and a guy from Canada named Michael Marhal. I do most of the work since I do the programming and design. Olle helps me with coming up with game mechanics, writing the story, testing the game and basically everything else. Michael does all the music for the game and we have worked on 2 games prior to Swipe Knight. I have to say I worked with many music composers before, but this guy is the best so were real lucky to have him on the team!
How was your budget for your game? Was setting up a crowdfunding campaign at IndieGoGo a simple process for an indie developer?
The budget we are aiming for is roughly $37000. $6000 of the sum is used for Indiegogo fees and to send out T-shirts to all the backers, while another $2500 is for the hardware costs. The rest is for me to be able to live and pay the bills, while making the game. The development should take something around 16-19 months to finish. That leaves me and my family with $1500 a month during the development for those who wonders.
The reason I mention this is because there have been a handful of people who think we are asking for too much. When we show the calculations and what the money is used for, most of them agree that it’s a reasonable amount. Setting up an Indiegogo campaign was really easy and something I think anyone with an idea would be able to do, but planning should be done beforehand and the funds should be used wisely in any case.
Do you have any tips for getting your voice out? If someone want’s to help you out, is there something they can help you with?
Everything I can, I been posting on forums, on Facebook, done interviews like this one (Thanks GBAtemp!) and also constantly trying to contact websites and try to convince them to post something about the game. If everyone, who’s interested in Swipe Knight, would post the image at the bottom of the campaign page on their social media and link it to the campaign, it would be a big help. What people could also do is contact the big sites like IGN, Gamespot and such and ask them to write an article about the game. The more people are showing interest, the more likely we’re going to meet our goals.
What has gone right/wrong during development so far?
It’s hard to say, I don’t think anything has gone wrong really. The tech-demo turned out pretty much how I wanted it to.
What’s gone right is the control scheme. I honestly think I nailed it and I am glad that so many skeptics changed their minds about the swipe control after they saw the trailer. Hopefully those who are still skeptic about the controls will change their minds after they actually play it. Nevertheless, the game includes additional controls for the people who prefer to play the game without having the touch-screen control forced on them. I sincerely hope people prefer the swipe interface and enjoy the game as I originally intended it
What lessons have you learned from developing your game?
To be VERY careful what I name my games, lol.
Where do you think the games industry will be in the next 5-10 years? What do you think will be the next thing that will change gaming?
I think Virtual Reality is the next big thing. If you remember in the early 90’s everyone was hyped about VR, but then Virtual boy came and everyone pretty much stopped talking about it. Now, with Oculus Rift on the way, VR is coming back. It’s been made possibly by every other natural progression for how you play the game.
Before the DS many people looked forward to the day when you would be able to touch the screen and play games that way. Then the DS came and now the touchscreen was a reality. The same can be said for the Wii. Many people had also wondered when we would be able to control the games with motions and be able to swing a sword and have the hero in the game follow your motion. With the Wii, this has been made a reality.
Personally, I don’t see any other natural progression in gaming right now except for VR. Sure there is Microsoft Xbox’s upcoming Illumiroom, which look freaking awesome. Still it’s not what I would call a natural progression because it’s something no one has been waiting for or dreaming about. It’s still cool, but I don’t think it will change how we play games. If they can nail the Oculus Rift so that you can play it for hours without getting a headache, I think that’s the way we all will be playing games in a few years.
Just making better graphics is getting old; especially when people can see how small the leap between PS3 and PS4 has been so far. It has gotten to the point where it already looks almost as good as it can. It wasn’t like going from NES to SNES, or from SNES to N64, or even from N64 to Gamecube.
Finally for the last question! How will you proceed with Swipe Knight from this point onwards?
For the coming 40 days of the campaign I will be available to communicate with anyone who is interested in Swipe Knight and try to answer all questions asked. I will also draw enemies, bosses and worlds to post in coming updates on the indiegogo campaign. Once the indiegogo campaign is over and I know what I got to work with, the real development begins. I will still try to communicate with fans as much as possible because I get so much positive energy from their feedback.
If anyone has any more questions, you can contact me here on GBAtemp (DirtyMangle) or via email at [email protected]. Thanks to you guys at GBAtemp for doing this interview and helping us reach out to people.
It has been a pleasure, Tommy! Hopefully we’ll see Swipe Knight succeed in the future.
For anyone wanting to see more information on the game and its development, Tommy has a thread on GBAtemp and of course the Indiegogo page. Tommy has also agreed to answer all questions here on the thread, so if you ever wished for a chance to ask an indie game developer something, it's now!
Thank you for reading and hopefully you liked the interview. Any comments and suggestions regarding the interview and its formatting are more than welcome via PM to me
