Nintendo Working with Indies on a “Wide Range of Content”

“Rolly roguelike” Tumbleseed coming to Switch.

By Andy Hoover. Posted 02/07/2017 15:00 1 Comment     ShareThis

For the better part of two and half decades, Nintendo was infamous for exercising very strict controls over who could release what on its consoles. That changed several years ago as Nintendo relaxed numerous restrictions and adopted a more active stance in attracting and promoting the works of smaller, independent developers. This newer approach has seen a noticeable bump in indie content for Wii U and 3DS, and now it looks like that trend is continuing with Switch.

Greg Wohlwend, the man behind developer aeiowu, has independently released several well received titles, mostly for mobile, and is now planning to bring his work to Switch. This spring, he will be releasing Tumbleseed, which he has labelled a “Rolly Rogulike”; in it, players roll a seed along a rising platform, avoiding obstacles and holes that threaten to send the player back to the start. Wohlwend looked at the colorful art style and simple yet challenging gameplay, and saw it as a good fit with Nintendo’s sensibilities. From there, it was a relatively simple process to get a Switch version rolling.

“We always felt like TumbleSeed would really be at home on a Nintendo console, so we cold-called them, and, luckily, they felt the same,” Wohlwend stated. “I can’t speak for what’s happened in the past because this is the first time I’ve worked with Nintendo, but I can say they’ve been a joy to work with.”

On the matter of working with indie developers, a Nintendo spokesman stated the following, “Nintendo greatly values its collaborations with indie developers across the world, and is working closely with them on a wide range of content.” The company also advised more would be discussed at this year’s GDC, which starts later this month.

Tumbleseed doesn’t have a specific release date yet, though it is currently planned to launch this spring.

Source: Nintendo Everything, Engadget

One Response to “Nintendo Working with Indies on a “Wide Range of Content””

  • 819 points
    Toadlord says...

    Nintendo has benefited from a quality batch of indie studios that are big Nintendo fans. It’s great that Nintendo has warmed to these developers. The fact that a number of indie games have been getting physical releases on Nintendo systems is wonderful.

    I love that Tumbleseed’s core mechanic uses the two joysticks. The arcade game it’s inspired by, Ice Cold Beer, is a blast too. I had the chance to play it at a Barcade in Orlando a couple times. Very addicting. The music in the trailer also sounded promising. Looking forward to seeing more as the release nears.

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