Pwnee wants Cloudberry Kingdom to be out for Wii U launch, will support leaderboards, Miiverse, more
Pwnee Studios has answered a few questions about Cloudberry Kingdom on Wii U. It was reconfirmed that the game may very well be out for the console’s launch, will support online leaderboards, Miiverse, accomplishments (or “whatever else you may want to call them”… maybe more hints of console accomplishments?), and more.
In other non-specific Wii U gameplay news, Pwnee discussed how Nintendo has been supportive of the studio, commented on why it feels like Steam influenced Nintendo, and yes… more!
Find the full roundup below.
Pwnee Studios on whether or not Cloudberry Kingdom will be a Wii U launch title…
“We can definitely confirm we will be in the launch window. There’s a really good chance we’ll be out on the first day, but there’s a tasty mix of unexpected challenges that go into that mission. We feel pretty confident right now though. Nintendo has been awesome to work with, and has been doing everything they can to help us make launch. I promise we won’t sleep until our relationships are destroyed and our health is ruined! Viva la Cloudberry!”
Pwnee Studios on the process behind becoming an indie developer for Wii U…
“We can only speak for Pwnee here, but Nintendo has been awesome to work with. Incredibly helpful, friendly, and really just great people all around. From the first day we pitched Cloudberry to Nintendo we’ve only had positive feedback and tons of support. Looking at the indie lineup for Nintendo I think they are really gunning for unique, innovative, and polished indie titles. If you’re an indie studio I definitely encourage you to consider WiiU as a platform.”
Pwnee Studios on why it thinks Steam influenced Nintendo and why the company is excited about the Wii U eShop…
“Probably the biggest thing for a developer is turn around time. On other platforms there is a substantial delay between finishing a game or patch and actually having it go live on the platform, mainly due to the QA process for the platforms. Steam is completely hands off in this respect: QA is entirely on the developer, which means once we decide a build is ready, it is. It is incredibly easy to push an update on Steam. I’m talking about minutes, not months. The turnaround time for Wii U isn’t as instantaneous as Steam, but on the timescales of other platforms it might as well be.”
Pwnee Studios on whether or not the Wii U version will support social features such as leaderboards, Miiverse, achievements/accomplishments…
“There is an online leaderboard for every platform, and we will definitely be rocking out as a part of the Miiverse. Really, you can expect us to be like most other games in regards to some of the social features. Achievements/accomplishments/trophies/whatever else you may want to call them are a must. How else can you rub it in your friend’s face that you are the better gamer?”
Pwnee Studios on any differences between the three versions of the game…
“Every version of the game is more or less the same, aside from the functionality to share seeds. That is the only current difference between the builds at the moment, but that doesn’t rule out the possibility of working with certain platforms to add some more unique assets.”
Other tidbits
– Took awhile to perfect the AI
– Small bugs were popping up for years
– Engine has thousands of parameters
– Needed a lot of playtesting to fine-tune the AI
– Old-school Mario, Jumper, Super Meat Boy were inspirations
– Some ideas won’t be able to make it into the final product
– DLC is planned
– DLC will add new heroes and obstacles
– There is a “Freeplay Mode”
– This lets you pick and choose different variables to have the AI create a level
– Variables include obstacles, difficulty, level length, checkpoints, and more
– Can save these levels and pass on a seed to friends for sharing
Thanks to John Stemen for the tip.
