I played the Nintendo Channel demo last week... I don't think I've had a DS demo that's offered so much since the Meteos demo back in 2005. Why such an involved demo?
Brandon Curiel, President of Venan:Well, with Ninjatown, I think we departed a fair amount from what you'd call a typical tower defense game. We introduce a lot of different mechanics besides just placing towers, and to get a handle on all those features, we designed the game to ease the player gradually into it. So, when it came time to do the demo, we definitely approached it from the point of view of "well, how much can we fit?" because we knew that just throwing a bunch of levels together would be confusing as all heck.
Good demos can help you, and bad demos will definitely hurt you, so you really want to paint an accurate picture of your game. To do that, we felt that we needed to include enough levels that the player would get a taste of all the great features presented in the same way as the final game. And I think, after playing the demo, you can definitely see what's fun about the game and will hopefully want to see more.
I should add that even though I had a lot of fun with the demo, it was pretty easy, provided I didn't build stupidly. I assume the full game offers more challenge as you progress?
Curiel:We wanted to make sure we hit as broad a demographic as possible, since there are a number of people who are either fans of Shawnimals or who might be intrigued by the art style that might be new to tower defense style games. So we take it easy in the opening parts of the game to make sure they understand what's going on and how the different elements of the game work. That being said, we continually ramp up the difficulty, and things will heat up pretty soon after where the demo leaves off.
Any amusing stories to tell about the game's development?
Curiel:Hmmm, I can't think of anything off the top of my head, but we all laughed out loud once we got the final story dialogue in there and started playing through it. It definitely sticks out for me as something that is a lot more sophisticated than what you normally see on the DS, and I think people are going to really enjoy uncovering Mr. Demon's insidious plot and saving Ninjatown.
I'm right with you on the sophistication of the dialogue—I've enjoyed the tastes from the demo and screens quite a bit. Were other game types besides the tower defense style considered?
Jeremy Pope, Ninjatown Producer, Cashmere Games:At the very beginning we tossed around the idea of a side-scroller, something inspired by old-school games such as Double Dragon. We also briefly kicked around the idea of a Zelda-style top-down adventure with the addition of Ninja-themed mini-games. The goal was to come up with a concept that played up the characters and personality of Ninjatown while also providing an addictive gameplay experience and, in the end, the tower defense style approach worked perfectly.
You made a good choice, I think. What kind of player do you think would be best-suited for the game?
Pope:That's tough to pin down because the game actually works for a wide range of players. If you're a strategy nut who loves games like Advance Wars, the gameplay of Ninjatown is right up your alley. Also, since the action in Ninjatown plays out in real-time (as opposed to turn-based) there's an appeal to fans of faster paced, more action-oriented games. The look of Ninjatown also resonates with both younger and older gamers of both sexes. And finally, the story is super cool and funny, so if you're into the idea of a good story and a few laughs... Ninjatown's your thing.
for Nintendo DS ships tomorrow, October 28, to a store near you. The demo is still available on the Nintendo Channel. For more about the game, take a look at
our profile (featuring exclusive screens!) or you can check out
the official website.
