Announced last week as coming to Switch in the first week of February, Knights and Bikes is a good looking co-op puzzle game set in Britain in the & # 39; 80s. Enhanced by the fabric of the Foam Sword, it follows Nessa & Demelza as they sail by exploring the beaches, forests and ruins of their home, the mythical island of Penfurzy. Naturally, they are getting into all kinds of scams in this Goonies-esque adventure that was released on PS4 and PC last year but looks like it has a tail made for Nintendo & # 39; s switch.
Built for veterans of the Sony Development Media Media Molecule studio following the successful Kickstarter, the devs have games like LittleBigPlanet, Tears and Ratchet and Clark on their CVs. We caught up with the founders of Foam Sword – artist Rex Crowle and programmer Moo Yu – to discuss the development of the Knights and Bikes, the perennial complaint of the 1980s, and the strange and unexpected dangers of changing cancellation / confirmation buttons.
Nintendo Health: For people who probably miss the PS4 / PC Release l ast year, tell us about the game and its entry.
Rex: Knights And Bikes is an action-adventure for 1 or 2 players (co-op) where you play as a few kids exploring the island of England in the 1980s in search of a famous leftover treasure. There is a lot of exploration, puzzle solving and fighting all wrapped up in the classic landing story.
Gameplay-wise you'll have conversations with islanders, exploring key worlds in your movies and getting under levels with an armload of frisbees, water balloons and other upgraded weapons to deal with the ancient curse that tries to stop your treasure – So.
And along the way, you'll be collecting the load to upgrade and customize your bikes, participate in competing bonus sports, and take care of Captain Honkers of your pet!
The island adaptation of the game seemed to overflow the British and mentioned earlier how it was influenced by childhood experiences and films such as The Goonies. What are some of the influences on your mind during development and what do you think is that way of the 80-year-old story that continues to manifest for almost forty years?
Rex: Aside from the personal experiences and those 1980s movies, the main influences in the game were Confidentiality and The world over. The secret of Mana because co-op play with Earthbound is its bittersweet story of growth and growth and its daily integration with a more fun adventure.
while a little concerned about overlapping (with Stranger Things) at first, it actually helped introduce more players to the era before the Internet
It is an intriguing question as to why the 1980s continued to attract modern appeal. At first it seemed like a loose writing rule to put things in place 30 years before this (most 1980s movies were set in the 1950s). It is enough in the past that it is "special" but it is not long ago to be difficult to understand. The 1980s felt like a time when many modern things came to fruition: walkie-talkies so you could call your friends, Walkmans to listen to music on the go (with or without your parents yelling at you!) And a general increase in communication and pop-instrument purchases.
But time is on and the 1980's attraction still seems to be going on. When we launched this game something called “Unknown Items"It came out where there was a lot of interest in settings in the 1980s, now introducing it to viewers who have never seen that era for the first time. And while we were a little concerned about the overlap at the beginning, it actually helped introduce more players to the era before the Internet, when you ride your bike and meet all of them. types of times.
As did the Foam Sword for Media Molecule vets – have there been any lessons learned from previous games that have influenced the development of Knights and Bikes & # 39 ;?
Moo: One minute in between LittleBigPlanet a development that always stuck with me for the first time to be able to successfully build something in conjunction with a game planner. I was just bothering with the designers without any real plan, just racing, but unlike other attempts where the tools collapsed before we could handle anything, we went into the garage together and made a fire-breathing dragon. I think the thought of having a space to explore and play with friends of very different abilities was something that stuck out to me and I actually wanted to take it to Knights and Bikes.
One idea I remembered was the high drama where some players put their future in the hands of one player with a great sense of satisfaction when you were able to carry your friends, but a unity that often brought failure. I think those kinds of strengths between players are just as important to me as the core of gaming.
The art style looks fantastic. Was the look of the game nailed down from the beginning or did it come from all the development?
it's been a good decision for this project not to go "hyper 1980s" as it looks (and it's all been neon and chrome self-control)
Rex: The idea behind it was there from the beginning, but finding the right execution took a long time. It was largely driven by the need to keep the process of simplifying as much as possible so that most of the time was spent on a broad set of conditions and conditions and not so much on complex development processes. So we knew it was going to be almost all 2D painting in the 3D world, because that would give players the kind of place they could really explore but with a book that had some complexity in it.
The true style of painting is trying to make it look like you see the world through the eyes of children in this game. She is drawn with the type of building materials they can use when trying to explain the times they have. Art supplies like paint, chalk and pastels. And having this style meant that we could no longer create a beautiful environment and change it according to children's imagination. The story of many games is about what they think. They were brought up in a cartoon diet and comics, so, in the event they find an old fairy tale fantasy, their fantasies are just exposed and turned into a huge seaside retreat into a fantasy.
On the score he also hired Daniel Pemberton who has worked on numerous TV, film and drama programs. Seeing how personal the story and setting are, how does that encounter differ from previous projects? Did you give her some guidance or ideas, or did she just let her do her thing?
Rex: I have worked with Daniel on projects for almost 20 years so we have a very close relationship and mutual trust as we know how to work well. Mostly his compositions are made to "make a picture" so I will always play a certain part of the game often (but live, not recorded, so that he can see all the different modes to play) and we'll talk about what feelings we want to evoke in the audience, and he'll start playing something about it. And before long, a whole piece will be created around those first phrases on the keyboard.
Although it was a positive decision with the project not to go "hyper 1980s" in looks (and it's all been neon and chrome self-control) it surprised me that he didn't want to go synthesizer-y the main article says our Kickstarter video. But it was the perfect way to have something outdated and like art. After all, many of the best movies from that era had orchestral soundtracks and adopted the same approach allowed for a wide range of emotions.
It turns out that players (especially testers) always press the confirmation button.
As we found out the high bar there was plenty of room for dirt and to create some of the different weather. I really wanted the game to open with a punk track, something big and green, that sounded like kids playing the track themselves, and I mentioned that their story was very telling. And that track became "I Want To Ride My Bicycle" which you can hear on some of our trailers, and it totally captured that energy and excitement to ride your bicycle lane as quickly as possible in a thoughtful broomstick lance battle with your friend riding sideways.
Daniel is in high demand these days making films like (Item) Spider and new Birds of prey movie, so it was great fun for him to still find us for a while!
As a co-op game, Knights & Bikes look appropriate on the switch. What are the main challenges of composing this version?
Moo: This sounds strange, but one of the biggest challenges that came with changing the confirmation and stop-key buttons on the menus. For other types of Knights and Bikes, confirm the bottom face button and the cancellation is on the right. For Change, the menu level is different, which shouldn't be a major problem. However, we've started to find a number of new errors with the game I've never seen on a PS4 or PC. It turns out that players (especially testers) always press the confirmation button. And when the confirmation button was the basic power button, it didn't cause any major problems because most of the skills just appeared without any negative impact. However, when the confirmation button is also a button that performs things such as high five sounds and feeds and eats goose, it causes this interaction to result in very bizarre times, right before cutscenes or between cutscenes, which can cause all sorts of problems. So, in the end, rotating those buttons around opened our eyes to a bunch of bugs we had never seen before and it encouraged me to be more careful about just adding random buttons all the time.
Are there any changes or additions to the Switch version of the game from other platforms?
Moo: Our aim was to deliver the same experience as players had on other platforms. We did not want to submit a reduced or simplified game and therefore it was a matter of finding technological means to ensure that there was no need to change the structure or assets of the game. I'd say though that without making major changes, playing the game on the switch should feel special in a different way. First of all, having the game in your hands, ready to jump in and out at any moment feel a little magical. Being able to play 10 or even 15 minutes on the tub tour was excellent. However, there is the ability to remove the remote and work in a co-op. You do not need to purchase additional controllers or bring extras with you. At any time, you can jump between a single player and a local co-op and it makes it very easy to play with a friend or get help from a friend when you need it most.
Knights and Bikes was a Kickstarter hit, and dozens of devs turned to that and other fundraising platforms – with varying degrees of success. How did you find the crowdfunding information? Can you do it again? From the outside it looks like a straight two-edged sword.
Moo: I found the whole Kickstarter experience to be amazing. Our supporters were very supportive in every way, very patient, and just fun to spend time with. Not only that because the supporters were great, but the Kickstarter framework was so great. One practice that this campaign puts us in is to submit a monthly update every single month on the first day of the month. This has been a great inspiration throughout the project to remind ourselves of how much we accomplished in a month, but also to hear back from our five thousand players that they were happy and still more excited to play the final result.
Finally, are there any games from other devs you've enjoyed lately, on the switch or elsewhere?
Rex: I usually play on my switch when I sit in a gym basket. This is what kept me alive while I waited for it to build up or load up to finish while making Knights And Bikes! So I like sports that are more like the speed of a bicycle exercise, or less stressful as I play while walking. I was random Skyrim Lately I have been traveling and biking around the Old Kingdom (I have never ridden or used horses since that would ruin my riding). Martin Vs Rabbit it's probably my favorite game overall system either Think of it! I've been having fun lately.
Many thanks to Rex and Moo for their time. Knights & Bikes is out on February 6th and is pre-order now for $ 19.99 / £ 19.79 / 21.99 € at switchch at the Shop, with a pre-order discount of 10%, too. Let us know below what you think or if you've played the game elsewhere.
