The Firing Line: 5 questions for Matt Makes Games on TowerFall
Arrows at the ready
How's that new Ouya treating you? Found some good games? Managed to connect other controllers to it?
Good stuff. Great to hear.
Anyway. Matt Makes Games's four-player "arrow-'em-up" Ouya game TowerFall is generating a lot of buzz in gaming circles, with some claiming that it could be Ouya's killer app.
We caught up with Matt Thorson, a.k.a. one-man development team Matt Makes Games, to find out a bit more about his new arrow-based game.
Pocket Gamer: First up, could you tell us what TowerFall is all about?Matt Thorson: TowerFall is a four-player archery combat platformer inspired by the local multiplayer classics of my youth.
It's designed to be easy to pick up and play, but there's a lot of depth and detail to be discovered if you stick with it.
What was it that drew you to Ouya and made you decide it should be TowerFall's first target platform?It was important to me to launch TowerFall on a device with a 'couch and controllers' setup. Plus, I really like the open game console concept of Ouya.
I think it would be fantastic if it becomes a viable platform for indie developers. It's also a bonus that TowerFall on Ouya can support both XBox 360 and PS3 controllers, so loads of people are likely to have four compatible gamepads straight out of the box.
There's obviously a good chunk of retro inspiration behind TowerFall. Is this a game you've built for the kid you used to be?Definitely. I tried to make something about which the childhood me would have been really excited. Hopefully, it's a game that kids can have fun with and a game that can end up being a positive experience for them.
I built it to be kind of like a playground: you can explore the game with your friends at your own pace and learn from one another as you go. I want it to be fun for a wide range of skill levels, and allow people to improve naturally.
TowerFall is an Ouya-exclusive game for now. Do you have any plans to port it to other mobile or portable systems in the future, though?I doubt TowerFall will ever appear on mobile devices, i.e. smartphones. I would love to see the game on other platforms with controllers, but there's no plans yet.
Right now, I'm trying to figure out how to release it on PC.
What would your best advice be to someone picking up a controller for some bow and arrow battling in TowerFall for the first time?Loosen up, trash talk, experiment. Watch the instant replays and learn from your deaths. Once you feel comfortable with the game, mess around with variants and customise the experience.
There's no wrong way to play TowerFall!
