8bit drummer shovel knight6/24/2023 Because we're working in a faster medium than even 16-color sprites, we can create more content, iterate faster on animation, and add variety to both characters and backgrounds. But once you get into the flow, sometimes it goes really fast. This turns every enemy, boss, and animation into an interesting art problem because it's tough to render details. Add to this a limited color palette, and the selection of possibilities is further reduced. You can place a pixel in very few spots because you are working at a tiny resolution one pixel moved makes an enormous difference. SV: Working in pixels is somewhere between art and math. What are the difficulties and privileges of working with an 8-bit aesthetic? NWR: While the staff comes from a studio known for its sprite work, a lot of it has been outside the confines of an 8-bit system. Still, yes, it's quite intimidating, especially with so many people excited about the game! We have such an amazing team that works so well together that I'm not too worried about the game's quality. SV: Mentioning these games in the same breath gives us big shoes to fill, but we want to honor these games by making Shovel Knight both great and unique. NWR: When you mention titles like Mother 3, Mega Man, and Castlevania, is there any concern over expectations of how Shovel Knight will turn out? However, in the Challenge Stages (our 180K stretch goal!) it's going to get crazy. We're hoping that the game can test your mettle, but not be so "Nintendo hard" with random cheapness or anything like that. SV: We want to keep Shovel Knight at a single, balanced difficulty that works for all players. Are there any difficulty settings in Shovel Knight for those of weaker hearts? NWR: You're drawing inspiration from many classic NES titles, all of which are noted for their difficulty. As far as those other screens go, we aren't sure yet. Of course, the 3DS version will be full-on stereoscopic 3D, which always looks amazing on 2D games. Miiverse integration also seems cool (loved that feature in NSMBU) but we haven't decided on the specifics. SV: We definitely want to do Off-TV Play. NWR: Can you share what you intend to do with the Wii U and 3DS versions of the game? Off-TV Play, Miiverse integration, StreetPass, things of that nature. Other than the end-days boost, collaborations with other Kickstarters and live streams / YouTube videos have helped our visibility a ton! It's been both amazing and humbling, and we are ridiculously, unbelievably thankful! Now that we are in the final stretch however, that day has been obliterated with some truly incredible pledge days. SV: Absolutely! It was our biggest pledge day since the first day for a while. NWR: When you made your intentions for the eShop clear, did you notice any bump or increase in pledges? SV: As an 8-bit game, we felt strongly that Shovel Knight belonged on Nintendo platforms, so the eShop made perfect sense! That said, we are also excited to bring Shovel Knight to as many platforms as possible. NWR: What's the studio's reason for supporting the Nintendo eShop? However, our approval came in quickly and we announced Wii U and 3DS support soon after the campaign began. SV: The simple fact is that we had not yet received official word that we were Nintendo developers, and we didn't want to announce it prematurely. NWR: While suspected from the start, your Wii U and 3DS announcements came after the initial pitch. Know that we are committed to making the best game possible, and we also want to make sure it gets into players' hands in a reasonable amount of time. Additionally, more platforms (like Mac and Linux) will take a bit more time. SV: September was already quite an aggressive goal, and the stretch goals will probably miss that initial date! If that's the case, we plan on releasing a free update to Shovel Knight with the new content.
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