During the the recent Curve Studios Showcase I got some hands on time with The Swapper and also got to chat to the games original developer Olli Harjola and asked him a few questions.
| If you knew it (The Swapper) was going to console, is there anything you would change? Olli: Not really, I think I would have been scared and removed this puzzle (referring to someone playing one of the quicker reaction time based puzzles on the main TV) It’s a good puzzle man, I like it Olli: Yeah, it’s not a problem on consoles. |  |
When you were building the game, did you expect it to be as big as it was?
Olli: Well, not really. Our marketing sucked. We didn’t do that much (marketing), it really helped us a lot that we did Indie Fund. (Indie Fund is an independent group working with developers to release their titles on their own terms, see indie-fund.com)
There’s no target with that? They just let you go?
Olli: Sort of yeah. It’s a different thing if you run out of money, you have this awkward conversation…But this game was really small, we were still living from our student apartments.
I’ve spoken to other developers in your area (Olli’s from Finland) and they have good infrastructure (for game developers). Did you find that when you were building the game that there were people around you doing the same thing?
Olli: I think that the infrastructure we have in Finland doesn’t really support this kind of game. It’s really business focused. If you go to them with a game like this, they are like “why doesn’t this game have micro-transactions?” I'm like “f@#k YOUUU, f@#k you guys”. they don’t really understand game development as an art form, they think of it as a business and that sucks for me.
Olli: Well, not really. Our marketing sucked. We didn’t do that much (marketing), it really helped us a lot that we did Indie Fund. (Indie Fund is an independent group working with developers to release their titles on their own terms, see indie-fund.com)
There’s no target with that? They just let you go?
Olli: Sort of yeah. It’s a different thing if you run out of money, you have this awkward conversation…But this game was really small, we were still living from our student apartments.
I’ve spoken to other developers in your area (Olli’s from Finland) and they have good infrastructure (for game developers). Did you find that when you were building the game that there were people around you doing the same thing?
Olli: I think that the infrastructure we have in Finland doesn’t really support this kind of game. It’s really business focused. If you go to them with a game like this, they are like “why doesn’t this game have micro-transactions?” I'm like “f@#k YOUUU, f@#k you guys”. they don’t really understand game development as an art form, they think of it as a business and that sucks for me.
Do you find different people reacting differently to it (the Swapper), like you see people really getting the puzzles?
Olli: Yeah, for example Otto, who was mostly a level designer. While I was doing more general designing, programming and art, the reason he started working on the game was that he tried the game. We were in a lecture in Uni and I was just writing the game, and he was asking me “what game is this? can I try it?” he said he really enjoys puzzle games. I was like “sure, yeah go for it”. Then I saw him playing the game and was like “have you designed this game or what?” because he was so fast. I thought he has some kind of special ability. I asked him make a couple of puzzles and we started working together.
Do you find the Playstation 4 version and the playstation Vita version pretty much identical or are there slight graphical differences?
Olli: Yeah, I feel that this version here (Vita). For example we don’t have the blur here, one of the reasons is that it wouldn't be running as well if we had it there. This game is already really pushing the hardware to it’s limits.
Yeah, i play it on a 13” MacBook Air.
Olli: (laugh) Yeah, it’s not really supposed to be on those things. But I think removing the blur on the vita wasn’t a problem. I think it actually makes sense because the screen is a lot smaller, like on here (the TV displaying the Playstation 4 version of the game) your eyes aren’t blurring but on the vita screen it doesn’t really need it.
Olli: Yeah, for example Otto, who was mostly a level designer. While I was doing more general designing, programming and art, the reason he started working on the game was that he tried the game. We were in a lecture in Uni and I was just writing the game, and he was asking me “what game is this? can I try it?” he said he really enjoys puzzle games. I was like “sure, yeah go for it”. Then I saw him playing the game and was like “have you designed this game or what?” because he was so fast. I thought he has some kind of special ability. I asked him make a couple of puzzles and we started working together.
Do you find the Playstation 4 version and the playstation Vita version pretty much identical or are there slight graphical differences?
Olli: Yeah, I feel that this version here (Vita). For example we don’t have the blur here, one of the reasons is that it wouldn't be running as well if we had it there. This game is already really pushing the hardware to it’s limits.
Yeah, i play it on a 13” MacBook Air.
Olli: (laugh) Yeah, it’s not really supposed to be on those things. But I think removing the blur on the vita wasn’t a problem. I think it actually makes sense because the screen is a lot smaller, like on here (the TV displaying the Playstation 4 version of the game) your eyes aren’t blurring but on the vita screen it doesn’t really need it.
All images courtesy of Curve Studios and are taken from the Vita version of the game.
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