#but i will never defend them just because i appreciate their work--indie companies are still companies at the end of the day

[ltjlily17]

The truth about vampires

Let’s start off with some basics. What’s your name? Rachel How old are you? 35 What’s your hair and eye color? Green eyes, brown to teal hair. How tall are you? 5′6″

What’s your relationship status? Married Alright, enough of that. Let’s move on to the random shit. What’s your favorite song? Mayonaise by the Smashing Pumpkins, Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton and In Your Atmosphere by John Mayer. What does that song mean? What is the message behind it? They are all pretty different theme wise, but all three really evoke a feeling. Is it your favorite because you relate to it, or do you just like the beat? They’re all more guitar heavy than having a beat, the lyrics and overall feeling the songs provide are what really get m, though. Have any pets? If so, what are they and what’s their names? I have a dog named Finn, and a cat named Mateo. Have you ever met your idol? If so, were they nice or were they kind of an ass? I don’t have an idol. What’s your favorite method of gaming? (PC, Xbox, Playstation, etc) Either the Switch or my laptop. Xbox is fine, but I guess I prefer a handheld type device.  If you’re in college, what’s your major and why did you pick it? I am not in college. My major when I attended varied between visual communications, education and IT. I didn’t choose nor graduate. How’re you doing today? Meh, theres a lot going on around me with people I care about. I was talking to a friend earlier about how most people are stressed or unhapy this time of year, which is really not my experience. I love buying gifts for others, decorating and baking, so this is generally a good time for me. What color are your bedroom walls? Ugh, like a pastel yellow. I really dislike the color. I have painted some grey paint splotches on one wall to see which one I liked most, but I’ve never gotten around to actually painting. Describe your favorite shirt. I don’t know that I have a favorite. I typically wear a shirt I got from John Mayer’s last tour the most- its got a cool fish and cat graphic on it. Use this space to tell someone off. I’ve no one to tell off. What’s your view on smart watches? Cool or a waste of money? I have one. I like it. I really like watches in general, though and I feel a little sad I don’t wear the analog ones anymore, but I’d miss the functionality of the smartwatch. What is one poster that you have hanging on your bedroom wall of? I don’t have anything hanging on the walls in my room. We have slanted ceilings, so there isn’t even enough space for a poster. My room was covered in band posters as a teenager, though. How many times have you moved in your life? I lived at home til 20, lived with my first roommate til 25, a townhouse with a friend and my now husband for a year, an apt with my now husband for 4 years and now our house for 5 years. If you moved, do you like where you are now better than where you were? I’ve stayed in pretty much the same area, but living in our house is definitely better than the one bedroom apartment we were in. What’s your favorite color and why? Grey. Darker earthy tones. Do you have a calendar? If so, what’s the theme? Nope. Just use my watch/phone. Have any famous person’s autographs? I do on some concert tickets from when I was younger. Do you draw well? Depends on your perspective, to my non-artistic friends, they think I’m amazing. The artistic friends, probably just roll their eyes lol. What type of cell phone do you have? iPhone X. Should you be doing anything else right now or are you just bored? I finally finished the wedding I had been editing and the only other project I have right now is the paint by number of our dog I got for my husband as a gift, but he’s here, so it has to wait. Finishing that wedding was a huge weight off my shoulders.

If you’re in school/college, what’s your favorite subject and why? Not in school. Maybe now that I’m done with the wedding I’ll start exploring some learning opportunities. Are you a cat or a dog person? Why? I would’ve always said cat until I got a dog. There are a lot of things about dogs I was really not into, but I love my dog so much. Personality wise, I’m more of a cat person, but in practice I like dogs. Tell me about the plot of your favorite book. I have several. One has a ghost that rings a bell around a mounted moose’s head. Do you wear glasses or contacts? Glasses. What do you think about horror movies? I like them. I’ve seen a lot of old ones. Back in the day, my mom and I would go to Blockbuster and I’d get a different horror movie every week. If you love them (I do), what’s your favorite? Nightmare on Elm Stree is a classic for me. It Follows is probably the one that fucked me up the most. Got any cool Christmas presents picked out for family or friends yet? I’ve got all my gifts purchsed except for the hub. He sent me a ridiculous wish list that included a suit of armor and a castle and then decided he didn’t want any gifts this year. I’m running out of time to figure something out. Do you do Black Friday shopping or wait for Cyber Monday? Neither. I’m definitely not going to go out on Black Friday and deal with all those people for junk I don’t need. As for Cyber Monday, I don’t really pay much attention to any of the deals and don’t really buy more on that day than I would on any other. Have any mental illnesses? Not encompassing enough to get any kinda of diagnosis. What’s your favorite word and why? No idea.  What is the most expensive thing you own, and what is it? My car? I mean, I don’t outright own it yet. Singular item, my MacBook or iMac, I guess.  Did you buy that item yourself? Yes, I bought the macbook and iMac after I left my job at Cassano’s and needed a new laptop since my previous one was owned by the company. Where do you work and what is your position? *I am currently unemployed. How often do you cuss? A fair amount. Maybe just a little bit more than whomever I’m talking to. What type of car do you drive, if any? I have a 2012 Volvo s60. Are you happy with it? If no, what’s your dream car? I prefer to drive my car than my husbands, but I’m like 50/50 on liking it. Right now, my dream vehicles are the new Land Rover Defender or an Audi Q8. Do you have a lot of social media accounts? Which ones? I have Instagram, Facebook LinkedIn and Tumblr. I very rarely post on any of them. I use snapchat a lot, though, if that counts. What is your favorite genre of music? My Spotify year end review said I listen to Pop, Rock, Indie, Folk and Emo the most. In that order. Does your family have holiday traditions? If so, what are they? Nope. My fmaily just barely cobbles themselves together for major holidays. If you’re in a relationship, are you happy with it? Sure. People are breaking up around us, and it really makes me appreciate the relationship my husband and I have, even if it doesn’t always feel like its going as well as it is. How long have you been with your significant other? Just hit the 10 year mark. Do you like psychology? (It’s my college major). Nah. Never really been something I’m too interested in. What is something your state is popularly known for? College football I guess.  Do you like to do craft projects? If so, what’s the coolest thing you made? I do. I recently drew a bunch of Dungeons and Dragons monsters to use as ornaments on a tree in my dining room where my husband and his friends play Dungeons and Dragons on Sundays. I’ve made some painting as house warming gifts or nursery art for friends children that they’ve hung up and thats nice to see. Do you watch sports or do you think they’re overrated? Nah. Not really a fan. What’s one occupation you think gets paid too much and doesn’t deserve to? Meh, I don’t know that I want to hate on any specific occupation. The extremely rich do bother me, however, with how much money they make, often at their employees detriment. Do you straigthen your hair? Not usually. I have more lately, since its getting long again. I’m more likely to do the loose waves thing, though. Ever dyed your hair a color that isn’t natural? (blue, pink, etc) Yes, it is currently teal. How’s your relationship with your parents? Relationship with my mom is okay, none with my dad. Do you still live with them or do you have your own house? I live in my own home. What’s something you are currently saving money for to buy? Hmm, nothing. The couple of items I want at the moment, I asked for on my Christmas list. Do you smoke/vape? If so, what brand do you smoke/what device do you use? Nope, I’ve never smoked. Ever done drugs? Nope. Tell me one of your worst habits. Picking at my cuticles? What’s a weird quirk you have that no one else you know does? No idea, I kind of doubt that theres something I do that no one else ever does. If you game, what type of headset do you use? I don’t ever need a headset. What type of computer do you own, and do you like it? I have a MacBook Pro. I used to have an Air and I loved it, but my husband talked me into getting the Pro instead and I regret it.  What’s the thing that annoys you the most? When my husband asks google to make his cellphone ring at max volume without even trying to look for it. Today, it was in his pocket. What brand of TV do you have? Samsung. Are you excited for Christmas? (It’s December 1st today when I made this) Kind of? I love how cozy my house feels with all the decorations.  Tell me about your favorite vacation you’ve taken. We went to New York for my birthday/anniversary/Halloween 2 years ago. Tell me something cool about yourself. I am not cool? Did/do you get good grades in school/college? Not in my middle school/high school years. What’s your ringtone on your phone? Vibrate. What’s your favorite store to shop in? The internet. If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would buy and why? I have no idea. I’d probably sit on the money for a long time and then once I finally broke the seal, buy a bunch of stuff. How long have you had a Bzoink account? Don’t have one. Ever been to Field of Screams? If so, what’s your favorite attraction? Nope. Do you own a Polaroid camera? I have an Instax camera. Do you have hardwood floor in your room or carpet? The two bedrooms upstairs have carpet, but the rest of the house is hardwood. It’s a Saturday night, what are you typically doing? Relaxing at home, most likely. Doing a crossword puzzle, probably. Do you have a lot of friends or do you not have any at all? I have a couple. What’s your all time favorite movie and why? I don’t know, really. I watch the Iron Man movies and Thor Ragnarok the most these days. How many blankets do you sleep with at night? A sheet and comforter. What’s the last TV show you watched? Did you enjoy it? The Mandalorian. I do enjoy it.  Do you prefer cable TV or do you use Netflix? We have cable, but never really watch it. Everything we want to watch is only Netflix or Disney+. What is your dream job and why? I have no idea. Need to get to thinking on that. Do you think you would be a good therapist? I do. I think I can listen to people and help them come to their own answers pretty well. What’s your favorite brand of clothing? I don’t know that I have a favorite. Anything that fits well and has a lot of sales lol.

[barbosaasouza]

PN interviews Fiery Squirrel, developer of Cosmic Defenders

We were lucky enough to (virtually) sit down with Henry Fernández, Game Developer and Founder of Fiery Squirrel. We asked Henry all about his game development background and the upcoming Nintendo Switch title, Cosmic Defenders.

Fiery Squirrel is a one-man team. Can you tell our readers about your history with gaming and what inspired you to form this company?

I have been playing video games since the NES, but I never thought working in the game industry was an option because there weren’t many game companies in Venezuela. So I studied computer engineering, specializing in computer graphics, artificial intelligence, and video game development. That’s when I realized that being a game developer was what I truly wanted to do. After making some prototypes and demos at game jams as well as in my free time, I decided to work on my first commercial project in 2012, Fluff Eaters.

Fiery Squirrel was created in 2014 as a medium to develop and share the games I create with the world. It started with me not knowing a lot about the industry and just wanting to make cool games for people to enjoy. I would not say that I know a lot now, but I’ve definitely learned a lot on the way and I keep doing it.

Through Fiery Squirrel, I try to create innovative games with a combination of simplicity and energy, forged in a traditional way with elements from the modern world. As I envision this company, I would like it to become an experienced crafter, dedicated to impact players’ worlds in a meaningful way through simple and enthusiastic games.

Your base moved from Venezuela to Japan, how did that come about? Do you find it inspirational being an independent game developer in such a tech-heavy country?

I came to Japan in 2009 as an exchange student for one year when I was in college. The experience was great, so I decided to pursue my PhD here as well. In 2014, I participated in a program from the Japanese Ministry of Education to get a scholarship and study my master’s degree in Japan, and I was lucky to get it. From that point forward, I’ve been studying and working in videogames as much as I can.

Yes, it is amazing to have the opportunity to be working on this in a country like Japan. As you probably would imagine, the Japanese culture is very different from mine, customs, way of thinking, point of view, etc. These elements contribute strongly with how I design and create videogames.

In addition, the way Japanese people live, in general, is really “comfortable” I would say. Not only coming from a third world country, for me it’s fascinating that everything just works, but the Japanese people have this concept called “Omotenashi” which really takes hospitality to a different level. Feeling this comfort really helps to focus on the creative process and try to make the best out of it.

Finally, I would say that Japan is an amazing country, with an interesting culture, including their history, elements such as samurai, anime, games, etc. make it very inspirational when working in a creative media like this.

How did the idea for Cosmic Defenders originate?

The mechanics and concept were designed using the theme of cooperation, which is a message I wanted to send to the world: highlighting how important it is to cooperate with others to live in peace. The main reason for this was that at that time, and still today, Venezuela was going through a lot of difficult things, and I wanted people to realize that we and everyone else in the world needed to support each other. That’s also why some mechanics in the game, not only encourage, but force players to cooperate to clear some levels by destroying enemies together.

And how long has the game been in development?

The development of Cosmic Defenders started back in September 2017. Before that, there was a game jam (Ludum Dare) in 2017, which was where the game idea was born. So, the whole development time was around 2 years and 5 months (plus the game jam days).

Why did you choose to develop your game on the Nintendo Switch, and how have you found working on that platform?

This is the first time that I’ve made a game for a console, so there are a lot of new things I’ve experienced and learned in the process when working on the Nintendo Switch.

First of all, I would like to say that before making the game I already knew that I wanted it on the Switch because I thought it was the perfect fit for it. Not only does the game have a bunch of elements from the old school NES era, but easily being able to play with friends or family anytime made it a very good option for Cosmic Defenders.

About working on the Switch, Nintendo has made it really nice to work with the platform. For developers, there is plenty of documentation on the Nintendo website and they made things simple for us to access and work with features such as the Joy-Cons.

I would also like to mention that I’m using Unity3D for the creation of this game and it has been very helpful when implementing things. For that, I think that both the Unity team and the Nintendo team have been working really closely to develop a nice tool for us, developers, to bring our creations to the platform with the minimum difficulties as possible.

How has it been working with Natsume? Can you tell us a little about this arrangement?

Natsume understands that one of the most difficult aspects for us, as independent developers, is to get the necessary exposure to reach the audience we want to reach. As a way to compliment that part of the process, Natsume thought it would be great to support Indies with their experience and audience, to help us get our games to a larger audience and, at the same time, to be able to present new experiences to their audience with the games we are making.

In my case, there are different parts of the whole creation process that Cosmic Defenders and Fiery Squirrel have benefited from. It has been really helpful to have Natsume’s feedback about ideas related to the game during the process of creation, specifically game design, art, and sound. In addition, as I mentioned before that one difficult aspect of this kind of game was QA and testing, Natsume has also helped enormously with this part, debugging the game and helping improve its quality. Finally, of course, I think that thanks to their marketing experience and amazing audience, hopefully more people will know about the game and have a chance to enjoy it.

When should fans expect to see Cosmic Defenders be released on the Nintendo Switch?

Cosmic Defenders will release in April.

What’s next for Fiery Squirrel?

For now, I am putting all my energy on Cosmic Defenders, and do my best to have the best possible release for the game. In addition, I would like to share that it’s in my plans to have more content for Cosmic Defenders after its release. Natsume and I haven’t discussed anything about this yet, but I would love to include some features that I feel would bring more joy to players and let them enjoy interesting elements of the game.

In the future, I would love to keep working on other ideas that I have on my list, but nothing is decided yet.

Do you have any advice for developers trying to break into the indie scene?

For me it’s difficult to give good advice because I’m also learning a lot from this industry. I don’t have a lot of experience, however, I would say that if you are passionate about it, there is no reason for not doing it. Even if you do not 100% dedicate yourself to making games independently, there is always satisfaction about working on your own ideas, and you can do so in many different ways. Try to learn as much as you can from other developers, go to events, watch YouTube videos, try to make as many projects as you can, and try to fail early so you can learn from mistakes, and, most importantly, have fun when making games! We are all here for that!

Thanks for your time, we really appreciate it!

The post PN interviews Fiery Squirrel, developer of Cosmic Defenders appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

PN interviews Fiery Squirrel, developer of Cosmic Defenders published first on https://superworldrom.tumblr.com/

[barbosaasouza]

PN interviews Fiery Squirrel, developer of Cosmic Defenders

We were lucky enough to (virtually) sit down with Henry Fernández, Game Developer and Founder of Fiery Squirrel. We asked Henry all about his game development background and the upcoming Nintendo Switch title, Cosmic Defenders.

Fiery Squirrel is a one-man team. Can you tell our readers about your history with gaming and what inspired you to form this company?

I have been playing video games since the NES, but I never thought working in the game industry was an option because there weren’t many game companies in Venezuela. So I studied computer engineering, specializing in computer graphics, artificial intelligence, and video game development. That’s when I realized that being a game developer was what I truly wanted to do. After making some prototypes and demos at game jams as well as in my free time, I decided to work on my first commercial project in 2012, Fluff Eaters.

Fiery Squirrel was created in 2014 as a medium to develop and share the games I create with the world. It started with me not knowing a lot about the industry and just wanting to make cool games for people to enjoy. I would not say that I know a lot now, but I’ve definitely learned a lot on the way and I keep doing it.

Through Fiery Squirrel, I try to create innovative games with a combination of simplicity and energy, forged in a traditional way with elements from the modern world. As I envision this company, I would like it to become an experienced crafter, dedicated to impact players’ worlds in a meaningful way through simple and enthusiastic games.

Your base moved from Venezuela to Japan, how did that come about? Do you find it inspirational being an independent game developer in such a tech-heavy country?

I came to Japan in 2009 as an exchange student for one year when I was in college. The experience was great, so I decided to pursue my PhD here as well. In 2014, I participated in a program from the Japanese Ministry of Education to get a scholarship and study my master’s degree in Japan, and I was lucky to get it. From that point forward, I’ve been studying and working in videogames as much as I can.

Yes, it is amazing to have the opportunity to be working on this in a country like Japan. As you probably would imagine, the Japanese culture is very different from mine, customs, way of thinking, point of view, etc. These elements contribute strongly with how I design and create videogames.

In addition, the way Japanese people live, in general, is really “comfortable” I would say. Not only coming from a third world country, for me it’s fascinating that everything just works, but the Japanese people have this concept called “Omotenashi” which really takes hospitality to a different level. Feeling this comfort really helps to focus on the creative process and try to make the best out of it.

Finally, I would say that Japan is an amazing country, with an interesting culture, including their history, elements such as samurai, anime, games, etc. make it very inspirational when working in a creative media like this.

How did the idea for Cosmic Defenders originate?

The mechanics and concept were designed using the theme of cooperation, which is a message I wanted to send to the world: highlighting how important it is to cooperate with others to live in peace. The main reason for this was that at that time, and still today, Venezuela was going through a lot of difficult things, and I wanted people to realize that we and everyone else in the world needed to support each other. That’s also why some mechanics in the game, not only encourage, but force players to cooperate to clear some levels by destroying enemies together.

And how long has the game been in development?

The development of Cosmic Defenders started back in September 2017. Before that, there was a game jam (Ludum Dare) in 2017, which was where the game idea was born. So, the whole development time was around 2 years and 5 months (plus the game jam days).

Why did you choose to develop your game on the Nintendo Switch, and how have you found working on that platform?

This is the first time that I’ve made a game for a console, so there are a lot of new things I’ve experienced and learned in the process when working on the Nintendo Switch.

First of all, I would like to say that before making the game I already knew that I wanted it on the Switch because I thought it was the perfect fit for it. Not only does the game have a bunch of elements from the old school NES era, but easily being able to play with friends or family anytime made it a very good option for Cosmic Defenders.

About working on the Switch, Nintendo has made it really nice to work with the platform. For developers, there is plenty of documentation on the Nintendo website and they made things simple for us to access and work with features such as the Joy-Cons.

I would also like to mention that I’m using Unity3D for the creation of this game and it has been very helpful when implementing things. For that, I think that both the Unity team and the Nintendo team have been working really closely to develop a nice tool for us, developers, to bring our creations to the platform with the minimum difficulties as possible.

How has it been working with Natsume? Can you tell us a little about this arrangement?

Natsume understands that one of the most difficult aspects for us, as independent developers, is to get the necessary exposure to reach the audience we want to reach. As a way to compliment that part of the process, Natsume thought it would be great to support Indies with their experience and audience, to help us get our games to a larger audience and, at the same time, to be able to present new experiences to their audience with the games we are making.

In my case, there are different parts of the whole creation process that Cosmic Defenders and Fiery Squirrel have benefited from. It has been really helpful to have Natsume’s feedback about ideas related to the game during the process of creation, specifically game design, art, and sound. In addition, as I mentioned before that one difficult aspect of this kind of game was QA and testing, Natsume has also helped enormously with this part, debugging the game and helping improve its quality. Finally, of course, I think that thanks to their marketing experience and amazing audience, hopefully more people will know about the game and have a chance to enjoy it.

When should fans expect to see Cosmic Defenders be released on the Nintendo Switch?

Cosmic Defenders will release in April.

What’s next for Fiery Squirrel?

For now, I am putting all my energy on Cosmic Defenders, and do my best to have the best possible release for the game. In addition, I would like to share that it’s in my plans to have more content for Cosmic Defenders after its release. Natsume and I haven’t discussed anything about this yet, but I would love to include some features that I feel would bring more joy to players and let them enjoy interesting elements of the game.

In the future, I would love to keep working on other ideas that I have on my list, but nothing is decided yet.

Do you have any advice for developers trying to break into the indie scene?

For me it’s difficult to give good advice because I’m also learning a lot from this industry. I don’t have a lot of experience, however, I would say that if you are passionate about it, there is no reason for not doing it. Even if you do not 100% dedicate yourself to making games independently, there is always satisfaction about working on your own ideas, and you can do so in many different ways. Try to learn as much as you can from other developers, go to events, watch YouTube videos, try to make as many projects as you can, and try to fail early so you can learn from mistakes, and, most importantly, have fun when making games! We are all here for that!

Thanks for your time, we really appreciate it!

The post PN interviews Fiery Squirrel, developer of Cosmic Defenders appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

PN interviews Fiery Squirrel, developer of Cosmic Defenders published first on https://superworldrom.tumblr.com/

[barbosaasouza]

PN interviews Fiery Squirrel, developer of Cosmic Defenders

We were lucky enough to (virtually) sit down with Henry Fernández, Game Developer and Founder of Fiery Squirrel. We asked Henry all about his game development background and the upcoming Nintendo Switch title, Cosmic Defenders.

Fiery Squirrel is a one-man team. Can you tell our readers about your history with gaming and what inspired you to form this company?

I have been playing video games since the NES, but I never thought working in the game industry was an option because there weren’t many game companies in Venezuela. So I studied computer engineering, specializing in computer graphics, artificial intelligence, and video game development. That’s when I realized that being a game developer was what I truly wanted to do. After making some prototypes and demos at game jams as well as in my free time, I decided to work on my first commercial project in 2012, Fluff Eaters.

Fiery Squirrel was created in 2014 as a medium to develop and share the games I create with the world. It started with me not knowing a lot about the industry and just wanting to make cool games for people to enjoy. I would not say that I know a lot now, but I’ve definitely learned a lot on the way and I keep doing it.

Through Fiery Squirrel, I try to create innovative games with a combination of simplicity and energy, forged in a traditional way with elements from the modern world. As I envision this company, I would like it to become an experienced crafter, dedicated to impact players’ worlds in a meaningful way through simple and enthusiastic games.

Your base moved from Venezuela to Japan, how did that come about? Do you find it inspirational being an independent game developer in such a tech-heavy country?

I came to Japan in 2009 as an exchange student for one year when I was in college. The experience was great, so I decided to pursue my PhD here as well. In 2014, I participated in a program from the Japanese Ministry of Education to get a scholarship and study my master’s degree in Japan, and I was lucky to get it. From that point forward, I’ve been studying and working in videogames as much as I can.

Yes, it is amazing to have the opportunity to be working on this in a country like Japan. As you probably would imagine, the Japanese culture is very different from mine, customs, way of thinking, point of view, etc. These elements contribute strongly with how I design and create videogames.

In addition, the way Japanese people live, in general, is really “comfortable” I would say. Not only coming from a third world country, for me it’s fascinating that everything just works, but the Japanese people have this concept called “Omotenashi” which really takes hospitality to a different level. Feeling this comfort really helps to focus on the creative process and try to make the best out of it.

Finally, I would say that Japan is an amazing country, with an interesting culture, including their history, elements such as samurai, anime, games, etc. make it very inspirational when working in a creative media like this.

How did the idea for Cosmic Defenders originate?

The mechanics and concept were designed using the theme of cooperation, which is a message I wanted to send to the world: highlighting how important it is to cooperate with others to live in peace. The main reason for this was that at that time, and still today, Venezuela was going through a lot of difficult things, and I wanted people to realize that we and everyone else in the world needed to support each other. That’s also why some mechanics in the game, not only encourage, but force players to cooperate to clear some levels by destroying enemies together.

And how long has the game been in development?

The development of Cosmic Defenders started back in September 2017. Before that, there was a game jam (Ludum Dare) in 2017, which was where the game idea was born. So, the whole development time was around 2 years and 5 months (plus the game jam days).

Why did you choose to develop your game on the Nintendo Switch, and how have you found working on that platform?

This is the first time that I’ve made a game for a console, so there are a lot of new things I’ve experienced and learned in the process when working on the Nintendo Switch.

First of all, I would like to say that before making the game I already knew that I wanted it on the Switch because I thought it was the perfect fit for it. Not only does the game have a bunch of elements from the old school NES era, but easily being able to play with friends or family anytime made it a very good option for Cosmic Defenders.

About working on the Switch, Nintendo has made it really nice to work with the platform. For developers, there is plenty of documentation on the Nintendo website and they made things simple for us to access and work with features such as the Joy-Cons.

I would also like to mention that I’m using Unity3D for the creation of this game and it has been very helpful when implementing things. For that, I think that both the Unity team and the Nintendo team have been working really closely to develop a nice tool for us, developers, to bring our creations to the platform with the minimum difficulties as possible.

How has it been working with Natsume? Can you tell us a little about this arrangement?

Natsume understands that one of the most difficult aspects for us, as independent developers, is to get the necessary exposure to reach the audience we want to reach. As a way to compliment that part of the process, Natsume thought it would be great to support Indies with their experience and audience, to help us get our games to a larger audience and, at the same time, to be able to present new experiences to their audience with the games we are making.

In my case, there are different parts of the whole creation process that Cosmic Defenders and Fiery Squirrel have benefited from. It has been really helpful to have Natsume’s feedback about ideas related to the game during the process of creation, specifically game design, art, and sound. In addition, as I mentioned before that one difficult aspect of this kind of game was QA and testing, Natsume has also helped enormously with this part, debugging the game and helping improve its quality. Finally, of course, I think that thanks to their marketing experience and amazing audience, hopefully more people will know about the game and have a chance to enjoy it.

When should fans expect to see Cosmic Defenders be released on the Nintendo Switch?

Cosmic Defenders will release in April.

What’s next for Fiery Squirrel?

For now, I am putting all my energy on Cosmic Defenders, and do my best to have the best possible release for the game. In addition, I would like to share that it’s in my plans to have more content for Cosmic Defenders after its release. Natsume and I haven’t discussed anything about this yet, but I would love to include some features that I feel would bring more joy to players and let them enjoy interesting elements of the game.

In the future, I would love to keep working on other ideas that I have on my list, but nothing is decided yet.

Do you have any advice for developers trying to break into the indie scene?

For me it’s difficult to give good advice because I’m also learning a lot from this industry. I don’t have a lot of experience, however, I would say that if you are passionate about it, there is no reason for not doing it. Even if you do not 100% dedicate yourself to making games independently, there is always satisfaction about working on your own ideas, and you can do so in many different ways. Try to learn as much as you can from other developers, go to events, watch YouTube videos, try to make as many projects as you can, and try to fail early so you can learn from mistakes, and, most importantly, have fun when making games! We are all here for that!

Thanks for your time, we really appreciate it!

The post PN interviews Fiery Squirrel, developer of Cosmic Defenders appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

PN interviews Fiery Squirrel, developer of Cosmic Defenders published first on https://superworldrom.tumblr.com/

[barbosaasouza]

PN interviews Fiery Squirrel, developer of Cosmic Defenders

We were lucky enough to (virtually) sit down with Henry Fernández, Game Developer and Founder of Fiery Squirrel. We asked Henry all about his game development background and the upcoming Nintendo Switch title, Cosmic Defenders.

Fiery Squirrel is a one-man team. Can you tell our readers about your history with gaming and what inspired you to form this company?

I have been playing video games since the NES, but I never thought working in the game industry was an option because there weren’t many game companies in Venezuela. So I studied computer engineering, specializing in computer graphics, artificial intelligence, and video game development. That’s when I realized that being a game developer was what I truly wanted to do. After making some prototypes and demos at game jams as well as in my free time, I decided to work on my first commercial project in 2012, Fluff Eaters.

Fiery Squirrel was created in 2014 as a medium to develop and share the games I create with the world. It started with me not knowing a lot about the industry and just wanting to make cool games for people to enjoy. I would not say that I know a lot now, but I’ve definitely learned a lot on the way and I keep doing it.

Through Fiery Squirrel, I try to create innovative games with a combination of simplicity and energy, forged in a traditional way with elements from the modern world. As I envision this company, I would like it to become an experienced crafter, dedicated to impact players’ worlds in a meaningful way through simple and enthusiastic games.

Your base moved from Venezuela to Japan, how did that come about? Do you find it inspirational being an independent game developer in such a tech-heavy country?

I came to Japan in 2009 as an exchange student for one year when I was in college. The experience was great, so I decided to pursue my PhD here as well. In 2014, I participated in a program from the Japanese Ministry of Education to get a scholarship and study my master’s degree in Japan, and I was lucky to get it. From that point forward, I’ve been studying and working in videogames as much as I can.

Yes, it is amazing to have the opportunity to be working on this in a country like Japan. As you probably would imagine, the Japanese culture is very different from mine, customs, way of thinking, point of view, etc. These elements contribute strongly with how I design and create videogames.

In addition, the way Japanese people live, in general, is really “comfortable” I would say. Not only coming from a third world country, for me it’s fascinating that everything just works, but the Japanese people have this concept called “Omotenashi” which really takes hospitality to a different level. Feeling this comfort really helps to focus on the creative process and try to make the best out of it.

Finally, I would say that Japan is an amazing country, with an interesting culture, including their history, elements such as samurai, anime, games, etc. make it very inspirational when working in a creative media like this.

How did the idea for Cosmic Defenders originate?

The mechanics and concept were designed using the theme of cooperation, which is a message I wanted to send to the world: highlighting how important it is to cooperate with others to live in peace. The main reason for this was that at that time, and still today, Venezuela was going through a lot of difficult things, and I wanted people to realize that we and everyone else in the world needed to support each other. That’s also why some mechanics in the game, not only encourage, but force players to cooperate to clear some levels by destroying enemies together.

And how long has the game been in development?

The development of Cosmic Defenders started back in September 2017. Before that, there was a game jam (Ludum Dare) in 2017, which was where the game idea was born. So, the whole development time was around 2 years and 5 months (plus the game jam days).

Why did you choose to develop your game on the Nintendo Switch, and how have you found working on that platform?

This is the first time that I’ve made a game for a console, so there are a lot of new things I’ve experienced and learned in the process when working on the Nintendo Switch.

First of all, I would like to say that before making the game I already knew that I wanted it on the Switch because I thought it was the perfect fit for it. Not only does the game have a bunch of elements from the old school NES era, but easily being able to play with friends or family anytime made it a very good option for Cosmic Defenders.

About working on the Switch, Nintendo has made it really nice to work with the platform. For developers, there is plenty of documentation on the Nintendo website and they made things simple for us to access and work with features such as the Joy-Cons.

I would also like to mention that I’m using Unity3D for the creation of this game and it has been very helpful when implementing things. For that, I think that both the Unity team and the Nintendo team have been working really closely to develop a nice tool for us, developers, to bring our creations to the platform with the minimum difficulties as possible.

How has it been working with Natsume? Can you tell us a little about this arrangement?

Natsume understands that one of the most difficult aspects for us, as independent developers, is to get the necessary exposure to reach the audience we want to reach. As a way to compliment that part of the process, Natsume thought it would be great to support Indies with their experience and audience, to help us get our games to a larger audience and, at the same time, to be able to present new experiences to their audience with the games we are making.

In my case, there are different parts of the whole creation process that Cosmic Defenders and Fiery Squirrel have benefited from. It has been really helpful to have Natsume’s feedback about ideas related to the game during the process of creation, specifically game design, art, and sound. In addition, as I mentioned before that one difficult aspect of this kind of game was QA and testing, Natsume has also helped enormously with this part, debugging the game and helping improve its quality. Finally, of course, I think that thanks to their marketing experience and amazing audience, hopefully more people will know about the game and have a chance to enjoy it.

When should fans expect to see Cosmic Defenders be released on the Nintendo Switch?

Cosmic Defenders will release in April.

What’s next for Fiery Squirrel?

For now, I am putting all my energy on Cosmic Defenders, and do my best to have the best possible release for the game. In addition, I would like to share that it’s in my plans to have more content for Cosmic Defenders after its release. Natsume and I haven’t discussed anything about this yet, but I would love to include some features that I feel would bring more joy to players and let them enjoy interesting elements of the game.

In the future, I would love to keep working on other ideas that I have on my list, but nothing is decided yet.

Do you have any advice for developers trying to break into the indie scene?

For me it’s difficult to give good advice because I’m also learning a lot from this industry. I don’t have a lot of experience, however, I would say that if you are passionate about it, there is no reason for not doing it. Even if you do not 100% dedicate yourself to making games independently, there is always satisfaction about working on your own ideas, and you can do so in many different ways. Try to learn as much as you can from other developers, go to events, watch YouTube videos, try to make as many projects as you can, and try to fail early so you can learn from mistakes, and, most importantly, have fun when making games! We are all here for that!

Thanks for your time, we really appreciate it!

The post PN interviews Fiery Squirrel, developer of Cosmic Defenders appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

PN interviews Fiery Squirrel, developer of Cosmic Defenders published first on https://superworldrom.tumblr.com/

[barbosaasouza]

PN interviews Fiery Squirrel, developer of Cosmic Defenders

We were lucky enough to (virtually) sit down with Henry Fernández, Game Developer and Founder of Fiery Squirrel. We asked Henry all about his game development background and the upcoming Nintendo Switch title, Cosmic Defenders.

Fiery Squirrel is a one-man team. Can you tell our readers about your history with gaming and what inspired you to form this company?

I have been playing video games since the NES, but I never thought working in the game industry was an option because there weren’t many game companies in Venezuela. So I studied computer engineering, specializing in computer graphics, artificial intelligence, and video game development. That’s when I realized that being a game developer was what I truly wanted to do. After making some prototypes and demos at game jams as well as in my free time, I decided to work on my first commercial project in 2012, Fluff Eaters.

Fiery Squirrel was created in 2014 as a medium to develop and share the games I create with the world. It started with me not knowing a lot about the industry and just wanting to make cool games for people to enjoy. I would not say that I know a lot now, but I’ve definitely learned a lot on the way and I keep doing it.

Through Fiery Squirrel, I try to create innovative games with a combination of simplicity and energy, forged in a traditional way with elements from the modern world. As I envision this company, I would like it to become an experienced crafter, dedicated to impact players’ worlds in a meaningful way through simple and enthusiastic games.

Your base moved from Venezuela to Japan, how did that come about? Do you find it inspirational being an independent game developer in such a tech-heavy country?

I came to Japan in 2009 as an exchange student for one year when I was in college. The experience was great, so I decided to pursue my PhD here as well. In 2014, I participated in a program from the Japanese Ministry of Education to get a scholarship and study my master’s degree in Japan, and I was lucky to get it. From that point forward, I’ve been studying and working in videogames as much as I can.

Yes, it is amazing to have the opportunity to be working on this in a country like Japan. As you probably would imagine, the Japanese culture is very different from mine, customs, way of thinking, point of view, etc. These elements contribute strongly with how I design and create videogames.

In addition, the way Japanese people live, in general, is really “comfortable” I would say. Not only coming from a third world country, for me it’s fascinating that everything just works, but the Japanese people have this concept called “Omotenashi” which really takes hospitality to a different level. Feeling this comfort really helps to focus on the creative process and try to make the best out of it.

Finally, I would say that Japan is an amazing country, with an interesting culture, including their history, elements such as samurai, anime, games, etc. make it very inspirational when working in a creative media like this.

How did the idea for Cosmic Defenders originate?

The mechanics and concept were designed using the theme of cooperation, which is a message I wanted to send to the world: highlighting how important it is to cooperate with others to live in peace. The main reason for this was that at that time, and still today, Venezuela was going through a lot of difficult things, and I wanted people to realize that we and everyone else in the world needed to support each other. That’s also why some mechanics in the game, not only encourage, but force players to cooperate to clear some levels by destroying enemies together.

And how long has the game been in development?

The development of Cosmic Defenders started back in September 2017. Before that, there was a game jam (Ludum Dare) in 2017, which was where the game idea was born. So, the whole development time was around 2 years and 5 months (plus the game jam days).

Why did you choose to develop your game on the Nintendo Switch, and how have you found working on that platform?

This is the first time that I’ve made a game for a console, so there are a lot of new things I’ve experienced and learned in the process when working on the Nintendo Switch.

First of all, I would like to say that before making the game I already knew that I wanted it on the Switch because I thought it was the perfect fit for it. Not only does the game have a bunch of elements from the old school NES era, but easily being able to play with friends or family anytime made it a very good option for Cosmic Defenders.

About working on the Switch, Nintendo has made it really nice to work with the platform. For developers, there is plenty of documentation on the Nintendo website and they made things simple for us to access and work with features such as the Joy-Cons.

I would also like to mention that I’m using Unity3D for the creation of this game and it has been very helpful when implementing things. For that, I think that both the Unity team and the Nintendo team have been working really closely to develop a nice tool for us, developers, to bring our creations to the platform with the minimum difficulties as possible.

How has it been working with Natsume? Can you tell us a little about this arrangement?

Natsume understands that one of the most difficult aspects for us, as independent developers, is to get the necessary exposure to reach the audience we want to reach. As a way to compliment that part of the process, Natsume thought it would be great to support Indies with their experience and audience, to help us get our games to a larger audience and, at the same time, to be able to present new experiences to their audience with the games we are making.

In my case, there are different parts of the whole creation process that Cosmic Defenders and Fiery Squirrel have benefited from. It has been really helpful to have Natsume’s feedback about ideas related to the game during the process of creation, specifically game design, art, and sound. In addition, as I mentioned before that one difficult aspect of this kind of game was QA and testing, Natsume has also helped enormously with this part, debugging the game and helping improve its quality. Finally, of course, I think that thanks to their marketing experience and amazing audience, hopefully more people will know about the game and have a chance to enjoy it.

When should fans expect to see Cosmic Defenders be released on the Nintendo Switch?

Cosmic Defenders will release in April.

What’s next for Fiery Squirrel?

For now, I am putting all my energy on Cosmic Defenders, and do my best to have the best possible release for the game. In addition, I would like to share that it’s in my plans to have more content for Cosmic Defenders after its release. Natsume and I haven’t discussed anything about this yet, but I would love to include some features that I feel would bring more joy to players and let them enjoy interesting elements of the game.

In the future, I would love to keep working on other ideas that I have on my list, but nothing is decided yet.

Do you have any advice for developers trying to break into the indie scene?

For me it’s difficult to give good advice because I’m also learning a lot from this industry. I don’t have a lot of experience, however, I would say that if you are passionate about it, there is no reason for not doing it. Even if you do not 100% dedicate yourself to making games independently, there is always satisfaction about working on your own ideas, and you can do so in many different ways. Try to learn as much as you can from other developers, go to events, watch YouTube videos, try to make as many projects as you can, and try to fail early so you can learn from mistakes, and, most importantly, have fun when making games! We are all here for that!

Thanks for your time, we really appreciate it!

The post PN interviews Fiery Squirrel, developer of Cosmic Defenders appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

PN interviews Fiery Squirrel, developer of Cosmic Defenders published first on https://superworldrom.tumblr.com/

[barbosaasouza]

PN interviews Fiery Squirrel, developer of Cosmic Defenders

We were lucky enough to (virtually) sit down with Henry Fernández, Game Developer and Founder of Fiery Squirrel. We asked Henry all about his game development background and the upcoming Nintendo Switch title, Cosmic Defenders.

Fiery Squirrel is a one-man team. Can you tell our readers about your history with gaming and what inspired you to form this company?

I have been playing video games since the NES, but I never thought working in the game industry was an option because there weren’t many game companies in Venezuela. So I studied computer engineering, specializing in computer graphics, artificial intelligence, and video game development. That’s when I realized that being a game developer was what I truly wanted to do. After making some prototypes and demos at game jams as well as in my free time, I decided to work on my first commercial project in 2012, Fluff Eaters.

Fiery Squirrel was created in 2014 as a medium to develop and share the games I create with the world. It started with me not knowing a lot about the industry and just wanting to make cool games for people to enjoy. I would not say that I know a lot now, but I’ve definitely learned a lot on the way and I keep doing it.

Through Fiery Squirrel, I try to create innovative games with a combination of simplicity and energy, forged in a traditional way with elements from the modern world. As I envision this company, I would like it to become an experienced crafter, dedicated to impact players’ worlds in a meaningful way through simple and enthusiastic games.

Your base moved from Venezuela to Japan, how did that come about? Do you find it inspirational being an independent game developer in such a tech-heavy country?

I came to Japan in 2009 as an exchange student for one year when I was in college. The experience was great, so I decided to pursue my PhD here as well. In 2014, I participated in a program from the Japanese Ministry of Education to get a scholarship and study my master’s degree in Japan, and I was lucky to get it. From that point forward, I’ve been studying and working in videogames as much as I can.

Yes, it is amazing to have the opportunity to be working on this in a country like Japan. As you probably would imagine, the Japanese culture is very different from mine, customs, way of thinking, point of view, etc. These elements contribute strongly with how I design and create videogames.

In addition, the way Japanese people live, in general, is really “comfortable” I would say. Not only coming from a third world country, for me it’s fascinating that everything just works, but the Japanese people have this concept called “Omotenashi” which really takes hospitality to a different level. Feeling this comfort really helps to focus on the creative process and try to make the best out of it.

Finally, I would say that Japan is an amazing country, with an interesting culture, including their history, elements such as samurai, anime, games, etc. make it very inspirational when working in a creative media like this.

How did the idea for Cosmic Defenders originate?

The mechanics and concept were designed using the theme of cooperation, which is a message I wanted to send to the world: highlighting how important it is to cooperate with others to live in peace. The main reason for this was that at that time, and still today, Venezuela was going through a lot of difficult things, and I wanted people to realize that we and everyone else in the world needed to support each other. That’s also why some mechanics in the game, not only encourage, but force players to cooperate to clear some levels by destroying enemies together.

And how long has the game been in development?

The development of Cosmic Defenders started back in September 2017. Before that, there was a game jam (Ludum Dare) in 2017, which was where the game idea was born. So, the whole development time was around 2 years and 5 months (plus the game jam days).

Why did you choose to develop your game on the Nintendo Switch, and how have you found working on that platform?

This is the first time that I’ve made a game for a console, so there are a lot of new things I’ve experienced and learned in the process when working on the Nintendo Switch.

First of all, I would like to say that before making the game I already knew that I wanted it on the Switch because I thought it was the perfect fit for it. Not only does the game have a bunch of elements from the old school NES era, but easily being able to play with friends or family anytime made it a very good option for Cosmic Defenders.

About working on the Switch, Nintendo has made it really nice to work with the platform. For developers, there is plenty of documentation on the Nintendo website and they made things simple for us to access and work with features such as the Joy-Cons.

I would also like to mention that I’m using Unity3D for the creation of this game and it has been very helpful when implementing things. For that, I think that both the Unity team and the Nintendo team have been working really closely to develop a nice tool for us, developers, to bring our creations to the platform with the minimum difficulties as possible.

How has it been working with Natsume? Can you tell us a little about this arrangement?

Natsume understands that one of the most difficult aspects for us, as independent developers, is to get the necessary exposure to reach the audience we want to reach. As a way to compliment that part of the process, Natsume thought it would be great to support Indies with their experience and audience, to help us get our games to a larger audience and, at the same time, to be able to present new experiences to their audience with the games we are making.

In my case, there are different parts of the whole creation process that Cosmic Defenders and Fiery Squirrel have benefited from. It has been really helpful to have Natsume’s feedback about ideas related to the game during the process of creation, specifically game design, art, and sound. In addition, as I mentioned before that one difficult aspect of this kind of game was QA and testing, Natsume has also helped enormously with this part, debugging the game and helping improve its quality. Finally, of course, I think that thanks to their marketing experience and amazing audience, hopefully more people will know about the game and have a chance to enjoy it.

When should fans expect to see Cosmic Defenders be released on the Nintendo Switch?

Cosmic Defenders will release in April.

What’s next for Fiery Squirrel?

For now, I am putting all my energy on Cosmic Defenders, and do my best to have the best possible release for the game. In addition, I would like to share that it’s in my plans to have more content for Cosmic Defenders after its release. Natsume and I haven’t discussed anything about this yet, but I would love to include some features that I feel would bring more joy to players and let them enjoy interesting elements of the game.

In the future, I would love to keep working on other ideas that I have on my list, but nothing is decided yet.

Do you have any advice for developers trying to break into the indie scene?

For me it’s difficult to give good advice because I’m also learning a lot from this industry. I don’t have a lot of experience, however, I would say that if you are passionate about it, there is no reason for not doing it. Even if you do not 100% dedicate yourself to making games independently, there is always satisfaction about working on your own ideas, and you can do so in many different ways. Try to learn as much as you can from other developers, go to events, watch YouTube videos, try to make as many projects as you can, and try to fail early so you can learn from mistakes, and, most importantly, have fun when making games! We are all here for that!

Thanks for your time, we really appreciate it!

The post PN interviews Fiery Squirrel, developer of Cosmic Defenders appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

PN interviews Fiery Squirrel, developer of Cosmic Defenders published first on https://superworldrom.tumblr.com/