oh hi! I’m a long-time lurker and very occasional poster – I love this place! I’m so happy to have something to contribute I’m half of Metanet Software, the indie game developer behind N, N+ and N++, and we just released N++ on Steam (it’'s also on PS4):
N++ is a fast-paced, momentum-based platformer starring a ninja, where you evade enemy robots and parkour your way to the exit in a multitude of levels. It’s skill-based and quite challenging, but that’s what makes it so rewarding and enjoyable, too.
Here’s the launch trailer, if you want to see what the game is like:
I know some posters here know of the series, and so I thought you might like to know that the final and definitive sequel has arrived!
You can read about our 12-year journey bringing N++ to the platform where its predecessor (N) originated, here: JOURNEY OF 4 THOUSAND, 5 HUNDRED DAYS
More questions? Want to know what indie development is like for us? ask away!
The original N is in my personal top ten of all time greatest games. I’ve probably put thousands of hours into the original. I usually play it while listening to music or a podcast. I’ve been waiting for the PC version of N++ ever since I heard it was coming to the PS4. I can safely say N++ is the ultimate version of the game. The new online ranking system is very addicting. I’m not the best player but I consistently get into the top 100 in most episodes and sometimes into the top 10 in individual levels. Love the new following shadow ninjas. Really adds a new dimension to some levels.
My question is: How much time do you think you spend developing per level? Most levels are excellent and often with an interesting twist but there are some that, in my opinion, feel a bit like filler.
What’s it been like moving from the world of the original N where indie gaming was still in it’s infancy to the modern era where there are many run and jump indie platformers (some would say too many). How do you bring something unique and define a niche in the market? Was there some core philosophy that drove the development of what made N++, N++?
The menus and UI in general were a lot harder than we thought. I think it total it must have taken a good 6-8 months just to figure out how the menus should work and then build them… much longer than we had planned. Part of the problem is that we wanted to try to do new things, but as time went on and our new UI paradigms proved confusing for people to use, we realized we had better rely on what everyone’s used to: lists and grids. So instead we just worked on making them look as clean and cool as possible.
Colours took a lot of work, but were easier than we thought, in that initially we were worried whether we could even find a handful of good colour schemes, but once we hit our stride we discovered dozens of possibilities that worked pretty well. we’re talking about how we started to design the colours over here on our blog: http://www.metanetsoftware.com/2016/introducing-colour-part-one
Level design, editing, and arranging definitely took up the most hours. It takes about 2-3 hours per level in total (spread across a bunch of steps: draft, review, then endless testing+tweaking and arrangement) and we have just over 4000 levels currently done (not all are in the game yet)!
Thanks so much, it’s always really cool to meet people who really “get” the game Sounds like you’re pretty good at it too!
About 2-3 hours per level (see above), but some levels take less than an hour and others take 10 or more – it depends how complicated they are, and how many different routes there are that we have to test.
About “filler” levels, this is definitely a taste thing – in a set of 5 levels we try to play with dynamics as much as possible, for instance adding a relatively boring level after a more challenging level to give players a breather (before they face the final, super-challenging “boss” level at the end of the set).
It also depends on your play style – on your initial play through there are many levels that you can breeze through if you’re just trying to beat them normally, but later if you try to go back and collect all the gold, you’ll find that the all-gold routes provide a lot of extra challenge. A perfect example is the level “go fish”, which is very easy to beat but near impossible to all-gold: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ER6twQN0tak
And then, there’s a whole layer of secrets on top of that that you can unlock.
The idea was that players could opt to increase the difficulty to keep themselves interested by going for the gold, while still allowing less advanced players to play through most of the levels (and hopefully develop sufficient skills that they can later try for gold).
That would be a good base for this game – you’d just need to adapt to N++'s ninja’s momentum and physics!
It’s definitely been quite a journey, and a constant learning experience. First of all, the original N came out in 2004, and some have said it has driven the indie platformer wave in the first place. Certainly many games since have been inspired by N (Super Meat Boy is one notable example).
Honestly we were a bit caught by surprise to see so many people lumping N++ in with “normal” platformers, because we think the movement system is quite unique and as a result it doesn’t really play like anything else. (“Trials as platformer”, or “driving game as platformer” are two ways we’ve found to articulate how playing it feels compared to something like Mario)
What’s difficult is that the core of the game is about how it **feels **to play, which can’t be communicated very well in video or words (lord knows we’ve tried)… you really just have to feel it before you understand why it’s different from the vast hordes of other platformers. So we’re releasing a demo shortly to help encourage people to try the game and see what makes it so great.
The main goal was for us to never make another N game, ever, which meant that N++ had to be something that we didn’t think we could substantially improve.
Our philosophy was simply to keep what made N and N+ special – the focus on gameplay, the playful and open level design, the momentum-based parkour-ish platforming – and simply try to improve every aspect of the game until we had something that we thought stood a chance at being “The World’s Best Platformer”. (Obviously I don’t think N++ is better than Mario, but we did specifically set out to make a best-in-class experience LIKE the Mario devs did, adding a ton of love and detail, and trying not to cut any corners en route to this goal).
Here’s a great write up of what distinguishes N++ from other platformers:
One marketing slogan that we never used but perhaps should have was “Does the world need another platformer? Not after this one.”
That makes sense. Never really thought about it like that. Two incredibly hard levels after another would be really frustrating. I guess good flow of episodes is only something you’d notice when it’s absent.
So do you design levels with an optimal route in mind? How often are you surprised by player solutions to levels?
One of the things I noticed in the new levels is that you have to be a lot more mindful of you return route to the exit. With the Toggle Mines and Evil Ninjas, and whatnot. I seriously like the Evil Ninjas. Seeker drones are noticeably absent and presumably replaced by Deathballs, among other things. You guys didn’t like them?
Why 4000 levels? I get the idea of having many levels but I’m wondering about the utility of putting the time into making 4000. Will your game come with a level design tool?
Having watched the videos, how did you go about getting the kinetics/physics right?
We design levels with many routes in mind – several ones new or intermediate players might take, ones experts might take, and then the special challenge routes (all-gold and secrets). We do many, many passes, multiple times over months (or years) to try to be sure we’ve covered a lot of ground.
And yeah, we’re often surprised by the particular routes people take to solve the levels – it’s awesome! That’s part of what makes this game different: that it’s performative, and that there ARE a multitude of different routes you can take depending on your play style or skill level. We prefer this to games where there’s just one optimal route – plus it creates epic highscore battles where people try to top one another, which is so fun to watch
Chase Drones are still around! they’re just rare We tried to mingle the old with the new, and with the new, to focus on creating behaviours that are simple but surprising, and which really feel like they could have been there from the start, but which also add a new flavour to the gameplay. So like you say, Toggle Mines and Evil Ninjas make the return trip different from the way out, depending on your actions through the level. After having made so many levels (10,000 over the past 12 years), we needed some fresh blood A lot of the new things (like Shove Thwumps) are great in multiplayer, too – we were really trying to expand the possibilities, both for ourselves and for players/level-makers.
So in the game right now there are 2360 Solo, Co-op and Race levels. We intend to add more over time, in DLC or updates, etc.
Our goal with N++ was to create a game that could last a lifetime, since we’re never making another in this series, and to leave nothing on the table. Happily, we feel we’ve finally achieved that. I think it’s a taste thing – to some, there aren’t enough levels, and to others (especially completionists), the amount can seem daunting. This game is not really about beating it though, it’s about setting goals for yourself and then surpassing them, and continuing to try to get better. There is a limitless skill ceiling, and there are so many layers to the game, we genuinely doubt anyone will ever 100% it.
So the thing is, regardless of your skill level, you’ve got a good solid chunk of levels accessible to you, so you can feel like you’ve played a lot of the game and certainly gotten your money’s worth. It’s a game that has something for everyone, and we wanted to give people a chance to really dig in, even if they were new to the series.
Plus, each level takes about 30-60s to beat, so for some (really good) players, the levels actually kind of fly by
But yes, on top of that there is a built-in level editor, and free online global cross-platform level sharing for all players. That’s part of what makes this game so interesting too – there’s a rabid fan-base that makes really interesting, innovative levels.
The physics were based on a number of different algorithms and experiments we were playing around with back in 2001-3, and we basically just hand-tuned everything until it felt right. you should really read this, it goes into some interesting detail: What Makes N++ Different To Other Platformers? | Rock Paper Shotgun
And for those of you interested in UI and graphic design, here’s an interview we just did on that: Interview: Mare Sheppard & Raigan Burns, Metanet Software
Gotten a couple more since then. Watching replays is really useful when trying for a top score. Having player input visible on the screen is really helpful and should be implemented in more games. I wish there was a way to change the default level score view from your friends to the other two (top score or the scores around you). Having another player’s ghost in the level while you play would also be cool.
I’m half of Metanet Software, the indie game developer behind N, N+ and N++, and we just released N++ on Steam (it’'s also on PS4):
