Published , by Sam Chandler
Published , by Sam Chandler
With how popular Super Mario Maker is and with a glaring gap in the Zelda maker space, it should come as no surprise that Super Dungeon Designer scratches an itch we’ve had for a while. This game is all about creating top-down dungeons and sharing them with other players. We had the pleasure of picking the mind of James Richards, studio head and lead game designer at Squish Studios, about what goes into creating a game like Super Dungeon Designer.
As for how Richards got into creating a game like Super Dungeon Designer, he’s actually spent a bit of time on the side streaming Super Mario Maker. This is, as we suggested earlier, a clear and natural progression. In fact, Super Dungeon Designer looks to embrace elements not present in Zelda titles, including the ability to journey through the dungeons in four-player co-op.
Our conversation with Richards covered a great deal of ground including his thoughts on Kickstarter. The crowd funding system has been used to gauge interest from communities but to also attract the eye of publishers. For Richards, this is “not outside the realm of possibility” but Kickstarter has been a valuable tool, allowing the team to do things like marketing and even potentially console porting.
It’s always interesting to hear how various developers enter into the industry and how they use the available tools to create something special. Check out the Super Dungeon Designer Kickstarter to learn more and swing by the Shacknews Interview YouTube channel for more conversations with developers.