Q & A with Nicklas Nygren of Nicalis

Aug 16, 2010

Sometimes the complexities of a video game weigh heavily, making your journey to the end feel more like a chore rather than something fun. From fetch quests to level grinding, it can all get a little drab in the end. For Nicklas Nygren, an indie developer from Umea, Sweden, simplicity is a virtue. Born in 1983, Nygren has created an array of freeware games, most of which contain traditional platforming elements. As part of Nicalis, Inc., Nygren is now working on one of his most ambitious projects for WiiWare, a physics based platformer called NightSky that challenges players to use problem solving skills to move a rotating orb from one side of the screen to the next.

Did you work on NightSky individually or did you have help?

I did the game mechanics, graphics, and sound. However, I got help from Chris Schlarb who composed the entire awesome soundtrack and Ara Ahirinian who designed some additional levels.

What do you do?

I develop games! Since the release of Saira I’m hoping to be able to make a living out of this!

With 400 still screens how much game time can a player expect?

Since I haven’t seen anyone play through more than sections of the game, I can only try to approximate. I’m guessing at least a handful of hours for each mode, and as the more difficult mode changes many levels entirely it’s worth to play through both modes.

Is the mission of Night Game to make it from point A to point B or is there anything to collect along the way?

It’s a bit more linear than my previous games, but there are optional “side-quests” as well!

Why did you decide to go with a simplistic character design?

Night Game needs a sphere to be the game it is. I think I decided to just go with the crystal ball instead of an animated character because that’d seem more “funny” than beautiful and ambient. I, for example, don’t believe the game Ballance would have been the same with a rolling animal, and I think the same applies here.

Do you think it would have been cheesy to give the black orb a face?

It wouldn’t work with my vision about what I wanted the game to be like. It works a lot better in e.g. Within a Deep Forest.

What was your favorite part of making Night Game?

Level design! It was my first physics project and I had a lot of fun coming up with all the devices and gadgets in the level. One part I really love about creating a game in which another person is creating the music for is the additional boost of inspiration I get once I receive a song. Since someone else is composing it based in his or her ideas, that does in turn inspire me to think in new ways I wouldn’t if only me composed the music. I guess that’s why I always think that a small group of people can accomplish better things than just one person, if each gets enough freedom and can inspire each other.

Were there any frustrations with development?

I guess the part about getting collisions to generate sound correctly was really difficult.

When is Night Game going to be released?

The release date is unfortunately not yet announced.

How did you decide on Night Game’s look and feel?

In the beginning NightSky was just supposed to be a small project I wanted to do for fun. I never intended it to be this big. I just picked a simple graphical style I had seen before and know I liked and got started, I didn’t really think that much about it.

Is there anything else you want gamers to know about you or Nicalis?

Not really, apart from the fact that I’m now working on a smaller title which I’ve not yet properly announced. I know there was a pre-Saira silence during which I didn’t create many games for a while. Now, a lot is hopefully going to happen over a smaller period instead.

This interview was conducted independently by myself through email correspondence with Mr. Nygren.  Nicklas’ website can be found here where some of his older games are available for free. You can also view a gameplay video of NightSky by clicking .