GameMaker Studio 2 was announced to support Nintendo Switch earlier this year, alongside games such as Undertale being announced for the platform. Recently, YoYo Games general manager James Cox sat down for an interview, where he talked about how support for the Switch started, the ease of porting games, and the future. [Thanks, Nintendo Everything!]
Here are the highlights:
When did discussions with Nintendo start regarding Switch support?
James Cox, general manager: “We announced our work with Nintendo prior to GDC in March this year. There was a lot of behind the scenes work with a small number of trusted developers and Nintendo earlier in 2017 to get us to that point.”
How easy is it to actually bring games made in the engine to Nintendo’s console?
Cox: “GameMaker Studio 2 enables developers to export their games from GameMaker into many platforms including desktop, web, mobile and console with one code base. When we launched the Nintendo Switch open beta on August 9th, we heard of developers getting their games running on a Nintendo Switch device within a couple of hours of being approved for access.”
What was the reception like from developers currently using or thinking of using GameMaker Studio 2 when they learned that you were adding Switch support?
Cox: “The reception was incredible. We had requests from our community every single day before we announced the Nintendo Switch export. After we announced the partnership, over 1,400 developers signed-up to receive information and many were desperate to get involved in early access versions. We’re extremely happy with how it’s turned out.”
More and more titles from independent developers are being announced and released on Switch each week. What do you make of the indie scene on Switch? Do you believe the system will continue to be a vibrant platform for smaller developers in the long term?
Cox: “Yes, the Nintendo Switch console is all set to become a vibrant part of the indie developer scene. For many of the indies in our community, it’s an aspiration for them, something to aim for, almost a gold standard of having made it. We often hear developers talking about how they can’t believe they are going to be able to make the dream of appearing on the Nintendo Switch come true. While we’ll see many more indie games making it to the Nintendo Switch platform, these will still be the cream of the crop, as Nintendo continues to ensure quality control. The GameMaker export to Nintendo Switch has made it an achievable dream for indies to get their games on the Nintendo Switch, but for each one that does, it will remain a major achievement for them.”
With Minit out now and Undertale already announced to be coming out shortly, can we expect more titles made in GameMaker Studio 2 to be announced for Switch in the near future?
Cox: “Yes, Hyper Light Drifter’s release window has also been announced. Following-on from the Nintendo announcement at GDC, that leaves Crashlands and Nidhogg 2 to announce their release dates. I would expect there to be a short gap before we see those developers who are using the Closed Beta and then the Open Beta coming through, particularly in the lead-up to the winter holidays.”
You can find the full interview here.
