We’re doing a review for Switch ‘N’ Shoot, so I got in touch with Matt Glanville to talk a bit about the game’s development. Come check it out!
PS4B: Good morning! Thank you for making the time to do the interview, what with a new baby at home and all that! Could you please help us get started by telling our readers a bit about yourself and your work?
Thank you, it’s my pleasure! My name’s Matt Glanville, and I’m an indie developer making small, crunchy/cute games. I previously worked in the games industry for several years, most notably as a designer on Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty and Soulstorm. I now work solo making fun little arcadey games with a 1990s flavor.
PS4B: On that note, Switch ‘N’ Shoot is set for release on Nintendo Switch next week. How would you describe the game to someone who’s never heard about it?
Switch ‘N’ Shoot is a byte-size arcade shoot ’em up with a twist: it only uses one button. The game is an endless score attack challenge about shooting never-ending waves of aliens to score points. You can play the game with just one button as your spaceship moves automatically, and every time you shoot you also change direction. It’s fast, simple, but very challenging, and has a really fast compulsive gameplay loop.
PS4B: How long did it take to work on the Nintendo Switch version of the game? What is different between this and the previously released Steam Version?
Bringing Switch ‘N’ Shoot to Nintendo Switch took just a few months. I did the entire conversion myself, and it’s the first one I’ve ever done, so I could probably get it done quicker if I did it again! I managed to get the game running on the Switch the same day I received my dev kit. The bulk of the work was in adding new features, localization and preparing the Nintendo eshop store page.
The Switch version has a few new features. My favorite is the ability to turn the Switch into portrait mode at the press of a button. It helps to get that authentic retro arcade cabinet feel. The game supports the Flip Grip attachment too!
I’ve also greatly expanded the color palettes system, so you can now unlock up to 64 color palettes including the classic Game Boy palette and some other retro favorites.
PS4B: Are you perhaps considering bringing Dungeon Deathball to Nintendo’s hybrid console?
It’s something I’m still weighing up, but I’d definitely like to, and I can definitely see it working well on the Nintendo Switch!
PS4B: And that’s all the time we have for today. Is there something else you’d like to add before we
Thank you for your support! I also have another game in the pipeline called Ghost Grab 3000, which you can add to your Steam wishlist if that’s your thing. It’s a similarly retro, frantic arcade game about wrangling ghosts with a robotic Grapple Beam. Check it out!
