We’re working on a review for The Forbidden Arts, so I got in touch with Stingbot Games to talk about this release. Come check it out!
PS4Blog: Good morning! Thank you for joining us. Can you help us get started by telling our readers about yourself and your work?
My name is Sterling Selover, and I’m the owner of Stingbot Games. We focus on PC and console game development. I’m also the designer, programmer and visionary behind The Forbidden Arts, a game that is releasing on August 7, 2019. I began developing mobile games in 2011, and have been working on PC/console since 2014.
PS4B: On that note, The Forbidden Arts is out soon on Nintendo Switch. How would you describe the game to someone who’s never heard about it?
The Forbidden Arts is an action-adventure platformer about a young pyromancer who sets off on a journey of self-discovery in a world of ancient magic. Players will control the element of fire to battle enemies, solve puzzles, and discover ancient secrets through a developing story about the balance between good and evil.
The Forbidden Arts is a passion project inspired by some of my childhood favorites such as Super Mario World, Super Mario 64, and the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the NES. I’ve taken elements of those games and blended them with bits and pieces of modern titles such as The Witcher 3 and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild to create my own game with a unique theme and game mechanics.
PS4B: How long did it take to develop the game for the Nintendo Switch? Where there any particular hurdles or challenges you had to overcome?
The Forbidden Arts has been in development since February of 2015, though the concept originated during the holidays of 2014. The game took roughly four months to port to the Nintendo Switch, as it was initially developed for PC.
As this was my first port for the Nintendo Switch, it was a bit challenging, mainly because the game was not initially designed for the hardware. Achieving 60 fps on the Nintendo Switch took a lot of work – dozens of sleepless nights and weeks of testing, modifying and tweaking. There were a lot of sacrifices and optimizations that needed to be made to achieve the desired frame rate, but I’m quite happy with the outcome, and the game plays really smooth which, to me, is the most important thing.
PS4B: With the game ready to go on the Nintendo Switch, what are your plans moving forward? Will you be working on additional content for The Forbidden Arts, or will you be working on a new project?
First, we will finish the PlayStation 4 port of the game and then a Windows 10 UWP port and a Linux port for Steam. Once the remainder of the ports are completed, we will decide what the next steps will be. I’m not the biggest fan of DLC, but if there is a demand for it, we won’t rule it out. I would instead like to begin working on a new project, whether that continues with The Forbidden Arts brand or is something entirely new.
PS4B: And that’s all the time we have. Is there something else you’d like to add before we end this one?
The Forbidden Arts is a labor of love. We know it will be impossible to please everyone, but we certainly will try our best. We worked very hard through the Early Access phase and made hundreds of changes and improvements based on player feedback, so we truly hope people enjoy the final product. We are always open to feedback or discussion, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.
