We’ll be working on a review for Aarik And The Ruined Kingdom on Nintendo Switch, so I got in touch with Richard Kirk of Shatterproof Games to talk a bit about the game and its development. Come check it out!
PS4Blog: Good afternoon! Thank you for joining us today. Could you please help us get started by telling our readers a bit about yourself and your work?
No problem! My name is Richard Kirk, and I’ve worked across the games industry for about 15 years now. Started out in QA testing and worked my way through to work as a Technical Artist for the likes of GSN and Scopely. Working in TA gets you experienced in most aspects of game creation, so I decided to take the plunge and open my own Indie studio, Shatterproof Games.
PS4B: On that note, Aarik And The Ruined Kingdom will be landing on Nintendo Switch on March 26. What can you tell us about this game?
So it’s no secret that Aarik’s adventure is heavily inspired by the perspective puzzle mechanics from Monument Valley. The project was initially started as I personally wanted more Monument Valley levels to play – you can imagine my delight and surprise when Monument Valley 3 was announced and released right after our initial Steam release!
With that said, I wanted to explore areas that I thought Monument Valley had yet to tread. In Aarik And The Ruined Kingdom, you have the permanent ability to spin the camera (rather than the world), and I try to lean more on mechanical perspective puzzles rather than only focusing on moving paths.
What emerged from this goal is a light-hearted exploration into these M.C. Escher-style problems.
PS4B: How long have you been working on Aarik And The Ruined Kingdom? Did the game change much between the start of development and its upcoming Nintendo Switch release?
Getting on for 2 and a half years now, and it has evolved pretty drastically in that time. Initially, the plan was to make a block puzzle game with the ability to stack blocks across perspectives. This turned out to be extremely difficult to create levels for.
In an attempt to rein in the scope, I decided to create a character and a story. Initially, this idea evolved into a lonely lighthouse keeper climbing the many levels of their lighthouse. This turned out not to have the atmosphere that I wanted from the game, but you can still find a lighthouse in Aarik’s adventure as a (not so subtle) nod to this abandoned idea.
Finally, I landed on the Aarik character. I’m a big fan of Zelda, which likely informed this choice. In hindsight, I probably could have moved my character further away from the Monument Valley’s protagonists, but it’s a trope for a reason. I wanted the player to feel like they were exploring, so I needed a relatably inquisitive character.
PS4B: Are you considering releasing some extra levels for the game as DLC?
Likely not, but never say never. If there is a ton of demand for more, I would quite like to add some super tricky levels!
PS4B: And now it’s time for us to go. Is there something else you’d like to add?
Just a thank you for having me, and I hope that you and your readers enjoy the game! Oh, and pre-orders on Nintendo Switch get 20% off before launch day!
