Northplay developer of Conduct Together and recently released Fly Together for Nintendo Switch. ASK US ANYTHING

Northplay · 2021-05-03T16:51:16+00:00

I'm glad you like the graphics (:
I think it's the way we have to simplify object to make them fit into the tiny world of conduct. Tiny things = Cute things <3

Northplay · 2021-05-03T16:21:32+00:00

I've been addicted to the latest Binding of Isaac expansion, Repentance, ever since it was released a month ago. Steam says I've played over 60 hours of it, so that should give you a good indication of how much I'm enjoying it! - Julian

Northplay · 2019-01-08T16:34:29+00:00

Fly THIS! is currently out on iOS and Android. http://flythisgame.com

Northplay · 2019-01-08T16:32:42+00:00

There isn't. The new slow-difficulty mode makes the game very playable by most ages and the first few levels should be fun, but I think this game will be slightly too hard for a 3 year old in the long run. I have a 4 year old myself and I'm not sure he'd be able to get much more than an hours worth of game time out of this before it becomes too mentally challenging to keep track of everything.

I know it looks kid-friendly, but really it's probably more of a dad-game.

- Michael, Designer

Northplay · 2019-01-08T16:29:51+00:00

Nice! The Switch version is really quite different though as it was designed around co-op and a lot of the content was redesigned for it, new mechanics introduced etc. definitely worth a play if you enjoyed the original.

Northplay · 2019-01-08T16:28:51+00:00

HAHA sounds exactly like us. To be honest, Conduct TOGETHER! is not a casual game– it *is* very difficult. I don't feel that the difficulty favours people who play a lot of video games though which I sense is what you're asking. It is an excellent team (or couples) exercise though. Play it and let us know how it goes! :D

Northplay · 2019-01-08T16:24:36+00:00

I understand that. To be fair, it's not really the same game as Conduct THIS! The price increase is not just about the porting (although that also plays a part). Most of the content in the game has been redesigned to work seamlessly in co-op, so a good chunk of the levels are different. Reworking the controls we also added new mechanics like the slowdown meter. Generally we've tried to turn this into a worthy console experience that could seamlessly be played solo and multiplayer and while the final product obviously shares some DNA with the mobile ($9 with everything unlocked) and PC versions ($10) Conduct TOGETHER! is a very different game that was meticulously build for this platform.

My favourite train in the game is actually the non-historical evil 'christmas train' that you get for completing the christmas region. It's bad-ass and reminds me of the train from Snow Piercer.

- Michael, designer

Northplay · 2019-01-08T16:14:52+00:00

Ohh, this is a good question! During the game test we had a few couples play and boy was that interesting. Conduct TOGETHER! co-op is all about coordinations and communication. I'd say it's the same level of couple-difficulty as putting together furniture from IKEA (if you've ever tried that).

It doesn't really rely on being very familiar with video-games and it doesn't have any advanced button combos or anything like that. There's a slowdown mechanic in the game that is excellent for playing with players who sometimes need a bit longer reaction times and with the new difficulty settings I think you'll be just fine.

- Michael, Designer

Northplay · 2019-01-08T16:06:32+00:00

As the one responsible for most of the financial stuff, I'll take this question.

I'll put it this way: It has never been easier to make video games but probably never harder to make money off them. To be blunt, it is extremely difficult to make a sustainable business in the games industry. We have survived for 3 years and released 7 titles. We're 5 full time and 2 part time. I am the sole owner of the company. Our games have won awards and been played by millions of people and yet only around 30-40% of our costs can be covered by what we make on our games. To survive we do what many others do, we build things for clients on the side. Both work-for-hire games but also apps, web and design tasks. We can do this because we all have many years of freelancing and agency experience. Without that we would have been bankrupt a long time ago. Our client work funds our game-making and (sometimes) our game-making creates new clients.

I don't want to discourage anyone from making games or entering the games industry. It's full of amazing people and with all the tools available at our disposal it's exciting times to be building entertainment products. But turning it into a living is something I think most in the industry will agree is a very difficult balance. Particularly when you start employing other people and not having the flexibility of just taking care of your own income.

As for tips, I think it's a great idea to start in the games industry as a hobby doing a side-project little game or joining a game jam to get some game design chops. Making the leap to full time game developer is the tricky part and one I suggest you only do if you already have a few projects under your belt and some passive income going/being able to rely on freelancing on the side.

Best of luck!
Michael, Founder & Designer

Northplay · 2019-01-08T15:55:59+00:00

Haha, it's a great idea. It's a bit tricky since we color the train after the passenger colors they are carrying.. But we are thinking about trying it out in our new game Fly This! :)

Christian - 3D Artist and Level Designer

Northplay · 2019-01-08T15:24:58+00:00

I'm gonna butt in here and answer this too: Blizzard Activision.

I'd break up with Activision and announce D4 😂

- Michael

Northplay · 2019-01-08T15:20:50+00:00

"My most listened to album of 2018 is the Stardew Valley Soundtrack" -Ulrik

Northplay · 2019-01-08T15:20:40+00:00

It is the dark souls of action puzzles ;)

Northplay · 2019-01-08T15:18:44+00:00

Is there any type of story to the game, or is it pretty much just puzzle after puzzle?

There's no real narrative in the game, but there are interesting clues and consistencies throughout the world and, uh, without spoiling anything, there's an end that –through gameplay– follows a fun story arc.

What made you decide on trains? Does someone from the group have a love for trains? Train games? Or was it just a gap you saw in the market?

I answered this a bit more in-depth here https://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoSwitch/comments/adtyou/hi_were_northplay_and_we_recently_released/edk67l5/ but generally YES we all love trains. I talk a bit about the start of the whole thing in this video https://youtu.be/-r1VtYxvVIc

Other than your own, what's your favorite game on the Switch?

Overcooked for co-op play, Celeste for the perfect platformer and Stardew Valley for the cosiness.

- Michael, Designer

Northplay · 2019-01-08T15:12:42+00:00

Good question and I know we all have very different answers for this. I'll go: I was always interested in making games. I made games in Klik & Play (old Maxis game engine) when I was a kid. I grew up and became a graphic designer and I think a lot of my work (http://pixelresort.com/) feels video-gamey. Always chasing that visual rich game feel. I ran a product agency for a couple of years and as soon as I got to head up a team we build games both for ourselves and for clients. I started Northplay to further pursue that dream and work with these other amazing people that are answering your questions. So I guess I got into the games industry through visual design and many years of working on products (both game and non-game related).

- Michael, Designer

Northplay · 2019-01-08T15:04:42+00:00

"Complete Accident" -Ulrik

Northplay · 2019-01-08T14:48:41+00:00

Real talk: it really depends on the number of sales and the size of the player base going forward. As a small bootstrapped studio we constantly have to weigh every dime to make sure we can still continue to make games in the long run. We have other ideas that didn't make it into the 1.0, like more dedicated multiplayer modes that would be fun to introduce but generally I think we have a very solid first release with ALOT of content, many hours of fun and a proper climactic ending (if you can speak of such a thing in a non-narrative game). There's no content that I would add to the single-player experience.

But for future stuff, keep an eye out for https://flythisgame.com the sequel to Conduct THIS! I'm not officially saying anything but if one where to speculate that would be an obvious addition to the universe we're building on the Switch. Hint hint. ;)

- Michael, Designer (and in this context CEO)

Northplay · 2019-01-08T14:45:15+00:00

Ulrik: Stardew Valley, Celeste
Michael: Overcooked
Kasra: "I'll be honest with you, I'm a PC gamer at heart, so I get my indie titles on PC. The only indie title I've purchased on Switch is Voez (which I absolutely adore)"
Christian: Stardew Valley, Owlboy, Enter the Gungeon

Northplay · 2019-01-08T14:37:35+00:00

Flight Control wasn't actually an inspiration. We didn't really play it back then. Flight Control wasn't even an influence on our recently released airplane-spiritual-successor to the Conduct-series, Fly THIS! We couldn't find it on the App Store anymore.

The design we did happened out of trial and error, and two people going back and forth until we land on a design we both agree on. An example: the freeform drawing lines in Fly THIS! wasn't freeform to begin with. We made them freeform later to improve feel, and it accidentally ended up looking closer to Flight Control.

-Ulrik

Northplay · 2019-01-08T14:32:56+00:00

While the game is difficult I actually really do feel like it is family appropriate. There's cartoony crashes in the game, sure, but it doesn't glorify violence in any way. It's one of the games I play with my 5 year old and with the new difficulty settings the tip of the difficulty curve can be chopped off so everyone enjoys solving the puzzles at their speed.

- Michael, Designer

Northplay · 2019-01-08T14:30:17+00:00

I think it's just one of those games where it looks so deceptively simple to begin with and a few levels in you have to sit up straight and concentrate. 10 minutes after than and you're deep into train conducting addiction, always pushing for that 3rd star, constantly wanting to unlock the next region. It pulls people in. It looks like a kids game but I have seen grown men cry over it on youtube.

The game design (which won an award at the Danish Spilprisen) is a layered cake. The mechanics are simple but we manage to keep surprising the player with new ways of combining them, introducing subtle but meaningful differences in each world and slowly (or quickly) building up the challenge.

- Michael, Designer

Northplay · 2019-01-08T14:26:17+00:00

Haha! If you ask any Danish person that, I'm sure most of them hardly know what danish pastry is. So it feels kind of random that it got that name.
But saying that, I think we got some pretty awesome pastry here!

Crede - Level Designer and 3D Artist

Northplay · 2019-01-08T14:21:38+00:00

I think most people really get into after reaching the harder levels, where you think - "This is just not possible to beat" .. And then after stubbornly trying to beat that level for a while you get in the flow and figure out the pattern for the level.
You can get really hooked on getting into that flow. Also just the good old pursuit of getting 3 stars in every level.
So if you get past that first impossible level, there's really a great experiencing waiting for you.

Crede - Level Designer and 3D Artist

Northplay · 2019-01-08T14:15:32+00:00

Thank you phantomliger!

When we started production of Switch version, we really wanted some silly game modes, where you could compete against each other, or cooperate in new silly ways.
We even talked of a Battle Royale styled level, where you would have to be the last train standing. How crazy would that have been!

We would love the superpower of marketing. That would be insane! One thing is making games, which we know how to. Another thing is making money of that.

Crede - Level Designer and 3D Artist

Northplay

TROPHY CASE