Knytt Classic has been out for just over a month now, and I'm excited to report that over 75,000 Steam users have added it to their library. A huge thanks to everyone who has played, left reviews, and reported bugs. I'm really happy to see it connecting with so many people, especially those that never played it before.
As I went through development of Knytt Classic a lot of questions sprung to mind, especially about the origins of the project and Nifflas getting his start in game dev. So just before launch, I jumped on the opportunity to conduct a short interview with him. A huge thanks to Nifflas for taking the time to answer!
Q: How long were you making games before starting work on Knytt?
A: Knytt was one of the first games I had made, I had made three small games before and only one of them (Within a Deep Forest) had gained a bit of popularity. It’s a game I primarily wanted to design as a “place” rather than a story or challenge. So, making it was mainly having a very simple set of movements, then spending a lot of time just creating the world.
Q: Knytt is one of the first titles I remember hearing about that was collaborated on over the internet. What led to that?
A: I knew musicians from an IRC channel called #modarchive and it came quite naturally that I’d ask them to help me with music.
Q: How did you approach designing out the world? Did you start with the crash scene and work outwards from there?
A: I designed Knytt’s world from left to right-ish. It was mostly done by feel without any plan, and if I remember right, this was quite intentional. The world feeling like a place rather than existing as a challenge to the player felt important to me.
Originally published on Knytt's website in 2006 as sources of inspiration.
Q: How did you arrive at wall climbing as the primary traversal mechanic?
A: I don’t remember why I included the wall climbing the way I did, but I imagine it being it was easy to level design a world around without needing lots of small platforms for the player to traverse upwards. It definitely allows for a world that doesn’t look too “player traverse shaped.”
Q: The minimalist design of the game stands out even more now than it did then. Were other abilities, hazards or collectibles ever considered or cut?
A: If I remember right, knew nearly from the start I didn’t want the character in Knytt to have extra abilities. It was not the focus on the game, and the minimalism of the game’s design was very intentional. So, I don’t think I cut anything.
Q: The denizens of the world are all very unique. Did you have them planned out or did others come up with them?
A: Both me and others designed the little characters who appear in the world. I had a rule that every character must only appear once, tho similar characters can appear if there are some pixels of difference. We came up with them on the fly. The main reason they’re there is to make the world feel lived in, and for it to be rewarding when exploring the game. I hope I get daring enough to return to that kind of design, where just seeing something can be a reward, without it needing an interaction or affecting progression.
Original concept art by Sara Sandberg.
Q: How do you see Knytt fitting into your career now? Your latest title Rhythm Doggo seems to share some of its DNA.
A: This is an interesting one! Knytt and Rhythm Doggo definitely share a focus on atmosphere and place, and these aspects reflect how I view life back then and now. Knytt’s world is a very serene, bright and summery world and is mostly safe but with small parts of danger. Rhythm Doggo is the inverse of this, a dark world set either at night or in heavy rainfall, where you find pockets of safety in shelters, where dogs and other creatures hang out. These aspects of the games reflect how I view life, and I hope to in the future become a person who has it into me to create a much happier game like Knytt again.
Q: Is there anything the world doesn’t know about Knytt (or its development) that you think they should?
A: Originally, Knytt was a little side experiment I made when I was developing WIthin a Deep Forest 2. I’m not even sure I intended to finish the game first. The first WaDF had been fairly popular and I wanted to make a sequel, but I never “connected” to it the same way I connected to Knytt instantly when starting making it. I very rarely abandon games but it was definitely the right choice here.
