The indie talent backing the PlayStation Vita is steadily increasing as the system approaches its US and EU February 22 release. Last month, Everyday Shooter developer Jon Mak shared how Vita's technology allows for interactive music to form the key of Sound Shapes' platforming experience.
The Vita's array of inputs, including its front and rear touch-enabled surfaces, has also grabbed the attention of Honeyslug developer Ricky Haggett, whose games have found their way around events such as Eurogamer's Indie Games Festival and the Indiecade Expo at E3. However, Honeyslug has put everything aside to create microgame collection Frobisher Says.
Here Haggett speaks with GameSetWatch contributor John Polson on the team's progression of Frobisher Says from a Flash prototype to a handheld console title, on the challenge of communicating to playtesters the required actions on each microgame, and the approachability of the hardware for iOS developers.
How did you get involved with Vita development?
Earlier this year, we were asked by Sony Europe whether we wanted to submit a proposal for a Playstation Vita showcase app -- something which would highlight the unique features of the device.
We had previously attended Sony's Vita presentation to developers, and our main reaction to the device was, "Wow, this thing does a lot of different stuff!" All the controls of a dual-shock, plus front and rear touchscreens, tilt, accelerometers, front and rear cameras (with facial recognition), compass, GPS, microphone... just thinking about the possibilities was a bit bewildering.
Then Dick Hogg, our collaborator on several other games (including Hohokum and Poto & Cabenga) suggested making a bewildering game which would use ALL of the inputs -- and jump between them at high speed! And so Frobisher was born.