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Developers using the Unreal and Unity Engine told Ars that their Switch ports took about as long to get running at a reasonable level. All four of those ran at a locked 60 frames-per-second refresh. Other developers of custom-engine games-including Graceful Explosion Machine, Blaster Master Zero, and Pocket Rumble-estimated port times for their existing code bases taking as little as two weeks to run "efficiently" on the Switch. On Switch, I got things running fairly quickly." When the platform provides you with really good samples on how to do that, you can hit the ground running pretty quickly. "With your own engine, how to draw a pixel on the screen is different for each system. "When you're developing for a new system, good documentation, tools, and resources help you learn the system," Provinciano says. Nearly every game's demo station at a press event had a developer on hand, and their verdict was loud and clear: the Switch is easy to develop for. Pretty much all of them have a "March" or "Spring" release window attached. His promise of so much content starts with the dozen "Nindies" games that are playable at GDC this year. (He also enjoys poking fun at Switch promotional materials, often saying, "here's another stock photo!") "Who would've thought we were supporting Binding of Isaac?" he blurts, nodding to Nintendo's implicit endorsement of a blasphemous, violent, and putrid adventure game on Nintendo Switch. But he takes every opportunity he can to wink and joke while gushing about the recent publishing accomplishments of his team. He sometimes speaks with the flat delivery you'd expect from a high-ranking Nintendo PR representative. In short, Nintendo of America's "publisher and developer relations" group has emerged at this year's Game Developers Conference with its strongest and weirdest download-game selection in years, all fueled by individual developers and "indie publishers." What's more, Baker offers a bold promise about the flow of content his group will introduce to the eShop over the next year: "Every week, new games."īaker looks like the kind of unassuming mid-30s gamer who probably clamored for Super Mario Bros. "I'm happy to say we've addressed a lot of those for Switch." "This is an opportunity to learn some lessons from Wii U and 3DS," Nindies head partner Damon Baker admits. As a bonus, this was the most "HD Rumble"-compatible game on offer, offering distinct, two-handed rumbles based on important gameplay-related elements. You'll have to carefully manipulate this sliding row to avoid enemies and sinkholes-and plant helpful bonuses into the game's "seed" plots. Tumbleseed has you using both analog sticks to raise and lower each edge of a platform on which your character slides up and down as arranged.
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