Self-proclaimed Swedish “twindie” studio Good Night Brave Warrior consisting of twin-brothers Andreas and Mattias, is headed towards Steam Greenlight with its first game – an action puzzle platformer called Sling Ming, which was originally intended for mobile, but more recently has switched focus to PC.
Good night Brave Warrior brothers Andreas and Mattias
“Sling Ming started out as a mobile game. During development (three years is a long time) we watched the mobile market turn towards free-to-play, to the point that trying to sell a premium game seems to be suicide. Now, we could try to redesign the game as F2P, but that would ultimately destroy the experience, at least in our minds.”
“Instead we chose to double down on crafting a premium game and release it on PC and Mac in addition to iOS and Android. The game has four different worlds, about fifty levels, many boss fights and power ups. With such a scope, it’s simply a better fit for PC than it is for mobile. Said and done, we are currently running a Steam Greenlight campaign for the game.”, the two brothers explain, as they reflect on what has changed since they first started developing the game.
And with a planned release on both PC, Mac, iOS, and Android, there’ll plenty to see to for the small team of two, who luckily were dealt just the right set of cards to survive as a two-man army.
“The gene lottery played in our favor and gave all the artistic genes to Andreas and all boring-and-structured genes to Mattias. Such a perfect fit for a twindie studio, how can we not play the cards we were dealt?”, the two brothers say.
As for most startups, massive success is definitely among the many goals for the young studio, but more realistically, how exactly does the studio plan to even survive as indie studio in the super competitive mobile and PC games markets? By preparing well, and being realistic, the two brothers explain:
Sling Ming is currently on Steam Greenlight
“To count on any type of success is risky – even getting attention is difficult. We are trying to live as cheaply as possible, working from home. We do freelance gigs to make some money, but it’s a trade-off since it’s hard to work on the game at the same time. The plan is to survive even if the game bombs, but at the same time maximize our chances by releasing on multiple platforms.”
“In the end, we hope that what we are creating is good. That’s the truth. At this point it’s so hard to have any kind of objective perspective. If the game becomes popular, if people like it, that would mean the world to us. If we were to make a decent chunk of money, that would mean that we could create another game.”
If everything goes as planned, a console version of the game is definitely among the first things Good Night Brave Warrior will start working on. Because, as the two brothers explain, releasing a game on a console has always been a childhood dream:
“We grew up in a time when the platform heroes reigned supreme. Mario, Sonic and the somewhat forgotten but still very likable Wonder Boy. This formed a lasting love for the adventures and exploration found in colorful 2D worlds.”
“If Sling Ming is well received we will definitely consider porting it to more platforms. It would be a childhood dream fulfilled to release our game on a console, that’s for sure.”
But when it comes to future game release, the two brothers are not so keen on looking into the future, afraid that doing so will take away the joy of working on their current game.
“We are trying our best to focus on the present and not to think about the future too much. Once you start thinking about your next game, to finish the current one seems like a chore. Better not let that happen.”, the brothers warn.
Denmark’s largest games industry conference for Nordic game developers returns on December 7th to discuss the future of business in the games industry. The lineup of speakers includes as Ex-King Tommy Palm, Christine Thaarup, Steffen of Betadwarf, and many many more!
Tickets are limited and can be booked here.