Today we have the opportunity to interview the studio behind Sockventure. This dynamic platformer was released on Steam just last year and will make its way to the Nintendo Switch on the 14th of April. You can read our review right here as well! But, let’s talk about the guys behind this hilarious, hard-as-nails, sock venture first.
1) Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your studio before diving into the actual interview?
Eetu: Hi, we are Nighthouse Games, a 2-person game studio from Tampere, Finland. We are just two guys who want to make video games.
2) Sockventure is the first game for you Antti Hietikko and Eetu Hipponen, but it already looks like a triple-A title. What is your history with game development?
Eetu: Thanks for your kind words! Before Sockventure we had worked on various hobbyist game projects but hadn’t worked on anything this big before. We met each other at a game dev course. Afterward, we decided that we wanted to work on some game project together. First, we made a game called Sockman which was basically a demo of Sockventure, and ended up winning the Bit1 game competition in 2019. It is kinda “Best Student Game of the Year” type of thing in Finland. And then we decided to start our business and we were selected to join the Finnish Game Hub Incubator which is a mentoring program for new game studios.
Antti: On top of what Eetu just said, I started to make games around four years ago and we met at the same time. I had experience with graphics and decided to start with that. I was lucky enough to get to start making games with a skilled coder. Four years is a short time in the business and I learn new things every day!
3) Sockventure looks like a colorful combination between Super Meat Boy and Pyjama Sam, with a twist of the fear everybody has. You are losing a sock in the washer. How did you come up with the idea?
Eetu: We wanted to make something fun and silly that everyone can relate to and then we came up with a bunch of ideas. Socks, an evil washing machine, and a hero who saves the day sounded crazy enough to go for it. On gameplay-wise it was clear that we want to make a platformer game that takes inspiration from the games like Super Meat Boy, Donkey Kong Country, and Megaman.
4) Are there, next to the titles/ideas you mentioned in my previous question, (real-life) inspirations, movies, books, or other aspects you take inspiration from when you develop a game?
Eetu: Yeah for this game superhero comics were one clear inspiration.
Antti: I like funny-looking socks. I thought it’s fun to put it into the game.
5) Initially released for Windows PC (Steam), the game was received well; how was it to port the game to the Nintendo Switch? Is it a user-friendly console to program for/with?
Eetu: Our experience in developing on Nintendo Switch has been good. Of course, there have been the usual struggles as always in game development. We’re using Unity as our game engine so that has helped a lot in the process.
6) The store page for the game mentioned it’s a perfect game for speedrunning purposes. But was it designed with that purpose in mind? And is there already a speedrunning community working on Sockventure runs?
Eetu: Yes, it was. When we were designing levels for the game we wanted to make multiple ways for players to beat the levels. And there are a lot of “speedrun routes” in levels that are designed with speedrunners in mind. There are also gameplay mechanics which support speed running very well.
7) I love the art style, and I think it will be a perfect fit for the Nintendo Switch. I know that you (Antti) also work as a developer for Adventure Toe, and I must say that your colorful art style is a bit of a calling card of yours. However, with Astrobattlers TD (by Adventure Toe), you take a whole different lane of gaming genre. Can you tell us a bit about Astrobattlers TD as well?
Antti: Thanks for noticing! Adventure Toe is making kid-friendly, colorful games with a twinkle in the corner of the eye. Astro Battlers TD is like Bloons meets Plants vs. Zombies with new twists, a unique graphic style, and super funny sounds!
8) If you had unlimited resources and a completely blank slate on the course you could take in genre/approach – what would be something you would love to develop/create (not taking in any technical limitations) And, something we ask everyone we interview – what’s your favorite console and game (apart from your own game, of course)?
Antti: That’s a tough one! I would like to make massive multiplayer games at some point. I just got a Nintendo Switch and gotta say I like it more than a PC! And of course, I bought my favorite game first which is Ori and the Will of the Wisps.
Eetu: Nowadays I mainly play on PC but I still have to say my favorite console is Super Nintendo since that’s the console that got me interested in video games. The best game of all time is Super Metroid. From the newer titles, I really loved Metroid Dread, an awesome game! At some point, I would like to work on a Metroidvania game.
9) Anything else you would like to add/let the readers know?
Antti: Support games and have a good time with them!
Eetu: We wish love and peace to the world in these strange times.
We want to thank Antti & Eetu for their time – and be sure to check them out on the socials (and their game on either Steam or the Nintendo Switch).
Twitter: Sockventure | Out Now! (@sockventure)
Website: NighthouseGames
Steam: Sockventure op Steam (steampowered.com)
Nintendo Switch: Sockventure | Nintendo Switch download software | Games | Nintendo
