I had the privilege of interviewing the developer Joshua van Kuilenburg and was able to gleam a better insight into what makes NAIRI tick. Wanting to get a sense of what is driving the project, along with influences and motivations behind the games narrative and design, I delved deeper into the nature of NAIRI.
LanguidLexicon: What is meant by the City of Shirin being a ‘character’?
LL: The art and character designs are outrageously cute, what influenced the artistic style of NAIRI?
LL: How did you find yourself getting into game development?
LL: What were the driving factor(s) behind developing NAIRI? How long has this been in the works before bringing it to steam and Kickstarter?
LL: What other systems are you planning on porting NAIRI to when you reach your goal? Would Linux or Mac be in the pipeline?
If it were up to me, I’d spent some time during or after development to port and localize NAIRI – make it accessible to as many folks as possible. When facing reality, though, we need funding to do this. Right now, sadly, I can’t promise anything pre-release until stretch goals are reached.
LL: I see that Kickstarter page mentions the degree of difficulty of puzzles will increase dramatically. What can the player expect when faced with these progressively arduous challenges? If they miss a clue or an item early on, how might that affect the outcome of their current game?
LL: I see that the Visual Artist You Miichi loves games like Animal Crossing, what bearing did that have on the world of NAIRI?
Quick answer: important items won’t be missable – we don’t feel that finding and keeping stuff in itself makes for a satisfying puzzle-experience. Long answer: every conflict or puzzle in NAIRI is documented automatically by Rex in this little journal he carries around with him. It’s constructed in a way that nudges players in the right direction, rather than giving straight-forward tips. I find that most of time players get stuck, they don’t want solutions – they want context. They need a clear goal, they need to understand what elements are interactive, that sort of thing. So the journal goes: “If players get stuck, what other perspective would help them?” It tries hard to respect the player’s intelligence. That said, it’s entirely optional and non-intrusive for the hardcore puzzle enthusiasts.
LL: Will players be encouraged to combine as much items as they can? How much relevance does this game mechanic have on gameplay and puzzle solving?
LL: Finally, what do you hope your backers will take away from NAIRI?
If you would like to check on Joshua and You’s progress on Kickstarter, give the widget below a view, they have surpassed their goal with three days to spare. I would like to congratulate them both for achieving their goal! Be sure to give their website Home Bear Studio as well for more information.
All I hope for is that they will have a lot of fun, that the game will put a smile on their face.Ideally, I hope that they will fondly remember NAIRI long after they’ve completed it!
