In an interview, Nintendo of America’s director of product marketing Bill Trinen has spoken about the revival of classic side-scrolling games and paid tribute to the independent developers who have helped bring it about.
Trinen told the Reno Gazette-Journal: “It was so great to see that renaissance and the unique ideas from indie developers like Shovel Knight where they’re doing something really fun in the 2D space.”
The executive suggested that the renewed interest in such titles is due to players initially being taken in by the newness of 3D environments, but going back to “traditional” 2D gameplay over time. He also spoke of the importance of developers continuing to evolve, while at the same time embracing their roots: “It can be something like evolving new gameplay like Nintendo did with Donkey Kong Country Returns by using dynamic cameras with 2D (style gameplay) or something as simple as Yoshi’s Wooly World where you have an evolving style of gameplay as well.”
The in-depth interview with Trinen also touched on a number of other subjects including retro gaming, Mario Maker, region locking, and the Wii U’s prospects for 2015.
