Of all the colorful plush creations Chicago-based toy designer Shawnimals has released into the world -- including large mustaches (with their own smaller mustaches) and pork buns, each with eyes and a mouth -- its Ninjatown line of colorful ninjas has garnered the most attention, even resulting in a well-received Nintendo DS strategy game from mobile developer Venan.
Since that late 2008 release, Venan went on to develop a handful of iPhone sports games for EA Sports before launching February's Space Miner: Space Ore Bust, a self-published blend of arcade shooting and role-playing that earned strong reviews and made some waves on the App Store. With the Venan Arcade publishing brand now established, the two companies have crossed paths to create an all-new Ninjatown experience for the iPhone, titled Ninjatown: Trees of Doom!
We had a chance to try out the upcoming late April release at the C2E2 pop culture convention in Chicago over the weekend, and we spoke to Shawnimals founder and creative director Shawn Smith about what triggered the second collaboration. "It made a lot of sense," says Smith about re-teaming with Venan under its Venan Arcade brand. "Obviously, things weren't really happening with the [Ninjatown] sequel on the portable or console side of things, so we thought, 'Well, we still want to make cool stuff. Why not just work together and do it ourselves?'"
Rather than stick with the tower defense strategy from the Nintendo DS game, Smith and Venan charted a new course: a vertical climbing game that initially recalls something like Doodle Jump, but spins in another direction, bearing all the charm and style of Shawnimals' creations.
Trees of Doom! puts you in command of Wee Ninja, tasked with scaling two adjacent trees in the Dark Forest to please Ol' Master Ninja. Using a variety of touch commands, you'll jump between the trees, climb on either side, and even fling upwards from branches on your ascent to the top. Obstacles like slippery wood and dark syrup (which will be familiar to fans of the DS game) attempt to block your path, along with enemies with increasingly complex movement patterns. Luckily, power-ups are also available to launch you further up the tree or protect you from foes. And with the tree's features and obstacles placed randomly in each new game, you'll never face the same exact challenge twice.
The $1.99 App Store release will also include Plus+ support, as well as the ability to post scores directly to Twitter and Facebook. Venan's newfound ability to self-publish games and content on the iPhone clearly agrees with Smith, who told us about how easy it'd be to release add-on content for a game like Trees of Doom! without the approvals process of a traditional gaming publisher.
"Whether it's in-game content we're adding on that you can purchase later or just adding on for free, or new versions on iPad or whatever," explains Smith, "we like creating things, you know what I mean? And this allows us to do so. We're really excited by it."
Smith says a future iPad version is indeed a potential option, though nothing's official at this time. "We've talked about it," he notes. "It's kind of a no-brainer, just given the fact that it's the same OS, the graphics we make are scaleable, and Venan knows how." Future downloadable Ninjatown games for traditional console and handheld gaming platforms are also an option, though the success of this game and potential others could determine how viable such an opportunity is.
But for now, Shawnimals and Venan are focused on the release of Ninjatown: Trees of Doom later this month, as well as the prospects of add-on content for the game. Smith says he'd like to see additional levels, enemies, obstacles, and other features, but admits that success could lead to another full-fledged experience. "Who knows? If it does well, we'll just do another game," he says. "Venan Arcade exists -- they've had a lot of great luck with Space Miner, a great game with tons of reviews that are really positive. So if we can keep working together to make cool shit, we'll do it."
