It’s almost time for us to fly out to San Francisco for this year’s Game Developers Conference. We’ve got an early build of escapeVektor on the 3DS to show press and the latest version of Spirit Hunters Inc. We’ve been flat out over the last few weeks making sure everything is prepared.

However, we’re never too busy for an interview. So when The Strikester from Nintendo Nation asked Nic to answer a few questions, he was right on it.

INTERVIEW: NNOOO

The Strikester

What happens when you make a successful WiiWare game? The Strikester talks to Nic Watt, the head of the team behind the hit game escapeVEKTOR.

NN: Congratulations on the success of escapeVEKTOR: Chapter 1 on WiiWare. What was the idea behind it?

NW: The idea came from several places. Firstly we wanted to make a new WiiWare game and thought that doing something fun and stylish with depth would appeal to the Nintendo market. Secondly we wanted to make something we could ensure would give the best game-play and graphics we could achieve with not only our resources but also within the confines of the WiiWare service.

I really like the idea of having a person trapped inside the player’s Wii and having to go through games to get out. This sparked the idea of a series of games telling the tales of Vektor, how he became trapped in your Wii and his subsequent escape. escapeVektor is only one part of that story.

Click here for the rest of the interview

Jessica Citizen from games website Player Attack interviewed Nic & Bruce at last year’s Game Connect Asia Pacific conference in Melbourne.

She wanted to know about escapeVektor, Pop and of course Spirit Hunters Inc. We also discussed interacting with our fans and why Spirit Hunters Inc has taken so long to develop. Then we talked about development of escapeVektor for the 3DS and mentioned that we were also talking to Sony – remember, this interview was done in November 2011.

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PRESS RELEASE: GDC announcement – Nnooo announces PlayStation®Vita and Nintendo 3DS™ versions of escapeVektor™

Australian based games developer Nnooo has revealed their award-winning game escapeVektor will be coming to both the PlayStation Vita and Nintendo 3DS. escapeVektor is a retro styled arcade game in which the player controls Vektor, an entity trapped inside the console’s CPU.

The player has to help Vektor escape the CPU which has been holding him captive. In making his escape, Vektor must get through obstacles and avoid enemies, each with different hunting patterns and intelligence. As the player completes the various levels in the game, escape becomes more difficult. New abilities unlock to help the player outwit and destroy the CPU’s army. As the player continues through the game, old code and memories are unlocked which reveal more about Vektor’s past.

“We were delighted by the reception the WiiWare™ version of the game received,” said Nic Watt, Creative Director at Nnooo. “We originally planned to have four Chapters but have now decided to roll them all into one game and bring it out on these new consoles to reach a wider audience.”

The new version of the game will have new enemies and obstacles, plenty of extra levels and online leaderboards. Each console’s unique features will also be highlighted.

“Playing the game in 3D on the Nintendo 3DS is really cool,” said Watt. “With the background to each level pulsing in time to the cool chip-tune soundtrack you really get drawn into game’s environment. For PlayStation Vita players we hope to make use of near™ and location based leaderboards. We’ll also be experimenting with the front and rear touchscreen controls.”

An early build of the Nintendo 3DS version of the game will be showcased at GDC.

escapeVektor for PlayStation Vita and Nintendo 3DS is scheduled for release in late 2012.

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If you would like to meet us at GDC for an interview and/or to play our latest build of escapeVektor on the Nintendo 3DS, please contact us at press@nnooo.com.

More information about Nnooo is available at www.nnooo.com while escapeVektor information can be found at www.escapeVektor.com.

escapeVektor screenshots are available here and here.

Join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nnooo or Twitter at www.twitter.com/_Nnooo.

These projects are being developed with the assistance of NSW Trade and Investment.

Gizmodo Australia run a regular feature called Developer Cubed in which they focus on Australia’s up and coming dev scene. They grabbed Nic for a quick interview recently.

Nic & Bruce - the owners of Nnooo

Developers Cubed: Nnooo

by Alex Kidman

Gizmodo’s Developers Cubed series offers a behind the scenes look into Australia’s up and coming dev scene. This week: We chat with Nic from Sydney-based games developer Nnooo about why all development isn’t just iOS development and why it’s important to carve your own niche.

Developers! Developers! Developers!
It’s not just Steve Ballmer’s favourite sweat-laden catchcry! If you’d like to be featured in Developers Cubed, shoot a note to alex.kidman at alluremedia.com.au. I’d love to hear from you.

Who are you and where do you work?
My name is Nic Watt and I’m the Creative Director (and technically CEO) of Nnooo an indie games company based in Sydney, Australia

Why do we know you? What have you created?
We have created several successful franchises for WiiWare and DSiWare and are now turning our hand to the next generation of consoles with games for Nintendo 3DS and other unannounced consoles. Our most successful projects have been Pop, a launch title for the WiiWare service; Pop + Solo a sequel to Pop for DSiWare and our myLifeCollected series of applications for DSiWare which includes myNotebook, myPostcards and myDiary; finally escapeVektor our latest game was released to critical acclaim at the end of last year on WiiWare.

Our current projects include escapeVektor for Nintendo 3DS (and other platforms – to be announced) and Spirit Hunters Inc an augmented reality RPG for DSiWare and Nintendo 3DS.

Click here to read the rest of this feature

It’s still really busy at Nnooo HQ, what with the launch of escapeVektor: Chapter 1, competitions to win a copy of the game (check out our Facebook and Twitter pages), the release of our new versions of Pop for iPhone, iPad & iPod Touch (including FREE giveaways on Twitter), setting up our Movember team to raise money for charity AND a visit from video games show 5 Inch Floppy who interviewed Nic and had a look round the office.

Nic and Bruce are also off to the annual Australian games shindig in Melbourne next week, otherwise known as GCAP (Game Connect Asia Pacific). They’ll be meeting up with some old game dev mates, having some serious industry pow-wows, listening to a load of interesting & inspiring talks and meeting a whole heap of new friends. They’ll take a few pics too. (more…)

The latest games website to review escapeVektor: Chapter 1 is MMGN.

Did they like it? Well, let’s see. They scored the game 5 stars out of 5 and wrote “Very rarely do we see a game come through with such perfect design and gameplay, but escapeVektor: Chapter 1 nails it on debut.” So yes, we think they liked it. Have a look at the review below.

escapeVektor: Chapter 1 Review

by Stephen Heller

Some of the best games of all time are the simple, yet challenging ones.  Donkey Kong, Pac-Man and Tetris all have simple concepts, yet immense difficulty that challenges the player and keeps them coming back for more. While the puzzle meets retro arcade gaming sector has seen a number of successes in recent years, Nnooo’s escapeVektor: Chapter 1 goes above and beyond all expectations, as it offers an inviting and unforgettable experience.

Click here to read the rest of this review

Wow, it’s been a little busy at Nnooo HQ in the last couple of weeks, what with the release of escapeVektor: Chapter 1. Because we’ve been keen to share the initial reviews of the game with you, we haven’t had time to show you the second part of this MMGN article. Until now that is! If you haven’t read Part 1, you should take a look at that first though.

Making escapeVektor Chapter 1: 7 Key Principles of Game Development

We recently completed our second WiiWare™ title, escapeVektor™: Chapter 1 which is released in Australia, NZ, The Americas and Europe on September 29th for 500 Nintendo Points.

If you’ve read our 3 features on escapeVektor: Chapter 1 over the last few weeks, you’ll hopefully know all about the game by now. We thought we would finish off by sharing what we believe are some key principles of game development, and show where we applied them to escapeVektor: Chapter 1.

This is part two of this article, if you missed it you can view part one by clicking here.

Click here to see the rest of this article

We’re delighted escapeVektor: Chapter 1 is receiving such a positive response from fans and reviewers alike. We love it when a plan comes together! We have also received many positive comments about the game’s music, even from Nintendo! So many in fact that we thought we should make the music available for download.

You can visit our Facebook music store, CD Baby, Amazon or iTunes and download the escapeVektor soundtrack now. Over the course of the coming weeks the soundtrack will also be available for download across a number of other outlets. Have a look below at what the reviewers are saying:

“The music is, without qualification, some of the best on WiiWare period. escapeVektor: Chapter 1 easily joins the ranks of World of Goo and the BIT.TRIP series in this regard; the gripping, evolving tunes keep you engaged and focused, and they’ll call out to you long after you turn off the game for the night.”  Nintendo Life review

“It’s the soundtrack that really grabs you at first, as the chiptune beats fueling the audio side of the equation immediately mesmerize your mind – fans of the Bit.Trip series would be wise to take notice right away.”  IGN review

Nintendo Life have written their review of escapeVektor: Chapter 1 and it’s another hugely positive one. With comments like “one of the finest experiences on the entire WiiWare service” and “This game is sharp, challenging, clever, gorgeous, atmospheric, thought-provoking, and, above all else, fun”, we think they quite like it! Have a read and see if you agree with us.

Virtual world, real quality

by Philip J Reed

After the delightful Pop (and its various offshoots), it seemed a bit like Nnooo was taking a break from game development. The studio released several applications through DSiWare, and while they were quite good, gamers might be forgiven for assuming that the company’s future releases would gravitate more toward “useful” than “fun.” Now Nnooo has released escapeVektor: Chapter 1 to remind us all that not only is the team still interested in games, but that it can also to deliver one of the finest experiences on the entire WiiWare service.

escapeVektor: Chapter 1 is brilliant. There are no other words to describe it, though, so that this review isn’t the shortest in Nintendo Life’s history, we’re going to have to try to find some.

Click here to read the rest of this review

It looks like IGN are also fans of escapeVektor: Chapter 1. In their 9/10 review they say “escapeVektor just blew me away.” and “It’s a spectacular experience.” Nice!

escapeVektor: Chapter 1 review

by Lucas M. Thomas

escapeVektor just blew me away. I’d had this new WiiWare game on my radar for a while, and I thought that it looked like a good one – but now that it’s out, and I’ve played it, I was wrong. It’s more than good. It’s great. It rocks. It’s totally freaking slick.

Click here to read the rest of the review