Initially starting as a small Indie Jam, Toodee and Topdee was shown off during Gamescom Online via Indie Arena Booth Online. Toodee and Topdee is combining 2D side-scrolling platforming, with top-down block pushing. Developer dietzribi’s unique concept has players solving increasingly difficult puzzles, with the goal to restore peace to the universe. While this genre-bending title is still months away, Marooners’ Rock’s Frank Ventimiglia had an opportunity to discuss Toodee and Topdee with one of dietzribi’s two developers, Gonen.
Toodee and Topdee Interview:
MR: For those unaware, what can you tell our readers about Toodee and Topdee? What would be your pitch to someone hearing about your game for the very first time?
Gonen: Toodee and Topdee is a puzzle platformer that combines two genres- a 2D side-view platformer and a top-down block-pushing puzzler. The player can switch between the characters and their matching perspectives to solve mind-melting puzzles. When the perspective changes, the environment, enemies, and other elements bend to the rules of that genre and gravity.
MR: Most probably aren’t aware that your team consists of two brothers, who typically make smaller titles for Game Jams. How has working on your first commercial title together differed from the usual Game Jams? What are some difficulties you two have faced?
Gonen: It’s a very different experience when making a game for a game jam, we have a very short amount of time, usually 2 or 3 days, to do everything. That means that we don’t have time to do proper planning, coding, play tests, or anything other than just creating the game We also don’t have a lot of time to experiment and know if the idea that we have is actually fun or not. On the other hand, it takes off a lot of pressure, because it’s just for fun, and the stakes aren’t as high as making a commercial project. If the game turns out to be terrible, no harm is done. It’s just 2 to 3 days of work and boom, a game is released.
The commercial version is a lot more work. Not only do we have to create the game itself, but we also have to handle marketing, business development, community management, emails, events, etc. You could say that a game jam is a sprint, and a commercial project is a marathon. One thing that a short game jam project and a commercial project have in common is learning how to prioritize what’s important in order to meet deadlines.
MR: When conceptualizing Toodee and Topdee, was the game’s vision always clear? Did you two ever consider crossing any other genres together?
Gonen: We came up with the idea for the Ludum Dare 41 jam, and its theme was “combine two incompatible genres”. The game vision became clear only after that. Our idea was to take two tile-based genres, a 2D platformer, and a top-down puzzler, and combine them together. We weren’t sure exactly how this is going to work, and if it’s going to make sense. After the jam version came out, we received a lot of great feedback, it was obvious to us that the current formula is working, and that we only need to improve and polish it from there. For Toodee and Topdee we feel like those two genres are enough, but we had a lot of weird ideas of combinations when we tried to come up with our game for the game jam.
MR: It’s very clear that Toodee and Topdee were influenced by retro games of the past. What games inspired you two to create this charming title?
Gonen: When we were younger we played a lot of platformers like Sonic, and a lot of point-and-click adventure games, like the Goblins series, Maniac Mansion, Day of the Tentacle, and Monkey Island. But honestly, we think that we took a lot of inspiration from more modern indie games as well: Braid, Fez, Celeste, The Swapper, Baba Is You, and Inside.
MR: Showcasing your game through the Gamescom Indie Arena Booth was a very unique experience. What were some of the more memorable moments from the show? Do you think your game being showcased this way was more beneficial, vs a more traditional tradeshow?
Gonen: A memorable moment was when a virtual encounter with a random attendee in our booth, turned into him playing co-op online on a livestream with us. That was very cool. I think that a very big upside of virtual conferences is that it’s much easier and cheaper to attend them, so it opens up a lot of opportunities for developers. On the other hand, there’s no replacement for meeting people face to face. Especially as a developer, seeing people play your game and watching their reactions in person is the best feeling ever.
MR: Many are probably unaware of Toodee and Topdee’s origins as a 72-hour project for the ich.io Ludum Dare 41 Jam. Your game has clearly changed quite a bit since it’s itch demo. Was it always the plan to make Toodee and Topdee a full-fledged title? What are some of the major changes you wanted to incorporate into the full build? Were there any features you wanted to add, but ultimately weren’t able to?
Gonen: When we participate in jams, we never know what the result is going to be, because the theme is always announced when the jam starts.
After posting the first gif on Twitter, we knew that it’s going to be one of our better jams. But even then, we didn’t know if it’s going to be the first commercial project. When we decided to do a full game, we tried out a few different prototypes, and eventually, we came back to Toodee and Topdee.
For the full version, we built the entire game from scratch. The jam version was fun, but it was lacking a lot of polish and the controls were pretty sloppy. Fortunately, we already had a lot of ideas for mechanics that we didn’t have time to include in the jam version, so it was a matter of implementing them, seeing if they’re fun, and coming up with different levels for them. The full version also has a story with cutscenes, boss fights, a co-op mode, and a lot of other cool things! A lot of fans ask for a level editor, and while we think it could be a lot of fun, we’re currently not planning to have it, at least not on the first release.
MR: As of now, you have not confirmed an official release date. How far along in development are you two, and do you think it will still release in 2020?
Gonen: I think a rough estimation is that the game is 75% done. It’s hard to say though. We will probably have to delay the release a bit into 2021, but we’re on track to release the game in the next 6 months.
MR: Right now Toodee and Topdee is scheduled to launch exclusively on PC. Are there any plans to release on additional platforms? What platforms would you personally like to see your game on?
Gonen: At the moment we can only confirm a PC version, but we have plans to release the game on consoles as well, and our first priority after the PC is the Nintendo Switch.
MR: Your official demo ends implying Toodee and Topdee will have to face bosses, as they progress the game’s worlds. Can you share any details on how these boss battles will work?
Gonen: Since Toodee and Topdee have no attacking abilities, we had to get creative with the boss fights. You usually have to use the environment to hurt them, like dropping a box that is affected by gravity on a boss, or tricking them into hurting themselves by falling into spikes. The bosses have different attacks for the different perspectives. You need to learn their patterns and how they behave in the two perspectives and survive their attacks until you find an opening to hurt them. We’re very proud of the boss fights in Toodee and Topdee, and even though there aren’t a lot of them, we think that they will be very memorable.
MR: After Toodee and Topdee launches, do you plan on creating another commercial title? What other genres would you two like to tackle?
Gonen: We sure hope so, we have a lot of different ideas. We have another puzzle-platformer that we want to pursue at some point, but we also want to try out something more action-based, like a boss rush, or a roguelike.
MR: Do you have any closing statements you would like to share with our audience?
Gonen: Try out the demo of Toodee and Topdee on Steam and let us know your thoughts. Also if you want to support the game’s development, add the game to your wishlist, and follow us on social media.
