[](https://kon.gg/2Qm3ZW1) *Back in the olden days (2004), a little game called N leapt onto our screens and into our hearts forever. Bouncing around the screen with a tiny ninja, dodging bullets, bombs, traps and pitfalls while a lively soundtrack played was never so much fun. The action developed further in N+, adding new dangers and bigger maps while keeping the challenging parkour platforming core of the game intact.* *And then came [N++](https://kon.gg/2Qm3ZW1).*  *With a huge number of levels, dozens of color schemes and an added difficulty level, this latest and greatest expansion of the N series has received rave reviews from critics and players alike. With N++ added to the Kartridge launch titles list, we were very pleased to get to talk with the developers, Mare Sheppard and Raigan Burns about their ninja physics masterpiece.*  **Tell us all about the development team for N++!**  We're Mare Sheppard and Raigan Burns of Metanet Software, an independent game development studio from Toronto, where we've been making games since 2001!  Sometimes we team up with other people; for N++ on Kartridge we worked with Aaron Melcher of Knockout Games, and Vincent Williams of Head in the Clouds Studio (plus some server work done by Stan Wiechers). It takes a great team to make such a great game happen!  We both grew up playing games and have always been interested in them -- that kind of curiosity naturally spun off into wondering how they were made. We're really inspired by lots of things outside of games, like architecture, graphic design, art, music, and film, and we try to bring those influences into the games that we make. For example, you can see the architectural influence in N++'s level design, and our love of graphic design in the game's look and menus.  Some of our favourite games are old-school classics like Super Mario World and Lode Runner, but we play a lot of modern games as well -- we really like Michael Brough's oeuvre, Dream Quest, and Animal Crossing. We try to sample everything from indie to AAA, to get a sense of what's happening in games, as we think about what we want to design. **How did you come up with the idea for N++?**  N++ is the bigger and better sequel to N, which we released in 2004 -- the series was inspired by early 2000s freeware games like Super Bubble Blob, Soldat, Zone Runner, and Puchiwara no Bouken. A lot of those games have tiny main characters that give a great sense of scale and dynamic range to the worlds they inhabit, and moving through those worlds is really interesting and enjoyable -- we knew these were the sorts of things we wanted to create in a game as well.  We were really interested in physics and exploring new ways to make characters move, so we implemented a few research papers in 2D and played around a lot with the controls until N's ninja felt just right. Initially, we wanted N to be a stealth game, where you slowly creep around in the shadows, avoiding enemies patrolling the levels. But when we had the physics and collision systems perfected, it felt way more fun to run around at top speed, acrobatically leaping from surface to surface and pulling off crazy moves -- so we decided to go in that direction instead!  A lot changed from N to N++! Aside from the amazing new soundtrack, we added a whole slew of new colour schemes, so that N++ feels fresh every time you play it. Since the series is all about the level design, we spent tens of thousands of hours carefully creating, playtesting and tweaking each one of the brand-new levels in N++, adding a bunch of diabolical ew enemies and tons of surprises we think players will enjoy discovering. **What sort of experience do you want your players to have?**  The experience we want players to have is one of satisfaction and catharsis from overcoming tremendous obstacles and challenges. N++ is a game about facing your limits and trying to surpass them -- it's a skill-based game, so you get better and better every time you play. We carefully adjusted the difficulty of each level and each episode (set of 5 levels) to give players a dramatic journey through the game no matter which order they choose to play the levels in. We want players to feel like their journey was their own -- if they succeed, it's because of their own skills and their own talents in overcoming adversity, and if they fail they know what they need to do to make it the next time. We worked hard to make the game very fair, and since you can restart each level any number of times without penalty, it's very forgiving -- N++ really wants you to succeed, without holding your hand too much, so that it really feels awesome when you make it. Our fave part of N++ is probably the level editor -- we love seeing what kind of levels players make! They're so innovative and so interesting. We also really love the local co-op multiplayer -- this is part of what adds the "++" to N++, and is one of our favourite new additions. We designed the levels for two players instead of one, creating puzzles players need to solve and situations they need to figure out how to get themselves out of as a team -- it was both a really fun design exercise for us, and an incredibly exciting new way to play the game! We think fans of N will especially love it.  We just recently created the Ultimate Edition update for N++, which doubled the size of the game to a frankly alarming 4340 hand-crafted levels and over 100 colour schemes -- it was our goal to not leave any ideas on the table and to make this a game that could last a lifetime. We don't have plans for more DLC at the moment, but we do intend to keep supporting the game for as long as possible.  **What sort of programming resources did you use?** N++ was written from scratch in C++ (heh!), in a custom engine. The core of the game was prototyped in Flash's Actionscript so we could be sure the new elements worked perfectly -- then we ported everything to C++ so we could tune it to be the smoothest, most responsive game possible and also integrate all the brand new server backend so players can share their levels globally with every other player of N++. We've been interating on this concept for over a decade -- at this point we've got the design and feel of the game down to an art! We think that love and dedication really comes through in N++. **What made you want to post the game on Kartridge?** Back in the day, we uploaded the new version of N on Kongregate, and since then we've been so happy with the community there. Kongregate is a very special site that feels more like a family than any other -- so when we heard about Kartridge, it seemed like the perfect fit for N++. The experience has been great -- Kartridge is very easy to use, both from a publisher/developer perspective and from a player perspective. We can't wait for the beta to be open so more people can try it!  **Tell us something else interesting about yourself!** This is a tough one! Hmm... our favourite colours are hot pink and black, and our favourite foods are Indian curry and Toshoumen (Chinese noodle soup). If we had to choose a place we'd like to live other than Toronto, it would be Tokyo! We love the city so much -- its architecture, ambiance, food and people are wonderful. It's incredibly inspiring and gives us a lot of creative energy! *[N++](https://kon.gg/2Qm3ZW1) is available on Kartridge for $14.99 and has 5 badges for a whopping 520 XP! If you’d like to find Mare and Raigan online, you can follow them on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/metanetsoftware?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor) or via their websites, [http://nplusplus.org/](http://nplusplus.org/) and [http://www.metanetsoftware.com/](http://www.metanetsoftware.com/).*

Remember N and N+ well. Came close to just rage-quitting more times than would be good to admit, and swore just as much trying to figure out how to beat the game first. They were both fun games, and would love to try out the newest N++ to bring back some nostalgia and difficulty/challenge. This was an in-depth and well-executed interview. Nicely done, Octopus

Thanks, Ocean!

Great interview, I was just playing N++ the other day, it's so perfect for when you just want to jump right into a challenge. Playing with friends never ceases to create some hilarity too.