Ubisoft has picked up the Kickstarter-funded procedurally generated platformer CloudBerry Kingdom, and has published a developer diary to provide a closer look at the game.
Jordan Fisher and TJ Lutz, who've called their studio Pwnee Studios, wanted to create a platformer that never ended so they could “play it forever and never go back into real life”. Jordan came up with the idea when studying for a PHD in math, after coming across a problem that asked how you could design a computer that created its own levels. They worked hard in Jordan's mum's basement to create a demo for Microsoft's Dream-Build-Play competition, and placed tenth. It wasn't quite good enough for the pair, and Jordan went back to his PHD, TJ back to his job. But after a year, they came back to it, and this time made it work.
As so many people do these days, they turned to Kickstarter. The campaign had a relatively modest goal of $20,000, and backers pledged $23,582 in total. This wasn't a runaway success story like some others, but the idea obviously appealed to somebody at Ubisoft, and the publisher has taken the game on after seeing it at E3.
The game features multiple playable characters with different physics, and even a “hero factory” where you can create a customised character to use instead. You can make one that can jump really high but has low friction, for example. Or one that can fly high with a jetpack but has a low max fall. Then you pick a difficulty (ranging from easy to masochistic) and the features you want in the level, and the computer will create a unique – yet achievable – level for you. It's a clever idea, and could be pretty big if it works.
CloudBerry Kingdom will launch for PS3, 360, Wii U, and PS Vita this spring.