Capybara's co-founder and president Nathan Vella isn’t going from website to website, telling horror stories about Microsoft’s support for independent studios. Although we’ve heard reports about the struggles of getting a game pushed onto the Xbox Live Marketplace, the creators of the upcoming Below and Super Time Force have only good things to say about their partners over at Microsoft.
"I think there are a lot of really good reasons why people want self-publishing – they want control of their IP, they want control of their destiny," Vella said to OXM. "But when you have a really strong partnership and… well, I can't speak for other studios' experiences; I can't confirm or deny the goods and the bads. All I know is my experience of working with the guys at MS Studios is that they've been very supportive.
"I have nothing but positive things to say about those guys. When we told them: 'Hey, we want to keep working on Time Force as a pet project' – no big deal, didn't faze them at all. When we said we wanted to fund our own stuff – no big deal, didn't faze them at all.”
Capy isn’t being told how to shape its games or what to make them look like. Contrary to popular belief, Microsoft is allowing the smaller studio to stretch its creative legs in any way it feels necessary.
"They're our partners, but we still control our destiny, and I think that's a great foundation for a relationship,” he continued. "To me the key point of being independent is choosing the path that you feel is best for your studio at the time. Not being beholden to someone else to decide the path for you. So that's the path that we're on. We've made some choices, we've made some decisions – some things have motivated those decisions but… I still feel very much in control of our destiny, that's the key point."
Below will hit the Xbox One first, with other platforms planned for the future.
