There’s something distinctly Nitrome-y about every Nitrome game, but it’s hard to pin down precisely what. Its iOS titles typically have an old-school pixel-art style, but resolutely modern touchscreen gameplay mechanics, centred around tilt, taps and swipes. Difficulty levels are carefully balanced, to ensure every game is approachable, yet challenging when you want to try for a high score. Which all sounds rather vague. But one thing almost every Nitrome game has in common is a kind of infectious addictive quality — they’re easy to grasp and hard to put down.
Regarding the developer’s overriding approach, managing director Matthew Annal reckons if something is to stand out, then “it needs to do something new – or do it by a degree better than what came before”. There’s no sense within the studio of “trying to outdo classic games”, but the team is keen to make new things that are familiar and compelling.
The pixel-art style almost arrived by accident, through a desire to “echo the games of our youth”, but there’s nothing accidental about the manner in which Nitrome sets about creating its games. Annal explains there’s “no great secret technique,” to making great iOS titles, but some things help a game to be quickly understood and rewarding in the long term.
