The NZGDA (New Zealand Game Developers Association) recently presented the winners for the Kiwi Game Starter Awards 2024. This annual competition provides New Zealand game development teams with the support they need to realize their creative vision. Below are this years winners!
This years winner was Crayonix Games and their game, Rollick N’ Roll. A physics-driven cozy puzzle game, “Rollick N’ Roll will have you grinning from ear-to-ear as you manipulate the many vibrant diorama mazes to reach your goal”.
In second place was Plectrum Software with Project Mix, a slice-of-life cyberpunk bartending VR visual novel, what you serve could have dramatic effects for your clients!
Coming in third place, we have Eat Pant Games with Teeto. A delightful adventure platformer where Teeto and bunny sidekick, Nory take on shadow monsters while adapting to different elements.
Crayonix Games Interview (Rollick N’ Roll)
We spoke to Chris, the sole founder of Crayonix Games, about Rollick N’ Roll, their recent experiences at NZGDC and winning Kiwi Game Starter 2024.
Hi there Chris, congratulations on winning the Kiwi Game Starter! How are you feeling?
Thanks! It’s still a bit bewildering, to be honest. It’s obviously an amazing endorsement to receive, but I have to keep reminding myself that the hard part isn’t over yet.
Can you tell us about your experience at NZGDC this year?
Attending NZGDC for the first time was a hugely positive experience. I’d been working so hard to prepare for the conference, and it was such a joy to take a step back from development for a few days and simply watch people enjoy the game. Meeting so many other talented and enthusiastic developers was a thrill – most notably the folks at Eat Pant Games and Plectrum Software, who I got to share the Kiwi Game Starter booth with. I’m looking forward to the next NZGDC already.
Please tell us about yourself, I see you worked for 11 years in 3D visualization and application design?
Designing video games was always a dream job, but the Christchurch job opportunities were obviously pretty slim when I finished my animation diploma in 2007. I briefly tinkered in the Unity game engine as a hobby, before following some classmates into a career in 3D visualization. Soon enough, I was asked to learn Unity on the job to help expand the company’s product offerings. This resulted in about 7 years of developing interactive business-to-business applications. These apps often had a short turnaround, and were designed to help facilitate stakeholder approval for large infrastructure projects. Even though I wasn’t making games during this period, it was still valuable experience in understanding game engine mechanics, and in designing accessible user interfaces for casual audiences. In recent years, I reduced my work hours to share in the joys of raising a family, but now that my kids are approaching school age, it seems like the best time to have a serious go at game development.
Please tell us about your upcoming title, Rollick N’ Roll
At its core, Rollick N’ Roll is a diverse collection of vibrant marble run playsets. Each level challenges the player to guide their toy vehicles to the exit by manipulating the diorama’s many obstacles. The entire game is driven by Unity’s physics engine, and a simple press or release of the input buttons is all you need to alter the course in surprising ways. Players can increase the difficulty of each level by adding up to three vehicles, or they can try beating the time attack challenges.
What was the inspiration behind this?
The game is hugely inspired by classic marble runs of the eighties, such as Screwball Scramble and Kongman, along with some modern offerings too. These toys were always incredibly accessible for audiences of any age to grasp, yet took much practice to truly master. It wasn’t until I became a parent that I realised how complex video game control schemes have become, and how much foundational knowledge of game mechanics is required to perform the simplest of actions. I wanted to bring some of that accessibility from the toy space into the video game world, and create something that required no existing understanding of how video games operate. The game has a gentle difficulty curve, which teaches players the rules and mechanics through gameplay, instead of traditional dictation.
Now that you’ve won this award, what are the next steps for Crayonix Games?
Priority number one right now is to design Rollick N’ Roll’s announcement trailer. Once that’s achieved, I can start advertising the game on digital storefronts. I also feel like audiences really need to experience Rollick N’ Roll first-hand to fully understand the joy, so I’m hoping to follow up the trailer with a public demo by the end of the year, and then the full game release later in 2025. If all goes well, I imagine I’ll be busy bringing the game to new platforms for a while, but I’ve certainly got bigger game ideas that I’m eager to explore in future.
We would love to keep up with development, what is the best way for people to keep up with you?
For now, the website is probably the best destination. It has links to all the social media channels, as well as a mailing list, where I’ll be announcing the major development updates.
