Entrevista a Jens Andersson (Colors! 3D)

–First of all, what is Colors! 3D?
Colors! 3D is a simple yet robust painting application where you get to paint in 3D. It’s is really easy to get into, and you can create amazing 3D (or 2D) paintings with it – or just have fun doodling. It also has a lot of additional features like the online gallery, collaborative/multiplayer painting and coloring pages.

–Colors! for Nintendo DS is certainly one of the most popular homebrew apps for the handheld. Do you think this popularity has paved the way for making a 3DS version? Why choosing this console?
Well, we wouldn’t have Colors! 3D without the support from the people who used the original prototype for the DS. We still have a very active community for both the iPhone and the DS version, and the 3DS felt like the perfect step up from that. We knew that people wanted something like Colors! 3D and we decided that it was time to take what we’ve been working on and shipping it for real. Not to mention that we had learnt so much from the community that helped us make good design decision for Colors! 3D.

–The news about Colors! 3D coming to the eShop were very well received and everyone seems very pleased with the app. Are you happy with the reception? Has it fulfilled your expectations?
To be honest, I couldn’t be happier. As any game-developer will tell you, it’s almost impossible to predict how your title is going to be received until it’s out there. Especially since I hadn’t been able to test Colors! 3D with too many people. You need special development hardware to run during development and that was tough when you need people to really sit down with your title for hours to know if it was any good or not. I was casually optimistic, but on launch day here in US I was completely blown away by both the amazing reviews as well as that it took the top spot in the sales charts.

Versión en 3D. Proceso de dibujo.

–When did the development start? What was the most challenging part of creating a 3D drawing app?
I’ve been working on this project for about a year. The actual development went quite smooth and I quickly got a prototype up and running and could start making decision on what the best way to paint in 3D would be. The challenges were more on how to best integrate the online gallery, as this is something that I had to work very closely with Nintendo on and at the time they were still developing their processes and guide-lines for user-generated-content features like this.

–We have seen truly wonders drawn with your app. What are you most proud of? Are you glad of the community built around it?
I pretty much start every day with a smile after visiting the online gallery and seeing all the amazing work that people have created. I’m still blown away with some of the things that people can do in 3D. Initially was afraid that the layer-based 3D solution that we went with could be a little bit too restrictive, but after seeing some of the things that people have created, this doubt is long gone. So I’m really happy that I managed to keep 3D painting so intuitive and simple, while still allow people to be really creative with it.

–Will Colors! 3D be updated with stuff like new brushes or painting effects in the future?
We can’t really say yet. We hope to do an update, but haven’t explored the possibilities of that with Nintendo yet. The update would probably primarily be about improved community features though, but we might sneak in a few improvements to the overall painting experience as well.

–Do you see Colors! 3D as an alternative to Photoshop Mobile? Do you think it could replace the Moleskin Notebook we carry everywhere?
We’ve always tried to stay away from the Photoshop comparison. Photoshop is a fantastic general purpose image editing tool, and especially good with working with photos. Colors! on the other hand is all about painting. For example, some features that have been requested like a line tool or paint bucket/fill too, are features that we’ve intentionally have stayed away from, just because we want to keep things simple on focus on pure painting. So if you want do portable painting or sketching, I think Colors! 3D is a pretty good choice to anything else out there.

Versión en 3D. Proceso de dibujo.

–As a developer what is your opinion about the eShop? Could it become a friendly place for indie or small developers who can’t deal with retail?
I think so. The eShop is quickly becoming a fantastic place to find really innovative games. Nintendo seems to be working hard to make it possible for indie developers like me to get our title out there, and while it’s still requires a bigger commitment than for example the iOS App Store, it has the advantage of being a handheld platform that is all about games. And I think that the type of games that will do well on the 3DS will be very different than the type of games that does well on the App Store – and that’s a great thing!

–Will we eventually see a version of the original Colors! for DSiWare? Do you wish to develop for Wii U, considering its big screen on the tablet and the possibility of using a stylus?
There will be no version of Colors! for DSiWare. We explored that idea for a bit, but due to some limitations placed on developers we decided that it wasn’t worth it. The Wii U on the other hand is a platform that we’re very interested in. We haven’t had the chance to look into it yet, but it’s definitely something that we hope will be a good fit for Colors!.

– And finally. What was your last year favorite game?
Ooh. Tough question. I probably had most fun playing Portal 2 with a friend. Other highlights of mine from last year was Tactics Ogre, Starcraft 2 and the Ocarina of Time remake.

– Again, thanks for everything and hope Colors! 3D becomes a huge success!
Thanks for the opportunity to be here. I hope to see you in the gallery!

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