13AM Games on Runbow's GamePad usage, Nintendo's help with indie cameos

A portion of a Nintendo Life interview with 13AM Games...

NL: You've previously outlined uses of the Wii U GamePad, for example in Colourmaster; what's your favourite use of the controller in the game, and can you talk us through some fresh features?

13: The GamePad only features prominently in ColourMaster, but I think a mechanic that really makes use of the whole GamePad is the Grey Man, a little runner that you place on the battlefield and can control for a short period of time.
In ColourMaster, players can drag attacks down onto the screen. Some of these Power-Ups require precision: Paint Blobs erase coloured platforms they're placed on and Bombs detonate where they are dropped. Some of these Power-Ups are global, and don't require accuracy with the GamePad, like Lightning or Controller Scramble. The Grey Man requires accuracy AND the ability to switch between the touch screen and the face buttons instantly. He doesn't last long but he can really embarrass the Run Team. To place a Bomb and a well-timed Grey Man to knock players back into the explosion radius is a move so difficult and so satisfying… it's the type of play style that makes the Grey Man one of the deepest things to master in Runbow.

We also offer constant off-TV play, which really helps with a local party game of this size. The player with the GamePad has their own screen and can sit wherever they want while everyone else crowds around the TV.

NL: There are a host of familiar cameos such as Shovel Knight and CommanderVideo, how did this come together?

13: We owe some of that gratitude to Nintendo. We came up with a wishlist of developers that we love and admire, and Nintendo helped facilitate conversations with about 90% of the list. From the get go we wanted Runbow, our first game, to be a celebration of games we love and the spirit of community that local multiplayer games inspire. We're pretty lucky to be here in Toronto where the indie scene is so supportive of one another. It was the kind of atmosphere and attitude we wanted to bring back to the industry when we got started, so we just started asking people if they wanted to join the run. The really humbling thing is when that 90% of the list started responding and saying they'd like to work with us. We feel incredibly lucky.