[PS4Blog.net Interview] Frozax Games On Tents And Trees

We’ll be working on a review for Tents and Trees, so I got in touch with indie Frozax Games to talk a bit about the game and its development. Come check it out!

PS4Blog: Hi! Thank you for joining us. Could you please help us get started by telling our readers a bit about yourself and your work?

Hi! Sure, I’m François Guibert, a French indie developer running
Frozax Games. I have worked full-time at Frozax Games since 2019, but I have been developing games since 2002. I also spent more than 11 years as a gameplay programmer in AAA studios. Recently, my main focus has been mobile puzzle games, but I’ve been doing other genres, games on PC and now on Nintendo Switch. While I’m the only person in the studio, I’m mostly a tech guy, so I work with many freelancers for the art, sound/music, or, for example, translations.

PS4B: Tents and Trees is on its way to the Nintendo Switch. What can you tell us about this game?

Tents and Trees on Android/iOS has been the commercial success that allowed me to go full-time indie. It’s a peaceful puzzle game with inspirations from picross, minesweeper, and sudoku. I spent years adding features, listening to feedback, and improving it. I think that the Nintendo Switch is the perfect console for this game. But don’t worry because this version is not a basic port of the mobile game: the design has been updated for the Switch, with proper support for various inputs, HD art, and exclusive features, such as local multiplayer!

PS4B: How long did it take to work on the Nintendo Switch port? Were there any hurdles or challenges you had to overcome along the way?

After trying to find a publisher for more than one year, Frozax Games finally got approved to develop and self-publish on Nintendo Switch in early September 2022. I was very excited and purchased a devkit to start working immediately. Since I’m not using a common game engine, I first had to work on porting the engine to Nintendo Switch. But the big part of the port was adapting the game design and the gameplay to the console. I hired an artist, and we worked together, tweaking the game and adding new features until late January. The game is now ready and will be released on the Nintendo eShop on March 14th. Overall, it was a lot of work, but it went pretty smoothly and was very interesting and rewarding to create.

PS4B: Are you considering bringing any of your other games to Nintendo’s console?

In the future, there are many possibilities that will depend on the reception of this release. We may port Tents and Trees to other platforms (Steam, PS5). We may port other puzzle games to the Nintendo Switch (Grids of Thermometers or Starlight X-2). We may work on new ideas specific to the Nintendo Switch. Nothing’s decided yet!

PS4B: And that’s all the time we have for today. Is there something else you’d like to add before we go?

Thanks for the interview! If you try any of our games, don’t
hesitate to give us feedback, as it really helps us improve, and we love getting in touch with the players! We’re on Twitter, Facebook, and also Discord. And don’t forget to have fun
with any video game, be it indie, AAA, console, mobile, or PC.