Here Comes Niko is a light, breezy, and charming platforming and adventuring indie game currently in development. The studio behind this game is called Frog Vibes, which is made up of two team members. Stijn is the creator and music composer, and Lisa is the lead artist. Together they have come up with a bright and colorful world full of animal islanders that need your help to complete tasks. You can check out our previous article on Here Comes Niko here.

Frog Vibes was kind enough to take the time to speak with us and answer all of our questions (because we couldn’t wait to find out like everyone else)! We had to know more about what they are currently working on and the story behind Niko’s adorable design and how we can interact with this beautiful island full of talking animals. See below for our exclusive interview with some new and exclusive screenshots!

We’d like to thank Frog Vibes and let them know that we here at myPotatoGames are really excited about playing Here Comes Niko. The game that looks like we’d be taking a wonderful virtual vacation in the tropics.

Q&A with Frog Vibes – Creators of Here Comes Niko

[su_service title=”Can you tell us if there’s a story behind Here Comes Niko and a bit about the gameplay?” icon=”icon: star” icon_color=”#8300ff” size=”32″ class=””]The main story behind Here Comes Niko is that Niko is a new resident in the area of the game and has started a new life and job there. Niko’s job is to make others feel happy or help them with their troubles in a way. Doing this job, you will hop around islands to find people in need and explore the surroundings of Niko’s new living environment.

As for the gameplay it is very active and is based on running, jumping, climbing and other ‘active’ movements. Our goal is to make this a calm and fun game so the way of moving through the environments is smooth and fun, without many frustrations. This makes Niko accessible to both very skilled platform-gamers (who can do speedruns and other cool things if they like) and beginners or casual gamers![/su_service]

[su_service title=”Are all the islanders talking animals? We saw the cat one in the fishing GIF on Twitter and found it very adorable. ” icon=”icon: star” icon_color=”#8300ff” size=”32″ class=””]All islanders are various animal, yes! The island that is featured on Twitter is called ‘Hairball City’ and has cat inhabitants. Other islands will have other species (some islands may have 1 species, others have different animals). Also note, all islands will have a handful of frogs on them too![/su_service]

[su_service title=”Speaking of fishing, what are some of the other activities you can do in this game?” icon=”icon: star” icon_color=”#8300ff” size=”32″ class=””]Activities we have now are fishing, volleyball, collecting/finding objects, and we have some more planned but will have to be a bit more into development before sharing or being set on those.[/su_service]

[su_service title=”Can we have regular conversations with all of these animals? Does Niko have a house and furnishings that we can interact with?” icon=”icon: star” icon_color=”#8300ff” size=”32″ class=””]All NPCs will have at least one small convo/text that is only for them. More important NPCs will have even longer text and varying text for their dialog. Niko does own a house with furnishings but we probably won’t have changeable furniture due to the game’s primary focus being platforming.[/su_service]

[su_service title=”What was your inspiration for the art style and overall idea for the game?” icon=”icon: star” icon_color=”#8300ff” size=”32″ class=””]The general thing is that Stijn and I both love Animal Crossing and Stijn is a fan of the Mario franchise (especially Mario Odyssey and other platformers). Where platformers often have frustrating parts or can be complicated, Animal Crossing lacks in active gameplay but has a super cozy and friendly feel. Niko hopefully fits in the gap between calming and active that doesn’t have the frustrations of being boring or too difficult.

Inspiration for the art style also comes from Animal Crossing and Mario but mostly from art movements that both Stijn and I adore. Also, cute influences from things we have seen on Twitter. As for the added 2D elements to a 3D world, we decided on that because 2D it reflects exactly what we want; 3D models can have some confusing angles, but the 2D does not![/su_service]

[su_service title=”We at myPotatoGames love Animal Crossing and Mario games as well! Will there be any other items to collect in-game other than the previously mentioned coins?” icon=”icon: star” icon_color=”#8300ff” size=”32″ class=””]You can collect cassettes, which will have music of the game and allows you to change the music and the in-game sound systems. We also have 2 other collectibles: one which will have an impact on game progression and one that has an impact on the storyline. But I cannot give more information about those at this point in development![/su_service]

[su_service title=”That’s great! This next question is specifically for Stijn. We’ve listened to some of your pieces and they have a beautiful tropical feel. We’re you inspired by minimalist composers?” icon=”icon: star” icon_color=”#8300ff” size=”32″ class=””]The soundtrack is mostly by recent post-modern music, as well as Latin American music with a ton of other genres. I can’t think of any minimalist composers who directly inspired the soundtrack, but it’s very possible some minimalist traces have crept their way in.[/su_service]

[su_service title=”Finally, do you have a release date in mind for Here Comes Niko? What will be the platforms for the game?” icon=”icon: star” icon_color=”#8300ff” size=”32″ class=””]As for a release date, we’re currently discussing things but we will release some information when we know more! As for platforms, we are planning PC and possibly the Switch if there is enough interest in our game.[/su_service]

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