Feature: 'The Connection is Made, Part One'

In the first of a two-part series, Frank Cifaldi interviews some of the developers who attended the Game Connection event at GDC 2006, quizzing indie studios Humagade, Dream On and Team 17 on publisher pitches, and getting exclusive game info in the process. In this extract, Canadian developer Humagade's anteater centric prototype DS project is discussed, as shown at the event designed to build relationships between game developers and game publishers: ""You're the god of the anteaters," explained Hugo Morin, CEO of Quebec-based developer Humagade. "The ants have disappeared, and you don't know why. And the anteaters have stopped making sacrifices for you." The game, currently in a rough demo state, is called Tamano. It's a platform adventure for the Nintendo DS, which controls entirely via the touch screen. Want Tamano to jump to an upper platform? Draw a line leading him there, he'll do it himself. Need to go even higher? Click on a jutting pole, Tamano will wrap his tongue around it. Grab and stretch him with your stylus, pointing him at your target, and let go. He'll fly through the air like an arrow. Be sure to blow into the DS's microphone for some extra distance. Tamano is currently without a publisher to fund its development, and while Morin hopes one takes interest at Game Connection, the little anteater god isn't the only reason he's here." You can now read the full Gamasutra feature on the subject, including plenty more on both prototype titles and pitching your game to publishers (no registration required, please feel free to link to this column from external websites).