The Making of Snake Pass detailed in a new Nintendo UK interview

We’re right in the middle of a resurgence of classic, Nintendo 64-era platformers, with Yooka-Laylee modernizing Banjo-Kazooie and Super Mario Odyssey taking us back to the Mario 64 style of exploration later this year. In many ways Snake Pass can also be counted, although it’s much more unusual at its core.

Nintendo UK recently held an interview with Snake Pass creator Seb Liese to get an idea of how the game together and future plans. We’ll be covering the essential tidbits.

First off, the game only truly entered development after Sumo Digital took the prototype to EGX Rezzed in April 2016 to see if there’d be an audience. After the positive response, they took it back to the studio and it immediately went into full production, with completion expected within one year.

It took some trial and error to figure out the core gameplay – Noodle originally grew in size as you collected objects but they eventually settled on the optimum length he is in-game now, so players wouldn’t have a tough time climbing things as a smaller snake but not be lumbered by a heavy tail. Noodle’s design also went through some trial and error, with the team deciding to make the snake as “cute and approachable as possible” as to not deter those with snake phobias.

Noodle was also made very expressive so he could mimic the faces the player makes while climbing particularly tricky objects. This is done by constantly checking what he’s in contact with, and the less his body is supported the more worried his expression becomes.

One of the most lauded parts of the games, the David Wise soundtrack, was also a dream come true, according to Liese. He originally suggested the famous Rare composer as a running joke, but found out later that the sound team had actually already contacted Wise he was on board after he saw and fell in love with the game.

Finally, Liese mentions that there were plenty of ideas that the team wasn’t able to implement in time, so he suggests a sequel or DLC could realize this unrealized potential. He specifically focuses on DLC, suggesting that they could make it more challenging as it’d primarily target those who have already completed the game.

If any more news comes up focusing on Snake Pass we’ll be sure to bring you the coverage! In the meantime, check out our review if you’re interested in picking it up.

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