Planning & design

Nanostray (or N1), the work of Munich-based Shin’en development team, demonstrated just what the Nintendo DS can do with efficient programming and specially enhanced graphics. For many fans N1 is still the showpiece title that reveals just how much power can be packed into a small and unassuming cartridge.

Even when we started N1, it was obvious there would be a sequel. However, we wanted to be sure that the game could be further developed technically from a content and hardware perspective. N1 was our Nintendo DS debut, but N2 is our fifth Nintendo DS title. All that accumulated experience with the hardware paid off for N2. And, of course, we've also taken into account and addressed gamer feedback from N1.

Prototype

These four pictures (above) show a very early version of the first level. Things will really come together later when the missing bosses, firing formations and the spaceship are dropped in.

Back to the Roots

Let us start with the initial planning and design of Nanostray 2. We wanted to drop the barriers that some players were unhappy with. This feature was introduced in N1 because we wanted to add more depth. We also wanted to address the possibility of shooting down enemy formations before they became visible on the screen; this is a problem that other "shoot'em ups" have had to grapple with too. The upside is that Nanostray 2, as evidenced in the screen shots, goes for a different viewpoint, one used by such titles as R-TYPE Final, Ikaruga and Gradius V. It is now once again possible for the player to engage interactively with the level setting and thus potentially collide more obviously with background objects. The actual action, however, is still shown in extravagant 3D graphics.

We use the DS Touch Screen to display the HUD while the game play action plays out on the top screen. Because of technical constraints, displaying the level across both screens would have meant a frame rate reduction to 30 instead of the planned 60 frames per second. We would have also had to sacrifice 50% of the video memory and that would have adversely affected the texture quality. We believe that fast shooters only work properly with a fluent 60 frames per second. Because of the gap between the two screens, perfect and seamless gameplay would have been hard to achieve.

The original 3D model of the Nanostray 2 spaceship which is also used on the Nintendo DS. This is exactly how it looks in the finished game, only much smaller.

Arms Installation Complete …

We also gave a lot of thought to in game weaponry. We wanted to develop an arms system that was straightforward yet would let the player freely equip himself for airborne battles however he wanted to. We therefore avoided a confusing switch between the various weapons systems and Touch Screen inputs during battle. The player can now calmly prepare himself for the task ahead of the action during the mission briefing.

To save the player unnecessary familiarization time and to provide a degree of equilibrium, we opted for only one main weapon. But it is prepared by two satellites and the player can freely position those around the spaceship to set the firing direction. Three different set-ups ensure that there is one suitable for every situation. The main weapon is also supported by six extremely powerful sub-weapons that could not be more different. These armaments are fed from a separate energy bar and have limited quantities.