Fruit Ninja
A mobile game where players slice flying fruit with swipes, made by Halfbrick.
Where Fruit Ninja comes up2 episodes and tests
GMark Brown is the creator of Game Maker's Toolkit; Luke Muscat is the designer of Fruit Ninja, Jetpack Joyride and Feed the Deep testWhat's the Point of Prototyping?
Gcreator of Game Maker's Toolkit, with the designer of Islanders and Thronefall testHow to find amazing game ideasFruit Ninja grew from an input idea: a finger swipe felt like slicing a sword, and a pineapple-chopping knife ad sparked the game. Its prototype was kept simple, with fruit splatter particles as the only juice, to prove it felt satisfying. Lesson: let the input suggest the game, prototype the biggest risk, and add only juice that is part of the fun.
- 1Swipe feels like slicingMuscat notices a swipe feels like a sword
- 2Pineapple knife adAn ad for a pineapple-chopping knife
- 3Fruit Ninja ideaThe input method suggested the game
- 4Prototype with splatterBare, but splatter proved it felt satisfying
From Luke Muscat, Halfbrick
What was said about Fruit Ninja
The game came from noticing that a touchscreen swipe felt like slicing with a sword. Luke Muscat realized a finger swipe on a touchscreen felt like slicing with a sword, and together with an ad for a pineapple-chopping knife this led to Fruit Ninja.
It is a case of the input method suggesting the game. A similar case is Yoshiaki Koizumi, whose idea for Super Mario Sunshine came from the GameCube's squishy analogue shoulder buttons reminding him of water pistols.
The prototype was bare except for the splatter effects that made slicing satisfying. Fruit Ninja's prototype was very simple, but it still had fruit splatter particles to prove the game would feel viscerally satisfying. Luke Muscat uses it to show that in a visceral game some juice is part of the core fun, so stripping all feedback can hide whether the idea works.
He warns against the opposite mistake: spending a month adding 20 effects to cover a weak core, and says you have to judge this very honestly. Quote: "you're kind of bandaiding over the problem that the core game isn't fun".
What's the Point of Prototyping?
Its prototype was very simple but still had fruit splatter particles to prove the game would feel viscerally satisfying. Luke Muscat uses it to show that some juice is part of the core fun. The prototype was just the Monster Dash machine gun jetpack with the level removed, a roof added and some obstacles. Missions, challenges and vehicles that made it stand out came later in production.
The prototype was bare except for the splatter effects that made slicing satisfying. Fruit Ninja's prototype was very simple, but it still had fruit splatter particles to prove the game would feel viscerally satisfying. Luke Muscat uses it to show that in a visceral game some juice is part of the core fun, so stripping all feedback can hide whether the idea works.
He warns against the opposite mistake: spending a month adding 20 effects to cover a weak core, and says you have to judge this very honestly. Quote: "you're kind of bandaiding over the problem that the core game isn't fun".
How to find amazing game ideas
A finger swipe felt like slicing a sword, and with a pineapple-chopping knife ad it led to the game.
The game came from noticing that a touchscreen swipe felt like slicing with a sword. Luke Muscat realized a finger swipe on a touchscreen felt like slicing with a sword, and together with an ad for a pineapple-chopping knife this led to Fruit Ninja.
It is a case of the input method suggesting the game. A similar case is Yoshiaki Koizumi, whose idea for Super Mario Sunshine came from the GameCube's squishy analogue shoulder buttons reminding him of water pistols.
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