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#PGCBangalore - hard-as-nails retro platformer Super Nano Jumpers wins the Very Big Indie Pitch

Mobile Super Meat Boy

#PGCBangalore - hard-as-nails retro platformer Super Nano Jumpers wins the Very Big Indie Pitch

After playing 22 games in our Very Big Indie Pitch at Pocket Gamer Connects Bangalore, we found our star of the show - Super Nano Jumpers.

One-man studio Xigma Games's platformer is loaded with retro charm, its controls are tight, and its difficulty is spot-on.

Xigma Games's Himanshu Manwani is the coder, designer, and artist of Super Nano Jumpers, with only the game's soundtrack being outsourced.

"I've grown up playing all the platformer games like Super Mario Bros., as well as more recent games like Super Meat Boy, and I wanted to recapture the moments I had in my childhood with my own game."

This "semi" autorunner's controls are simple enough - tap the left side of the screen to halt, tap the right side to jump, or hold the right side of the screen to jump repeatedly like a right lemon.

As you'd expect from a tough platformer, you'll instantly restart on the left side of the screen should you run into the usual platforming perils, be they spikes, bottomless pits, floating platforms, fireballs, or otherwise.

You can make your life a little easier by choosing the right character for the right situation, with some being a tad smaller, faster, or more adept at dodging bullets.

The early stages we played were reminiscent of the underworld stages from Super Mario Bros. Later stages use the entire real estate of the screen, having you wall-jump to change direction.

Xigma Games walks away with one million Indian rupees (£11,000 / $16,000), a life changing amount of money considering Manwani recently left his job to pursue full-time development.

Super Nano Jumpers will be released as a free-to-play game on Android later this year, with additional level packs available at an additional cost.

Now that Manwani can afford a Mac without batting an eyelid, he was pleased to announce that an iOS version will be on the way too.

Danny Russell
Danny Russell
After spending years in Japan collecting game developers' business cards, Danny has returned to the UK to breed Pokemon. He spends his time championing elusive region-exclusive games while shaking his fist at the whole region-locking thing.