LostWinds validates development process, says Braben

Frontier Developments boss David Braben says that LostWinds provides evidence that the process it came out of is constructive.

The company has an internal game suggestion forum called "Game of the Week" - something David Walsh once compared to putting a leg of lamb into a piranha infested river.

"This 'Game of the Week' process that [LostWinds] came out of is very invigorating for everyone here, because we all get to rant about games that are out there, and games that should be made," Braben told GamesIndustry.biz.

"It's very positive - and as we can see now, a fundamentally constructive process, because ideas that survive are pretty tough. Fans of games are so vociferous about them, because they care about them so much - it's a really good thing."

The process had been running for years before Frontier received prototype Wii controls, but once they realised what Nintendo was planning, the team got really excited about it.

"The idea of doing a game involving the wind went through the process, and we thought bits were rubbish, and some people suggested other things, and in the end it came out to be a very solid idea - and there a number of ideas like that, which we thought we would do one day."

When Nintendo approached the company at the end of last year and asked it they would like to be involved with WiiWare, Frontier was ready with LostWinds design documents.

The quick development cycle doesn't seem to have been an issue - Nintendo of Europe's Laurent Fischer recently revealed that LostWinds is currently the most-downloaded WiiWare title in Europe.

"It was a breath of fresh air really - as a development it was quite short, but it went very smoothly, because we'd been able to carry forward the processes we've always wanted to do," Braben said.

" But small team, short development - it's a great buzz to be a part of."

Our interview with David Braben is now online.