Greg Lobanov

i think of nintendo as the most creative and "different." i grew up on their games. i've always quietly dreamed of getting to be a part of that platform. it was quite discouraging after wandersong was rejected from getting a nintendo direct spot 2, 3 times (we never got one).

even with a big name publisher, even with many folks vouching for us, even tho it "fit". analysis like this helped me make some sense of it. every platform has a certain number of "slots" for different types of games. for the stuff i want to make, there are very very few "slots."

people tend to equate "nonviolent" with "conflict free," which, my games definitely aren't (see: wandersong). i just prefer to explore conflicts that aren't solved by slaying 1000 identical goblins. in the eyes of major platforms, this makes me "subversive."

wandersong ended up getting amazing reviews + awards and we got very lucky with it despite that, but it definitely made me lose trust in expecting help from platforms unless you're famous or making something more conventional.

that, to me, is the value of stuff like the wholesome showcase. i'm very grateful that it exists and that we could be included and i hope it continues, and i also hope it helps move the needle of major platforms who aren't advertising more diverse experiences.