Kickstarter Highlight: Nif Nif

Kickstarter Highlight is a project my wife and I decided to start in order to bring attention to projects and help smaller indie developers create the games they're passionate about. Although Kickstarter is well-known, videogames can oftentimes go unnoticed or fly under the radar, and we would love to try to help them get more attention! Today's Kickstarter Highlight is Nif Nif — a kid-friendly roguelike deckbuilder!

Meet the Team

This adorable and colourful title comes to us from Masha Mallet, a passionate game developer who has been gaming since the age of five! This influence came from her dad, who, as a gaming journalist, came across tons of titles. One of the things that makes this game interesting to me is that it's kid-friendly, and after learning about Masha, it turns out she was in the education field for a whopping 12 years! It's very heartwarming when developers bring their passions and real-life experiences into their games; in this case, she hopes to make titles that her children can enjoy, as she did when she was a kid!

Now, she and a team of six, consisting of women and men, are bringing their passion to life together! They are from all around the world, including Hong Kong, Australia, the United Kingdom, China, Spain, and Eastern Europe, but they all share the same goal: make Nif Nif a reality!

What's Nif Nif About?

There are many things that caught my attention about this adorable title, starting with the cute art style and protagonist! But what makes it really special is the mix of roguelike deckbuilding and cosy atmosphere, particularly as one of its selling points is that it can be played by kids, too. 

In Nif Nif, the forest is being overtaken by a mysterious and evil mud, and now, it's the piglet's job to save everyone. Our little hero does this by cleaning animals and saving them! 

What Makes it Special?

This is translated into gameplay by having us explore deeper into the forest while collecting new cards to build better decks; while it's advertised as kid-friendly, there's a promise of strategic gameplay. The mechanics that deckbuilder fans are used to will still be there, just without violence — all we'll do is clean! And for fans of buffs, the soup feature will let us have the upper hand in battle.

Another aspect of Nif Nif I really appreciate is the idea of having a deckbuilder that'll keep me on my toes and paying attention without feeling like too much of a mental drain. It sounds like a perfect option for when I have slow days!

Why Kickstarter?

While gaming began as something mostly aimed at children, the industry has changed. Now, it's much less profitable to keep within the bounds of child-friendly titles, although a lot of cosy games are just that! When Masha reached out to publishers with Nif Nif, the response was that it's a tough market. In order to keep bringing unique, varied, and interesting games for children and those who like lighthearted, cosy titles, a lot of developers have to rely on Kickstarter! 

Stretch Goals

I couldn't find any stretch goals, but the goal is $12,835, and at the time of writing, it stands at $3,704! The rewards for backing are numerous; from digital goodies and exclusive skins for Nif Nif to pins and keychains, there's something for everyone here! I highly recommend checking it out.

The Kickstarter for Nif Nif will be available until the 13th of September, and you can even try out a demo! If you'd like to check out the campaign or the Steam page, click on any of the links! Thanks for your time!