I had the pleasure of interviewing Calle Kyhlberg and Mårten Brüggemann of Pieces Interactive, winner of the “Best PC Game” award at the Swedish Game Awards in 2007 and nominated twice at the 2008 Independent Games Festival, about their upcoming games.

You can watch the video for a brief overview about the company and read the full interview after the jump.

SP: How did this company come about and what was your first project?

Calle Kyhlberg: The company was founded in November 2007 by what was essentially a group of game dev University graduates here in Skövde, Sweden. Prior to this we had been working together for about a year and a half as a team on our spare time. Our first project back then was an early version of Puzzlegeddon. This version was submitted to the Swedish Game Awards in 2007 and also won the grand prize for best PC game. This early version of the game differed greatly from what would become the game now released, but still have fond memories of it. There are probably some awkward screens of it floating around on the intertubes.

SP: Will you be attending the Independent Games Festival this year and do you think your nominations in 2008 has attributed to your success?

Calle Kyhlberg: Yes we will most likely check out the festival this year as well, even though we aren’t competing this time. We will also be attending GDC in the Nordic Game booth, showing our projects to publishers and partners. We believe that our participation in the IGF has brought more attention to our company and games, which we are very grateful for, and we will most likely participate in it again.

SP: The music in your games seems harmonious with the gameplay. Is the music an integral part of coming up with a new game?

Mårten Brüggemann: The ideas for music and sound are not necessarily there from day one when designing a new game concept. However we believe audio is a big part of how a game is perceived and can effectively emphasize what is happening in the game. We try to incorporate a concept for the sound and music to play an integral part very early in the design process. As I’ve been doing both game design and sound design for the games I need to think about both things at the same time and it’s perhaps because of this the two get intertwined in some sort of synergy.

SP: When can we expect Fret Nice and Walkie Tonky to be released?

Mårten Brüggemann: We are working to get these titles released as well as finding new homes for Puzzlegeddon and creating new exciting projects. We hope to have some news about the future of these and other projects soon.

SP: How long has Walkie Tonky been in development?

Mårten Brüggemann: The demo/prototype which is currently downloadable from our site was developed as we were finishing up Puzzlegeddon last fall. Production-wise that’s really all we have had time for as other things have come up, like the release of Puzzlegeddon and working with other game concepts.

SP: What kind of changes has Fret Nice gone through since 2007?

Mårten Brüggemann: Although the game in essence is the same, we’re enticed to say that most of it has changed! Without going into too much detail, about everything has gone through some sort of update: the control scheme is tighter, the action is more intense, the music system is more comprehensive and the graphics have been given the HD treatment!

SP: Puzzlegeddon is available through Direct2Drive, Gamersgate, and Greenhouse. Can we expect later titles to be distributed through platforms like Steam, Xbox Live Marketplace, Playstation Network, or Wii Ware?

Calle Kyhlberg: Actually, Puzzlegeddon is also available at www.puzzlegeddon.com /plug…
XBL, PSN, Wiiware etc. are all platforms which we have been very interested in from the start and pay a lot of attention to. It’s to an extent thanks to the emergence of these platforms that we have had the opportunity to create this kind of company. People should most definitely expect to see our titles on these platforms!

SP: What’s the new project like?!

Calle Kyhlberg: Scrumptioulescent! Right now, it’s very early and secret. We’re discovering some new things as we go along. We have just started some early production work on it and will start to shop it around later this year. What I can say is that it’s similar in scope to our other titles, that the PC is not the main platform, and that we think people will take notice of it when it is announced.
Ok just a little tease! You could say that one of the creative themes behind the game is the chains of cause and effect…

SP: What would you like people to know about Pieces Interactive or your games?

Calle Kyhlberg: We would like people to know that we care deeply about creating new experiences, strive to create games of high quality and care, and that we’re actually just getting started. We hope that people will try out our games and find out for themselves. Also, look forward to future announcements and greetings from Pieces!

To learn more about Pieces Interactive and try demos of their games head on over to www.PiecesInteractive.se.