Wow almost three years later and my series continues with more exciting projects made by incredibly talented individuals. The more I continue to pursue this the more surprised and amazed I become with the people behind the scenes working tirelessly and with passion that I strive to have every day. Also, it makes me realize how small are world is, in fact its tiny.
A new Kickstarter campaign, which started on July 2nd, 2024, shows a game of small proportions, one that is cozy and compact. A game brought to life by the team from Ao Norte out of Spain, is offering the game Tiny Garden to its Kickstarter fanbase. Touted as a wholesome, magical experience of gardening, decorating, and enjoying a small space all contained within the walls of a 90’s pocket toy. What fun and secrets can be found within?
I had the ultimate pleasure of conversing with Diego Freire, who cofounded Ao Norte and has a background in previous Kick starters. While talking to him I found out that he worked on Summer in Mara from Chibig and funny enough this was the first game I had backed on Kickstarter. I also wrote about it in part 1 of this series. This article also marks the first Indie game that I am doing an interview with a company. This is definitely a very small or in this case a tiny world.
Tiny Garden:
Tiny Garden looks very chill and relaxed and definitely gives me Mighty Max and Polly Pocket vibes. The aspect of having a contained space to create a small place for yourself is quite appealing to me. So many games have a ton of space to make, create, expand an area, this of course is amazing, but at times its nice to set boundaries and make a space that doesn’t change in size and to set it up in a way to make every square inch count.
The game needed 5366.00 USD or 5000 Euro to reach its goal and it completed this in an hour. I backed the game within the first 5 minutes and now we wait and see which goals it will reach. It is currently coming to Steam and Nintendo Switch.
As you can see there will be plenty of goals to reach and 30 days total to this Kickstarter. I hope you can check out the campaign and maybe take a leap and back it. Also these are a few games that that have inspired the game play and aesthetic.
Interview:
Who are you and what role do you play in your company?
Hi! I’m Diego Freire, I’m the co-founder and Creative Director at Ao Norte, an indie game Spanish studio from northern Spain.
Tell us about the story and founding of Ao Norte?
Well, it was all by chance. In 2021, I realized that Rubén (the other co-founder) and I were working, each on our own, on two very similar game ideas about wrestling, as we are big fans. I had a first version of a wrestling game design document and Rubén had started sketching characters with that same premise. We have been working since then in our free time on that idea and convincing our new partners to join the team. Sadly, we aren’t developing that game about wrestling anymore, but we would like to work again on it soon.
Have you utilized Kickstarter before?
Not as Ao Norte, but both Rubén and I made some Kickstarter campaigns before, in previous companies. I made the campaigns for Summer in Mara, Deiland: Pocket Planet, and Ankora: Lost Days at Chibig (they are experts in doing Kickstarters), and Rubén helped with the campaign for A Place for the Unwilling, a game made in his previous studio AlPixel Games.
What do you like about Kickstarter?
The community you create, above everything else. Once you start a campaign, you can see how people bond with your idea and they feel like they are also making the game. You can share with them the excitement and the passion. Also, you can test the idea of your game. Maybe there are things that you don’t know for sure how are going to be in the final version, so you can try and ask the people what they think or what they want, and you can make your decisions based on that. I guess that’s also part of having a community.
How was this game conceptualized?
I worked in farming games previously and I always thought about how to twist that concept of having a farm and just expand it and get more and more and more. I didn’t like that experience that much. On the other hand, we were thinking about how to make a game small and cute, something that might catch your eye in just one screenshot or gif. We came up with this idea. As 90s children, we all had some toys like Tiny Garden, so we thought it would be a great match to have a toy from our childhood, with a spin on a classic farming game. A limited gameplay space, a trading system and just relaxing and vibing with the game, no pressure, no punishment. Just a fun time, like when you were a child. You couldn’t lose playing with your toys.
Who or what drives the motivation behind your project?
I think we want to, in some way, challenge the preconceptions of what a videogame is. It doesn’t have to be something where you just grow for the sake of growing. Videogames could be something smaller, something where you can spend a couple of afternoons having a great time and then move to something else. Also, we want to have an unexpected depth in the gameplay. You might think this would be a very simple and casual game, but once you start playing, you’ll discover that there’s more than meets the eye. There would be a lot of exploration inside such a tiny game.
The concept was inspired by 90’s toys such as Polly Pocket and/or Mighty Max toys, what are some of the teams’ favorite sets?
PinyPon farm, Vivid Imaginations school boat, Starcastle tea set…
We love all the sets from that era, the mid-late 90s. Not only Polly Pocket and Mighty Max, but also the school boat from Vivid Imaginations, and the tea set from Starcastle. I don’t know if there was Pinypon outside Spain, but they had a really tiny, cute farm.
Any advice for people thinking about starting a Kickstarter campaign?
Don’t! A Kickstarter is a very hard and tiring thing, you must be very, very, very, very sure before even thinking about making one. We didn’t want to make it, even if we already had experience in making these kinds of campaigns. But if you don’t have any other option or think you’re going to have a very successful campaign, I would say… Prepare everything beforehand and then improvise a lot. Once the Kickstarter starts, you have 30 or so days to get to your goal. And you will want to get more than your goal. The best way to do this is to be ready and have everything already prepared (like a chef making a mise en place) but having also room to improvise a lot.
Where can people reach out to you?
You can follow the team on Twitter and Instagram at @a0norte, X at @A0Norte, and in TikTok at @tinygardengame.
Bonus question: What are your favorite video game franchises and what Indie games do you enjoy?
I enjoy Nintendo games, mainly any Mario and Zelda (that new Zelda game where you can play as Zelda!!!), also JRPGs like The World Ends with You and hack ‘n’ slash games like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta. I am currently playing Elden Ring DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, and loving it. Regarding indie games, this year I enjoyed Balatro, Animal Well, and Lorelei and the Laser Eyes.
Thank You:
I want to thank Diego and the Ao Norte team for their generous responses and time they gave me to discuss their game and Kickstarter. I enjoy talking to people about games and the projects they are working on and enjoy gaining insight on the process and details that may go on behind the scenes. It makes me happy to support someone’s passions and hope their dreams of the project become successful.
As usual I want to one day be part of a Kickstarter campaign to see for myself the challenging work that goes into the whole ordeal. For now, I will continue my Kickstarter journey, so please check out my past series and if you have a campaign that you would like me to interview you or check out, please let me know. Contact and reach out @Stillsaneshane I would love to hear from you.
Please enjoy other entries in my Kickstarter series.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9
I appreciate all of you who have taken the time to read my series and have supported my writing and my goals. Your continued encouragement has given me the drive and passion I have needed to continue my love for writing.
Share your reactions below or join the conversation on the Boss Rush Discord.
Shane Kelley is a Senior writer for Boss Rush Network, as well as a writer for Another Zelda Podcast. His favorite game is The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. You can find him on Twitter to talk video games, Marvel, and axe throwing.
Featured Image: Kickstarter.com
Images: Ao Norte
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