It’s been 5 wonderful years since the release of Alto’s Adventure. Since the launch of Alto’s Odyssey in 2018, the two games have fostered a community of millions of players from around the world.
Of this growing community, many have asked when Alto might come to other platforms, and we are so excited to finally share our answer!
The Alto Collection is now available on The Epic Games Store, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in North & South America. It is coming August 20th to PlayStation 4 in Europe, Australia, & New Zealand, and soon to Nintendo Switch. We can’t wait to welcome more players to discover the world of Alto on all of these new platforms.
For the first time ever, we have combined Alto’s Adventure and Alto’s Odyssey into a unified experience that brings both games to new platforms, offering more ways to explore the ivory snows and endless deserts.
Expanding both Alto titles beyond a mobile experience is a natural next step for the series, and we are humbled to be part of the legacy that each of these platforms represents. Many of us have grown up playing games on console and PC, and there are no words to express how it feels to watch a game we’ve created become a part of this history.
To commemorate the life of both Alto’s Adventure and Alto’s Odyssey, we spoke with Team Alto Lead Artist and Programmer Harry Nesbitt about his relationship to The Alto Collection, as well as his memories of developing both Alto games.
Reflecting on how far Alto has come since the release of Alto’s Adventure, what are your initial thoughts about The Alto Collection?
It’s crazy to think how far Alto has come since the early days when we were prototyping on an old iPhone 3GS, with a tiny 320x480 display, to now seeing it running in full 4K resolution on a modern console and TV. I think it’s testament to the minimalist/immersive approach of both games that it translates so well to these platforms. We’re super excited to be able to share them with a much wider audience.
What does it mean to have both Alto titles available on these new platforms?
For me, I think it marks a huge milestone, not just for the Alto series, but for myself as a game developer too. I grew up playing games on console and PC, so to see these games arriving on the platforms I’ve loved since I was a child is like seeing everything come full circle. It’s a surreal experience!
What was your favourite moment working on Alto?
I think the defining moment was making a leap from being an artist to a game developer. I used to think of code as just another creative tool, but I now realise it’s much more than that — in many ways, programming is the glue that holds together every aspect of making games, and games themselves are at the cross-section of so many creative disciplines. As someone who loves learning new things, I couldn’t be happier to be working in a medium that is constantly evolving and always challenging me in new, unexpected ways every day.
What’s an Alto secret that no one knows about?
At one point during the development of Alto’s Odyssey, we had a secret debug mode that allowed Alto to slide down the dunes on an inflatable mattress. No further comment.
Besides shifting from Artist to Developer overnight, what was the biggest challenge you faced in development?
I think perhaps the biggest challenge was learning to adapt to the changes that came after we launched the first game. It’s a strange experience having something so deeply personal, that you’ve worked on in secret for so long, suddenly being out in the public eye and played by millions.
I remember feeling an overwhelming sense of responsibility towards our players and their enjoyment of the game. Add to the mix our plans to create new content updates, bring the game to new platforms and even work on entirely new games, it was a lot to deal with in a very short space of time. I think I burned myself out trying to keep up with everything during those first few months.
Thankfully, with more experience, and a growing team, I’ve learnt to step back and see the bigger picture. It takes time to do things well, and stay happy in the process, but it’s all worthwhile in the end.
When you started working on Alto, did you have a feeling it would be so special?
It’s hard to look back and answer this question in hindsight, as I don’t think anyone can really know how well-received their game will be, but there were definitely some key things that felt unique and really motivated us to keep working on this project.
When we first started development back in 2013, I think many people were beginning to grow a little weary of mobile games that were relying more and more on brash, loud, free-to-play gimmicks — every inch of the screen seemed to be filled up with something to demand either your time, attention or money. It was almost creating a bit of a divide in the perceived artistic integrity of games on mobile vs other platforms, and it really didn’t sit right with us. We knew mobile games could be beautiful, artful and immersive, no matter the genre. It was clear that there was a bit of a gap in the market for an endless runner style game with a more relaxing, minimalist approach. In that way, it definitely felt like we were doing something a little different.
In your “Making of Alto’s Adventure” blog post, you mention you were initially unsure about the project because knew nothing about snowboarding. How do you think the fact that you couldn’t approach the game from a snowboarder’s perspective impacted the project?
I think the fact that I’d never been snowboarding, or really cared for sports that much in general, helped me to come at the project from a slightly different angle. I worked hard to make sure the tone, environment and characters were things that hopefully spoke to a wider audience, regardless of their interests.
We felt a big reason why a lot of people fall in love with snowboarding is being up in the mountains, surrounded by nature, and the sense of serenity that it brings. Along with the fluid, graceful motion of weaving downhill, we knew it could be a real powerful combination.
This was also a big reason to set the game in an authentic world with its own history and culture, where snowboarding had a narrative context as a way for Alto to travel down the mountain and herd llamas. Seeing how fans have embraced this world, and reinterpret it with their own fan art makes these decisions feel so much more worthwhile!
How has Alto grown in ways you didn’t expect?
I think it’s fair to say that ALL the ways Alto has grown have been somewhat unexpected — I remember just before the original launch, feeling so unsure if anyone would even play it, let alone like it. I don’t think any of us would have believed that just 5 years later we’d be here with two games, an Apple Design Award and BAFTA nomination under our belt. We owe everything to all the wonderful players around the world for their love and support, and allowing us to keep doing what we do!
Alto has grown in ways we truly could never have anticipated and we look forward to joining our new communities on The Epic Games Store, Xbox, Playstation 4, and Nintendo Switch.
For more information visit http://thealtocollection.com/
