WiiWare has been out for a few weeks now, and no matter what region you live in, be it Europe, Australia or America, you'll have had the chance to try a charming little gem called LostWinds (which received an 8/10 in our review). Eager to pick the brains of the masterminds behind this new innovation, we got in touch with Frontier Developments to talk LostWinds, Wii storage limitations, future gaming projects, and maniacal Disney villains.

Q: How did Frontier first start up?

A: It was started by David Braben in 1994 � our history closely parallels that of the games industry as a whole, since David started making games when he was at university in the 1980's, and then did more on his own but as machines the games were played on got more powerful he needed a team working with him so Frontier was formed. Frontier continued doing one game at a time until, both to justify the large investment in technology we continue to make, and to provide a degree of insulation from publishers going bust, we started to do more than one project at once. Today we have over 160 people working for us, and we are hiring more continuously.

Q: When did you first hear about WiiWare and begin development on LostWinds?

A: We were very fortunate that Nintendo invited us to a meeting in London to explain their plans. We already had the idea of LostWinds for some time before this, when we first saw the controller for the Wii it sparked people's imaginations and one of our designers came up with the concept. From then on it was worked on by a group of people who championed it internally, so we were delighted when talking to Nintendo that their ideals for WiiWare were almost exactly fulfilled by LostWinds; allowing developers like us to create something innovative specifically for the Wii and, most importantly, its controller.

Q: LostWinds has caused quite a positive stir within the gaming community and with those eagerly awaiting WiiWare. What was your inspiration to create such an original project?

A: When we saw the Wii controller, long before the Wii actually was released, we were very excited about it and began to brainstorm internally, via a game discussion forum we have called 'Game of the Week' where we debate game ideas / topics that anyone can propose. The idea for LostWinds came from Steve Burgess, one of Frontier's designers, who was watching the trees and leaves from the window on a windy day. He remembers thinking about how many ways the wind shapes and manipulates different things within the world, and if only there was some way to become the wind in game. He then applied this train of thought to the Wii controller.

Q: LostWinds bears a unique art style which could be likened to The Wind Waker. Do you feel that wonderful art styles, such as what we've seen on the Wii during its life with games like Okami, are the way forward as opposed to hyper flux-generated fur shaders and millions of polygons (we're just being facetious here, we mean ultra-realistic visuals)?

A: The great thing is that we are at a time where the processing power available means we have an artistic choice now, rather than being forced down one route only. I think there is room for a broad spectrum of approaches, depending on that artistic style choice.

Q: We think it's fair to say that visually, LostWinds puts most Wii games to shame. Is that because you are indeed evolved specimens of the human race from the future with superior knowledge to most mere mortals, or are other developers just lazy?

A: Thank you for the compliment � and the loaded question!

Visuals are only a problem if you design them out of context with the platform. Artists who blame a lack of quality on insufficient power of the platform are actually just admitting that they've devised an unachievable look. While we are making sure Frontier's art is pushing the Wii, the visual design of LostWinds understood both its limitations and its strengths from our previous experience of the platform Thrillville: Off The Rails.

Q: The main adventure in LostWinds isn't lengthy, but can last a while if you explore everything there is to explore and collect everything. Did you want to add anything more to the game but couldn't due to file limits?

A: LostWinds has a hugely detailed back-story and world, which is testament to the enthusiasm that the team put into its development. Clearly there are some practical limits imposed by the file size limit, but I wouldn't say that there is anything we regret not being able to put in, it is a very well-rounded, immersive experience.

I'd also submit a quote from Jonathan at Destructoid regarding length:

"A video game's quality shouldn't be measured in the length of time it takes to beat, but rather the length of time you'll be enjoying the game in your thoughts later.

Spending ten bucks to go to a movie is worth it, but only if the movie is so good that for the rest of the week you have something to think and talk about that puts a smile on your face.

That's Lost Winds in a nutshell. It will make you happy, both during and after you play it."

So we'd prefer to leave people wanting more in a good way � we prefer to think that there's an exciting opportunity to continue with the story of the struggle for Mistralis!

This is Toku, the diminutive protagonist of LostWinds who teams up with Enril the wind spirit to save his world. In the words of Westlife, you raise him up.

Q: Why was it decided to make the game a 3D side-scroller as opposed to a fully 3D adventure?

A: The accessibility and focus of the 2D platform genre has always made it very popular with both players and developers � in our game Thrillville: Off the Rails, for example, some of the most popular mini-games were the 2D games like Sparkle Quest and Bandito Chinchilla, even though we also had kart racing, First Person Shooters, and so on, in glorious 3D.

There is a beautiful simplicity in the controls this way -and it really enables us to fully exploit the controls and achieve the specific gameplay mechanics of LostWinds � and also we think platform adventures have been sadly under represented recently.

Q: The controls in LostWinds feel very comfortable to use. Did you experiment with any other control methods until the scheme was perfected?

A: Again, thank you! The basic idea was there from the outset: - a lot of subtle but very important gameplay appeal comes from the fact that the player controls two characters, and the dynamic between them. Toku is a young boy who is relatively vulnerable and whom you basically just move left or right with the Nunchuck, and he stays vulnerable throughout the game (although he does get to use a couple of cool items of 'kit' to help his flying along the way), but what he provides is a physical presence in the world. The other player character, Enril the Wind Spirit, is controlled by the Wii-mote and does get much more powerful as the game progresses. There is a nice symbiosis to their relationship because Enril has almost god-like powers in many ways, yet lacks the physical presence in the world that Toku provides. So the two work very well and naturally together as the player wields the power of the wind to protect, guide and do battle on behalf of Toku.

In terms of the detailed feel of the control system, of course this was polished and balanced through development � we wanted to make sure the game was accessible to all, and the actual use of the different powers in the game very natural, tactile and playful, as the whole of Mistralis, the game-world, was constructed to reward players who explore.

Q: How did Nintendo help you during the development process of LostWinds?

A: They have been incredibly supportive and open in the general process of getting the game to market.

Q: How is developing a downloadable Wii title different to the development of a Wii or multiplatform retail title?

A: Not different at all, to be honest. When developing a game, you always have to be aware of one limit or other, whether its system memory, processing power, disc space, streaming speed, and so on. Frontier's founder, David Braben, made his name in the games industry by co-developing a game called Elite which ran on a computer called the BBC Micro and fitted a whole galaxy (or at least the illusion of one) into 32 kilobytes of memory � smaller than most e-mails today! Whether it's a BBC Micro system memory or a BluRay disc for PlayStation 3, there will always be a limit that is easy for game developers to blow if they are not careful.

So developing for WiiWare is simply a different set of numbers that we have as the limit, rather than an onerous absolute restriction.

Q: The internet exploded with excitement recently when a sequel to LostWinds was announced on your website. Will this be released on WiiWare? If so, when, and can you reveal any snippets of information about it?

A: Reaction has been so phenomenal to the game, and there is so much more we want to tell about the world, that we'd be crazy not to consider a sequel. And that's all we'll say for the moment. ;-)

Q: Do you have any other WiiWare titles in the works?

A: Now is probably not the time or place to discuss this... :)

Q: How well do you think a retail version of LostWinds would be received?

A: I don't see why it wouldn't get the same reaction that the WiiWare title has got, but personally I'd prefer to educate people about WiiWare and downloading and get them to get hold of it that way.

Q: Is the downloadable scene the way forward for Frontier?

A: Commercially we think online distribution will become significant for games generally, as it has for music and is becoming for video.

So we do see LostWinds as a trailblazer of a possible future for us. We don't view the distribution mechanism as defining the effort we put into or quality that we deliver in any game, and in LostWinds Frontier has delivered the highest quality Wii�specific game we can. We view LostWinds as potentially very significant because we've done that all by ourselves � it continues to be a very useful learning experience.

Q: Frontier has a history of great retro titles such as the 80s classic Elite. Would you ever consider remaking your old games or bringing them to the Virtual Console?

A: We'd much prefer to re-imagine our classic title's for today's world rather than going the VC route.

After just a few minutes with LostWinds, we were gone with the wind. Unfortunately, it was over not long after that.

Q: With the Wii, Nintendo's mission was to create an industry revolution; to innovate and bring gaming to new audiences and break away from the monotony of previous generations. However, the Wii has seen more than its fair share of utterly rubbish ports, sequels, remakes and titles which lack general effort. Do you feel that many developers no longer care for creating an amazing gaming experience, opting for generic cash-ins instead?

A: To be fair, I think that's true of any console system, not just Wii, but no � I doubt if people set out to make a poor game � simply that they get in to the situation to get any return on their investment of making a game, they are forced to release it.

Q: In preparation for WiiWare, I decided to check out my Wii system memory the other day and see what could be removed to make space. I was down to 11 blocks, and not much more when all my Virtual Console titles had been removed. What are your views on the Wii's storage limitations? Personally, I don't really want to have to constantly remove and reinstall LostWinds and other games when I feel like playing them...

A: It certainly is unarguably less convenient than having a giant hard disc to store all the games on, but conversely more storage would have pushed up the price of the console, which people would also have complained about. The bottom line is that everyone is stuck with how things actually are, so hopefully rather than cut off their noses to spite their faces they will indeed try to make room for new games like LostWinds.

Q: Imagine the scene. It is the not too distant future, and an evil mastermind who wouldn't look out of place in a straight-to-DVD Disney movie has devised a diabolical plot to destroy pretty much everything remotely related to the word 'game'. You are allowed to save one gaming product. What will it be?

A: A development system � so we could create new games!

We would like to thank Frontier Developments for taking part in this interview. LostWinds is available now from the Wii Shop Channel for 1,000 Wii Points.