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Sunbreak Games is a studio founded by former Retro staffer Jason Behr, who worked as lead level designer on the Metroid Prime series during his time with the company and can also list Halo 4 on his résumé. Behr has gotten in touch to let us know about his studio's next project, a 2D platform adventure by the name of Buddy & Me.

The game is looking for funding on Kickstarter, with a target goal of $40,000. It's almost at $10,000 with 23 days remaining.

A dream-like 2D "endless runner" with gorgeous visuals and a unique "buddy system", Buddy & Me is something of a departure from Behr's usual output.

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Here's a official synopsis:

As the boy falls asleep each night, a strange transformation takes place. A mysterious golden light appears outside, the bedroom shakes, and it feels like the entire house is being lifted upwards. Startled, he sits up and looks out the window, only to see a giant, familiar orange face looking in, with a wide-eyed friendly grin, beckoning him to come out and play. Smiling, the boy grabs his hoodie, opens the door, and steps into the light… he suddenly realizes his room is no longer in his home, but suspended high in the treetop canopy, the first of an endless series of treehouse platforms and bridges leading deep into the enchanted forest. Night after night, dream after dream, the boy returns to this enchanted place. It’s here that he meets and plays with his best friend, a magical flying creature named Buddy, a loyal companion that watches over him. Together they run, jump, glide, swing, bounce, and fly through the night, racing as far as they can before waking.

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Buddy & Me Team, from left to right: Andrew Brinkworth (Character Illustrator, Animator), Brennan McQuerry (Lead Programmer), Gene Lange (Background Concept, Painter) and Jason Behr (President, Creative Director)

Understandably, we asked Behr is a Wii U eShop version was a possibility. While it's not on the cards at present, Behr did say that it was something that he and his team at Sunbreak Games were thinking about:

Regarding Wii U, that’s a great question, you’re not the first to ask. I’m personally a fan of what the Wii U’s trying to bring to the living room console experience (it’s conceptually very similar to how the DS evolved the handheld experience), and what kind of gameplay experiences the extra touch-screen interface might bring. I’m also happy to read about Nintendo’s recent loosening of their indie developer requirements.

But at the moment, Sunbreak is still a very small indie team with limited resources, so we have to pick our battles very carefully. Each additional platform beyond the initial iOS release takes more time, money, testing hardware, special-case assets, etc… So, yes it’s a possibility if things are wildly successful (either via Kickstarter or initial sales), but right now our #1 priority is focusing team resources 100% towards a quality release on tablet/mobile, before considering expansion to traditional consoles.

Buddy & Me certainly looks very appealing — is it the kind of project you would consider backing, if only to ensure that a Nintendo version could happen in the future? Post a comment to tell us.

[source kickstarter.com]