We built this city on rock and roll

With Terraria on the 3DS, Minecraft on Wii U and Terraria coming to Wii U soon, there's arguably never been a better time to be a Nintendo block-builder.

Looking at the first direct capture from the Wii U game alongside some 3DS footage, Dean Scott - Producer on Terraria at 505 Games - described the challenge of developing the game on Nintendo platforms. "It's been a long road to a 3DS version. It seemed for a time there was too much to condense into the 3DS. Now it's out there and the reception has been overwhelmingly positive."

He expanded on what features are included in the game. "The dividing lines aren't as clear here. We took the 1.2 mobile version and then added mine carts and fishing and then obviously we overhauled the UI for two screens. We also pulled in other bits from 1.3 like quick stacking to chests and slimes dropping more stuff."

Comparing what was possible on the New 3DS, Scott expanded further. "On the New 3DS it is 60 FPS while on the original 3DS it's 30 FPS. We could have gone further on the New 3DS but because multiplayer needs to work with different versions of the game we needed the world sizes and content to be the same. We are committed to updating the 3DS version post-launch with more content from the PC coming early next year. We are also looking into larger world sizes on the New 3DS."

Comparing the 3DS development to the upcoming Wii U version, Scott talked about the studios involved. "The 3DS version was handled by the same studio that did the mobile version, Code Glue. The Wii U version was handled by Engine Software, they took the console version and looked to adapt it to Wii U."

When asked about Minecraft, a title which Terraria has been compared to, Scott addressed it in a roundabout way. "We've made the most of having two screens with touch to build on GamePad or map or inventory. We've made the effort to make that game make sense on Wii U." This comment is clearly directed at the Wii U port of Minecraft, which makes little use of the second screen.

Despite the little dig, Scott is pleased to see Minecraft on the Wii U, and feels there's more than enough room on the system for the two titles. "I'm actually pretty positive about Minecraft," he says. "Anything that can help reinvigorate the Wii U platform can only benefit us. I know there's a bit of rivalry between the Minecraft and Terraria communities but I think we can happily co-exist on the Wii U."