Nicklas Nygren

Nicklas Nygren (born 6 January 1983), better known by the handle "Nifflas", is a Swedish video game developer. He is known for his freeware Knytt series, as well as earlier releases including Within a Deep Forest and the #ModArchive Story series. His most recent game is Uurnog, a Humble Original title released via the March 2017 Humble Monthly Bundle. He lives in Umeå, Sweden.

Nygren's career in game-making began with a number of small games he released as freeware. Many of these games were extremely simple - consisting of little more than a physics engine and a single level on which to test it, however it was in developing these games that several themes would emerge that would later come to characterize Nygren's work. Among other themes, the concept of the ball as a hero originated in these early games and the games became increasingly more atmospheric and ambient in nature. Early games include:

Early betas include:

Within A Deep Forest is a freeware game, taking place in the year 2500, after a devastating war has left the Earth a desolate wasteland. One of the survivors, the infamous and notorious Dr. Cliché, creates a time machine that enables him to travel many hundreds of years back in time in order to complete his most dastardly deed, the building of an underwater laboratory in which he has placed the most powerful bomb the world has yet known. "If ever this bomb should explode, the entire planet will freeze and all life will be lost. In this way, Dr. Cliché aims to eliminate beyond all reckoning the possibility of such a future ever coming to pass." As the game starts, the bomb has been activated, and the world lies in grave danger.

The bomb is in fact Dr. Cliché's second attempt as "his first attempt failed and instead lead to the creation of a ball, although, no ordinary ball." The player controls this ball throughout the game. The ball can be transformed into different substances with various materials found in the landscape. Many hazards, including spikes, water, lava, and certain creatures can kill the ball. There are warp spots (save points) at certain places in the game areas. When the ball is killed, it reappears in the last warp spot visited.

Bigdownload.com highlighted Nygren's minimalist sound and graphics in Within A Deep Forest, and praised its sense of frustration and emotion.

...
Wikipedia