Tade Ajiboye on the making of Go North

Go North is a story-driven maze adventure from Nigerian solo developer Tade Ajiboye (gazuntype). After spending hours with the title, we called it the best-looking game we've played from an African developer, while also finding plenty to discuss around its story, characters and design choices.

We spoke to Tade about the making of Go North, from its visual direction and deliberately slow-paced gameplay to the ideas and challenges that shaped Dara's journey. You can also read our full review of Go North.

IsaKaba: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? How did you initially get into the games industry?

Tade: Iʼve technically been building games since I was a kid. At the time, my parents sent my siblings and me to a tech bootcamp where they taught fundamentals of game making, pivot stick animation and collage making. Since then, iʼve build many different games across various genres.

How do you prioritise resources between developing games for PC/console and your other virtual reality projects like Home VR?

I think a better distinction is prioritising resources (mostly time) between client work and personal projects. In previous years, I worked on both in tandem. For instance, while I was building Home VR, I was still working on some freelance projects. I split my attention roughly 50-50 between these two. For Go North, I focused my entire attention/resources on building it.

Let's talk about Go North. What initial spark led to its creation? When did development begin and how many people worked on the game?

I wanted to build a game a lot of people could experience, enjoy and resonate with. I wanted to build a game my non-hardcore-gamer friends would play and be intrigued and inspired by the utter uniqueness of gaming.

Development began in Q2 2024 and was solo-developed by me, although I contracted out quite a bit of work like concept art, music and 3d asset creation.

The Sky Maker changes the gameplay quite a bit by introducing flight. At what point did you decide to include that mechanic, and what challenges came with designing levels around it?

I decided to include the Sky Mazes pretty early on. I knew that I wanted to explore more than just the conventional maze types, and I began working on an algorithm that could generate a maze that uses the vertical space also.

Initially, it looked nothing like the current Sky Mazes and was a bunch of ladders and platforms. It was later redesigned to the current Sky Mazes, although the underlying maze generation algorithm remained the same. The major challenge was creating this algorithm. it was… difficult.

Speaking of difficulty, were there any moments where you felt the game might not come together? How did you push through?

I canʼt say there were. iʼm a pretty disciplined person, and I get things done. So I always knew that the game would come together and be completed. The only fear was that I wouldnʼt successfully gather enough market interest prior to launch. Failing at this was the reason I never published Home VR, but with Go North, there were earlier markers of interest and attention.

Can you share a funny, unexpected or memorable moment from the development process?

Iʼm sure there are a million and one. Remembering any is proving difficult though. Maybe Iʼm traumatised, and this is an answer in itself.

Were there any features or mechanics that didnʼt make the final cut? If so, why?

Yes, there were many features that didnʼt make the final cut. why? Scoping/resource limits. At some point, I had decided on a release date. With this firmly in mind, I cut out all the excesses that could delay me from releasing at said date.

What do you think makes your game stand out, and what part of the experience do you most want players to enjoy?

I think Go North stands out in a couple of ways. Most especially, I think it has very distinct and charming visuals. But beneath that, it has a unique gameplay experience.

Exploring mazes has never been this fun, relaxing and wholesome. I really want players to enjoy the experience of exploring the various mazes. And I equally want them to resonate with the characters and the story.

How does this game fit into Gazuntypeʼs long-term vision? And what are your expectations for the title?

Haha, long-term vision is a bold assumption. But less cheekily, my long-term vision is ultimately to (sustainably) build fun games. Go North is that. My expectations are for the game to be loved by the people who play it.

Do you have any plans to bring the game to other platforms like mobile? Or release expansions and sequels? What's next for you after Go North?

I am currently working on a Nintendo Switch release. I think Go North would excel on that platform. Mobile? debatable. With enough incentives, perhaps. And after Go North, Iʼd build yet another fun game!

Go North is available to purchase on Steam and Xbox.

Additional editing by Isa Muhammad