Pepper Grinder Dev Talks Donkey Kong Country 2, Dig Dug, and Ecco the Dolphin Inspirations

Pepper Grinder is a 2D action platformer with several classic gaming inspirations. Stepping into the shoes of the titular Pepper, players dive smoothly in and out of land and water using their drilling mechanism in a manner comparable to a dolphin. It’s an image that also makes sense given Pepper Grinder‘s retro platforming inspirations, which include the 90s blast-from-the-past Ecco the Dolphin and 80s Dig Dug as just a couple of examples. In particular, many gamers may recall Ecco very well as one of Sega’s hardest Dreamcast games, and Dig Dug remains a fan-favorite from the 80s to this day. Pepper Grinder also draws inspiration from various other sources in its blend of retro and modern mechanics, something that could make it a fresh addition to today’s typical platforming landscape.

In a recent interview, Game Rant spoke with solo developer Riv Hester of indie studio Ahr Ech about how classic video games like Ecco the Dolphin and Dig Dug specifically inspired Pepper Grinder. Hester also revealed more about how other classic and modern platforming games were influential.

How Dig Dug And Ecco The Dolphin Inspired Pepper Grinder

When asked how 2D platformers Ecco the Dolphin and Dig Dug inspired Pepper Grinder beyond more obvious elements, like digging and diving, Hester spoke about the importance of how those games made players feel and how they created a sense of freedom to move in any direction, citing replaying the 1994 Sega video gameEcco: The Tides of Time many times. Specifically, Hester also identified Ecco‘s unusual tonal shift as influential:

Ecco
has always been really fascinating to me in the way it presents itself at the beginning as kind of a chill ocean exploration and puzzle-solving game and slowly changes into almost an eldritch horror thing by the end.
Pepper Grinder
doesn’t really do that exactly, but there is a pretty big tonal shift as the game progresses to keep things interesting and help hint at what’s going on in the wider scope, even if Pepper’s part in everything is very focused on her own goal, and she doesn’t concern herself with the rest.

Dig Dug is a classic arcade game that’s still beloved by many today. While Hester agreed Dig Dug inspired Pepper Grinder‘s digging elements, he also identified its simplicity and “neat balance of things” as something that suited his development approach:

It gets the imagination working in a way I appreciate, and that’s something I like to strive for with my own work.

How 3D Platformers And Nintendo Games Inspired Pepper Grinder

Of course, Ecco and Dig Dug aren’t Pepper Grinder‘s only inspirations. Hester also mentioned Nintendo classics Super Mario World and Donkey Kong Country 2, two games often considered some of the best retro games of the 90s. Possible parallels with Super Mario World seem apparant with its end-of-level flags and world map, but Hester also explained how Donkey Kong Country 2 was particularly influential:

A little
Super Mario World
for sure, but
Donkey Kong Country 2
is an all-time favorite of mine and I think it informed quite a lot of what I wanted to do with a 2D platformer in terms of both world structure and how mechanics are iterated on in different ways throughout the game. And cannons. I lifted the barrel cannons wholesale apart from making them drill-powered.

Hester also identified elements from recent 3D Nintendo platformers like Flip Swap Galaxy in Mario Galaxy influenced many of Pepper Grinder‘s platforming puzzles, adding he referenced 3D games in more ways than 2D ones for a lot of things. Altogether, Pepper Grinder‘s inspirations show that even the oldest ideas can still be relevant and help create an experience that could be rather special, both for veterans and newcomers to the genre.

Pepper Grinder releases March 28, 2024, for Nintendo Switch and PC.

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