Nuclear Throne dev Vlambeer to release game design history book

Vlambeer, the Dutch independent developer behind Ridiculous Fishing, Luftrausers and Nuclear Throne, has announced its plans to publish a book.

120 Years of Vlambeer and Friends will be co-produced with the help of video game art dealer Cook & Becker and written by Arjan Terpstra, who previously authored Killzone Visual Design, a title delving into the eponymous work on Guerrilla Games’ shooter series.

The title will cover “everything we’ve ever made”, Vlambeer said in its announcement, with the 152-page publication including interviews with the studio’s devs, original concept sketches and game artwork, plus a 20,000-word history of the company, which was founded in 2010.

The standard version of the book will cost $39, with a $93.50 limited edition featuring a hand-signed variant cover, numbered art print, Vlambeer notepad and pen, and a collection of all of the studio’s games.

“As far as we’re aware, no independent developer has ever tried doing something like this,” the studio said.

It added reassurance that: “The fact that we’re making a history book doesn’t mean Vlambeer is history. We’re continuing work on merch, new prototypes and ideas, and our aim is to maybe make a few smaller games to recover a bit.”