WayForward
| WayForward | |
 Used since 2005
 Used until 2005 | |
| Founded | March 1990 |
| Current State | Active |
| Headquarters | Valencia, Santa Clarita, California, USA 🇺🇸 |
| Type | Developer |
| Worked On |  (iOS)
|
| Website | Present Day Website |
WayForward Technologies, Inc. is an independent video game developer and publisher, best known for their own Shantae and Mighty franchises, as well as licensed titles such as Ducktales: Remastered and a few handheld SpongeBob SquarePants games. In 2014, they developed a port of the first Drawn to Life for iOS, the first of two entries released under 505 Games.
History[edit]
WayForward was founded in March 1990 Voldi Way as a spin-off of a previous company specializing in software for metal sheet fabrication. Early on, many of the developers took other jobs in order to support their ambitions for game production, with their game production starting again properly in 1997 as a developer for hire. They teamed up with Capcom in the early 2000s to distribute their first original title, Shantae, which released in 2002. The game would see critical acclaim, but struggled to find an audience until much later due to being a late Game Boy Color title.
Following the modest success of WayForward's licensed titles throughout the rest of the decade, they became a more prominent figure with their DSiWare releases, specifically Mighty Flip Champs! and a sequel to Shantae, Risky's Revenge. As WayForward's success became more widespread, so did their game output's acclaim, with DuckTales: Remastered, River City Girls, Clock Tower: Rewind and additional Shantae and Mighty games all seeing great success.
Development of Drawn to Life (iOS)[edit]
505 Games acquired the Drawn to Life IP in the second lot of THQ's auctioned assets in April 2013, which gave them rights to all assets of the mainline series.[1] The studio the first thing to do with the franchise would be to re-release the games on mobile devices, emulating 5th Cell's earlier attempts with Scribblenauts' transition.
Right as development on DuckTales: Remastered was coming to a close, WayForward was tasked with bringing the first Drawn to Life to iOS. This port would be handled by many of the same developers behind another well-received handheld title, Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why'd You Steal Our Garbage?!!; Jeff Luke, a producer on said title as well as the original Drawn to Life game, would sign on as the director. Not much is known about this port's development beyond this, however fans have speculated what could've happened based on the game's build. Rather than being natively ported, the game was instead loaded into a Nintendo DS emulator. This suggests the port's development was rushed, as the drawing mechanics ended up being unresponsive and difficult to navigate with the virtual D-Pad.
Drawn to Life would release on iPhone and iPad on May 6th, 2014, to mostly negative reviews. Both fans and critics lambasted the poor optimization, lack of widescreen support, virtual button placements and functions, music being mismatched or missing and general technical issues. The port would receive a few updates following release, including one that allowed controller support, but would eventually be delisted. The exact date of delisting is unknown, however; the App Store's most recent archived page for the game is dated at 2019, suggesting the port remained accessible to download for five years before being taken off the store. The port would be among 505 Mobile's best-selling apps at the time upon release, however this has since been overtaken by more modern mobile releases.
Notable Games[edit]
- Shantae (2002)
- The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004)*
- SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, Pants! (2005)*
- SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab (2006)**
- Shantae: Risky's Revenge (2010)
- SpongeBob SquigglePants (2011)
- Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why'd You Steal Our Garbage?!! (2012)
- DuckTales: Remastered (2013)
- Drawn to Life (iOS) (2014)
- River City Girls (2019)
- Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp (2023)
- Sigma Star Saga DX (2026)
- Shantae 7 (TBA)
*GBA version
**GBA/DS version
Trivia[edit]
- Despite developing Drawn to Life's iOS release, the company website did not mention the port whatsoever.
- Although Drawn to life's iOS release was initially successful at the time, it is unknown whether a mobile re-release of Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter was considered following the first game's release.
Media[edit]
The company website's front page.
The app icon for Drawn to Life's iOS port.
505 Mobile's webpage advertising the iOS port.
The iOS port's iTunes page from 2016.
The iOS port's App Store page from 2019.
| Nintendo DS | 5th Cell • THQ • Agatsuma Entertainment |
|---|---|
| iOS | 505 Games • WayForward |
|
| |
| Altron • Nickelodeon • THQ | |
|
| |
| Planet Moon Studios • THQ | |
| 5th Cell • THQ | |
| Most Regions | 505 Games • Digital Continue |
| South Korean Release | H2 Interactive |
Directory: Drawn to Life → WayForward | |
