Nicklas Nygren, born on January 6, 1983, is also known as Nifflas. He is a Swedish video game developer who creates games for free. He is famous for his game series called Knytt and another free game named Within a Deep Forest. He has lived in Umeå, Sweden, and Copenhagen, Denmark.

Ludography

Within a Deep Forest is a free game set in the year 2500, after a terrible war has turned Earth into a lifeless wasteland. A survivor named Dr. Cliché builds a time machine to travel back in time and complete his most dangerous plan: creating an underwater laboratory where he places the most powerful bomb ever made. When the game begins, the bomb has already been activated, and the world is in serious danger.

The bomb is actually Dr. Cliché’s second attempt. His first attempt failed and instead created a ball, though not an ordinary one. Players control this ball throughout the game. It can change into different materials, giving it special abilities that help move forward in the game.

Bigdownload.com praised the simple graphics and music in Within a Deep Forest and noted its ability to create feelings of frustration and emotion.

The name Knytt [ˈknʏtː], which means "tiny creature" in Swedish, comes from a character in a book by Tove Jansson, a famous Finnish-Swedish children’s author.

A small creature called Knytt lives on a unique planet. It is taken by an alien in a spaceship for no clear reason. During the journey, the spaceship crashes onto another planet after hitting a meteoroid. Both Knytt and the alien survive, but the spaceship is too damaged to leave. Knytt must explore the planet’s terrain and caves to find the spaceship’s pieces and return home.

Knytt Stories is a game that follows Knytt. It is mostly a tool for creating levels rather than a single story. It includes several small levels and features a character named Juni, who appears in Knytt myths and stories. Players act out these stories as Juni. Two levels included with the game are short, but the game has a level editor that allows users to add more levels from .knytt.bin files. This format helps others create new stories. Nygren released two official expansions. The source code for Knytt Stories and other games was made public under a restrictive license, leading to some modifications, though no full versions of the game were created due to the closed-source engine. In 2010, a remake of the game was made in the C programming language, allowing it to run on the Nintendo DS.

Knytt Underground combines elements from Knytt and Within a Deep Forest. It was released on PC, Mac, and Linux in late 2012, with PlayStation versions launching first. In July 2012, Nifflas announced work on Knytt Underground, calling it his largest game. It was released on PlayStation 3 and PS Vita in late 2012, with extra content on console versions. The game appeared on Steam on 25 October 2013. A Wii U version was confirmed in August 2013 and developed by Mathias Kærlev. It was released in North America and Europe on 19 December 2013.

Saira is a 2D puzzle platformer. It was first announced during the final stages of work on NightSky and was initially called Project Q. It was released on 12 December 2009. The main character, Saira, is a photographer who becomes the only person left in the galaxy after a mysterious accident. She must discover what happened. The game has six endings and a unique style that mixes traditional 2D animation with high-resolution photos taken by Nygren. A level editor is included with the game.

In May 2010, Nygren released FiNCK ("Fire Nuclear Crocodile Killer"), a 2D puzzle platformer inspired by Super Mario Bros. 2 and the indie game Lyle in Cube Sector. The game and its level editor are free, but custom level support requires purchase.

NightSky, a physics-based puzzle platformer, was released on 6 January 2011. It had a long development history, first announced in 2007 under names like Skymning and Night Game. In 2008, Nygren released three minigames that were later abandoned due to engine changes. In 2009, it was planned for the Wii, but the PC version was released first on Steam on 1 March 2011. The Wii version was canceled but later appeared on the Nintendo 3DS in 2012.

In NightSky, players control a glowing sphere that can speed up, slow down, and sometimes reverse gravity. The goal is to guide the sphere through 10 worlds, each with 13 sections containing challenges or puzzles. The soundtrack was composed by Chris Schlarb, and the game was produced by Nicalis.

Affordable Space Adventures is a 2D puzzle adventure game for the Wii U, released on 9 April 2015 in collaboration with KnapNok Games. It uses the Wii U GamePad to control a spaceship, allowing players to switch engines and adjust settings to overcome obstacles.

Uurnog, a 2D puzzle platformer with algorithmic music, was released on 3 March 2017 as part of the Humble Monthly Bundle. An expanded version, Uurnog Uurnlimited, was published by Raw Fury on Steam and Nintendo Switch in 2017.

Ynglet, described as a floating non-platformer, was released on 5 June 2021 on Steam and published by Triple Topping Games. It offers a top-down perspective and a dynamic soundtrack created with custom music software.

Mini games created by Nygren include:
– Car Game: A mini game made for a one-hour game-design competition.
– Bagatelle, Cannon, and ClickDrop: Mini games originally included in Night Game as unlockables.
– Det Officiella EDGE Dataspelet: A mini game programmed for the EDGE festival.
– Avoid the Evil Space Eel: A rhythm mini game for the No More Sweden competition.
– The Mushroom Engine: An updated version of an earlier game.
– R-Type 3.141592653589793238469: A mini game for the No More Sweden 2009 competition.
– The Great Work: A platformer made for a documentary by Bautafilm.

Nygren has also contributed to:
– Floating Islands Game: A puzzle game similar to Lemmings.
– Baba is You: He created levels Castle Disaster and Baba Has Keke.

With Nicalis, Inc., Nygren helped improve the soundtrack for the WiiWare version of Cave Story, an independent game.

Discography

In addition to contributing music for eight games, Nygren has also created seven separate albums of ambient music. He is influenced by jazz.

Nygren's earlier works were mostly made using Fast Tracker 2; however, his later works often use non-computer equipment and computer programs generated with Ondskan, his own music software.

He appeared on the song "Fifflas" on C418's album "one."