Graeme Monk from Eiconic Games, Ltd. took time out of his busy schedule to talk with 2o2p about Squeeballs. For those of you who enjoy family games with motion, Squeeballs might be the game for you.
I know many of our readers have yet to hear about this game. Can you please give us a few details about this game?
Monk – Squeeballs are cute, cuddly, small plush toys with a maniacal sense of humor and mischievousness. On a secret island the Squeeballs come to life and are tested to ensure they meet the arduous standards of modern toys. In Squeeballs the player is given the fun task of putting the Squeeballs through their paces in numerous testing environments and under some inventive testing purposes. Those that pass the tests are shipped to market, those that fail are ‘recycled’!
Squeeballs is coming out for the Wii, DS & 360 this fall. After the announcement of Sony’s motion control, will this game be ported over to the PS3 down the road?
Monk – It’s a little early in the day to say for definite, but it’s certainly a possibility. The game was initially developed on Xbox 360 and PlayStation3 using Performance Designed Products’ (PDP) Freedom technology. Since the announcement of Sony’s new motion controller, the Freedom will be exclusive to Xbox360. The control interface between the two systems is highly likely to be similar so supporting PlayStation3 with the current game shouldn’t be too difficult a task. All I can say is watch this space.
What engine are you using to make this game?
Monk – Moai is our own proprietary engine and tools pipeline. We took the decision to develop the engine and pipeline ourselves as it gives us complete control over our technology and we’re not then reliant on a third party. This gives us the advantage of tailoring the technology to the game, allowing us to maximize the content and experience. Since its inception Moai has been regularly updated and part of that process is to support the Freedom controller. Our control interface works closely with the raw and processed data that we receive from the Freedom units. Throughout the production of Squeeballs we’ve worked closely with the PDP team to ensure we’re updated on the latest hardware and thus ensure the game supports it to ensure a more involving and in-depth gaming experience.
How many different games will there be to play?
Monk – There are 11 different games to partake in. There are also more than 150 mini game challenges that allow the player to try the techniques of the ultimate test engineer. The games were developed specifically for the game and the Freedom controller. They range from the recognizable, e.g. 10 Pin and Golf, to the more surreal such as Paint, Cooking and Stampede. We tried to imagine the kind of games that kids play with cuddly toys and then use that influence to design each of the test facilities. The result is often chaotic, especially at the higher testing levels, but always fun and brings a smile to all; kids, parents and even the elderly! The game can also be played in Head-to-Head mode where players can challenge one another to achieve the best scores and also allows for direct competition rather than just taking turns on the controller. Head to Head was really fun to develop as the interaction isn’t just on screen but between players themselves. There’s something deeply satisfying watching Dad trying to beat his son at some of the games and the expressions from both, one you just wish you could capture and bottle!
The Wii uses the Wii-Mote & Nunchuck controller for this motion-controlled game. How will the 360 version be able to provide this same level of motion fun?
Monk – The game was designed from the outset to support a single controller which is the design methodology of the Freedom, so the Wii only uses the Wii Remote. However, the Freedom controller is more accurate and has additional capabilities to that of the Wii Remote, so when we developed the Wii version we looked at each of the games and how the potential control methods would differ. Those that were significantly different were redesigned but we kept as much as possible between the two. What is interesting is that we have been able to allow gameplay on Wii that was thought we wouldn’t be able to support. So we are developing Squeeballs that not only supports motion control on Xbox 360 but also has some unique gameplay on Wii. The result is both versions differ over the other in some way but are still extremely fun to play.
Will there be any other attachments other than the remotes that are needed to play this game for the 360?
Monk – The game will be shipped with everything that the player needs to play the game, i.e. the game, the sensor units and the controller. If a friend has bought the game as well, then the controllers can be shared to play the Head to Head mode. Additional controllers may be sold separately but they won’t be required to play a majority of the game.
Will there be DLC for Squeeballs?
Monk – It has been something that has been discussed internally. We’re looking at providing theme packs and gamerpics as part of the DLC system. As for extending the game content itself we’re going to leave that for the time being and investigate it further for the next project. Our Moai system does allow us to update the core game in order to support additional content so I wouldn’t rule anything out.
What is one of the best moments for the team so far working on this project?
Monk – Too many to choose from! We’re a very tight knit group of developers so we have lots of great moments, with quite a few coming out of the gameplay not quite behaving how it should do. Such moments allowed us to refine and add subtleties to the controls. There probably isn’t one defining moment but the experience of seeing the Squeeballs develop over time was really enjoyable and one that we very much would like to take further. Looking back over the project it’s amazing to see the journey that they have taken. Each of the Squeeballs has developed its own personality and we’ve plenty more ideas for what they can do, the kind of mischief they can get up to and some superb ideas for new Squeeballs. We’re very much hoping that we’ll experience the same moments and more for the next project.
Squeeballs and the Freedom controller release this fall for $70 (includes game, sensors and one Freedom controller).
