TGS 2011: Asura's Wrath Developer Interview II

Here's the second part of the Asura's Wrath interview. CyberConnect2 should become a household name after this one, but fans of its Naruto and .hack games already know the team can really do some fantastic games. Of course, this one looks as if it'll be the craziest thing they've done to date, so let's hop it click with new and old fans alike.

Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor WIll REALLY Make You Want A Kinect

As this very cool Gamescom 2011 interview with the game's producers (decked out in their Army gear) shows, FromSoftware is on track to wow Kinect owners (and skeptics alike) with their upcoming game. Between the retro visual style and influences (the Omaha Beach sequence from Saving Private Ryan springs to mind) plus the fact that yes, you're controlling a huge walking mech in real time (and without that massive 40 button controller the original SB had back on the Xbox), this one looks like a keeper. It also looks like Kinect is getting a few games hardcore gamers will really want to get their hands on (provided they also manage to wrap their heads around the whole no controller aspect*).

*Well, the game actually DOES require a 360 controller, but you'll still do the majority of playing without it.

Got Used Games? Go GameStaq!

As someone who's been playing console games since game consoles were created, I can very safely say that there's been a massive market for used video games market since day one. Before game shops became an important part of the retail chain, pre-owned titles were either sold/traded between friends at home, school, work and yes, garage sales or flea markets. In the 80's, a number of used game shops across the country such as FuncoLand, BRE and others began the huge boom in dealing in large amount of pre-owned titles along with new releases at brick and mortar locations. Even back then, many consumers complained because they weren't given the best value when trading in recently purchased games and accessories even if they were in fantastic condition.

2D-X Interviews Spider-Man Voice Actor Dan Gilvezan

Hey! The folks at 2D-X have scored an EXCLUSIVE interview with Dan Gilvezan who voiced Spider-Man in Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends back in the 80's. He talks about his work in Activision's upcoming Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions, a bit of Transformers, and the craft of voice acting. Head on over and check it out as it's quite a fun read (don't forget to get back here at some point!).

Interview: Bringing Zaku to Life With Super Fighter Team's Brandon Cobb

 
"Never Let Dreams Die!" indeed. When you get an e-mail from Brandon Cobb, President of Super Fighter Team, that credo is at the bottom, right under his signature. Based on the upcoming Atari Lynx exclusive shooter, Zaku, it's clear that this credo was also a call to action that kept the project going for six years. Not only is Zaku the first complete new release for the Lynx in about five years, it's looking like one of the best games ever created for the handheld system.

My interest in the Lynx led me to the Super Fighter web site and eventually, to have the opportunity to send off a few questions on the project over to Cobb, who took the time to answer them in a straightforward, non-nonsense manner with flashes of humor that's more than welcome in this age of quick sound bites and evasiveness. Here, Cobb weighs in on bringing Zaku to market as an all-around quality product, sticking it to the man with citrus as well as a few other choice topics.

Greg Wilcox: First and most obvious question: Why an Atari Lynx Game in this day and age of "next-gen" 3D graphics, XNA Game Studio and plenty of 2D and 3D download content on game consoles and handhelds?

Brandon Cobb: Zaku began as a programming experiment, as the developer was interested in the Lynx's hardware and capabilities. It only blossomed into a serious, full-fledged game project once Super Fighter Team had signed on to produce and publish. I knew enough from the small, rough demo that I initially saw to put my full confidence behind the game and its creator, a decision that's worked out pretty darn well for all of us. The Lynx needs this sort of thing. It deserves to rise above its existing software library and proudly proclaim, "See? Here's what I can do!"

GW: How long has Zaku been in development and for Lynx fans interested in the game, what can they expect from the final version?

BC: Six years. Maybe it sounds like an epic amount of time for this sort of thing, but keep in mind it was one man, Osman Celimli, doing the bulk of the design, art and programming, and in his spare time. It should be a testament to the quality people are going to see upon the game's release.

GW: What's been the toughest part of this extended development cycle and how have you guys kept at it for so long?

BC: Life tends to get in the way. That, and I'm a real perfectionist when it comes to project management. Though this contributes to the overall strength of the finished game, it can be harrowing to developers at first. Osman's a very professional guy, and we always ended up agreeing on the choices that were made during development. It wasn't just a partnership we established, but a friendship.

GW: Was Zaku inspired/influenced by any particular games you've played in the past or was the team trying to do something completely different than other console and handheld shooters?

BC: Zaku is a completely new and original game, consisting of concepts and designs created by the development team at PenguiNet, although the Turbografx-16 game Air Zonk and the Genesis game Rocket Knight Adventures both served as inspiration for some of its "feel". The primary focus during development was to create a beautiful game that was also fun. You'll see lots of amazing things like huge sprites and neat graphical effects, and you'll be dazed by the music and sound effects - but the big thing is, it's fun to play.

GW: The character art has a nice classic cartoon look to it - tell us a bit about the lead artist/character designer.

BC: That's Osman again. He really wore a lot of hats on this project. It was his dream from the first pixel to the last line of code, and the character artwork is a great example. He and I are fans of many of the same cartoons: Ren and Stimpy, for example, was one whose influence was apparent in some of the very first sets of graphics he drafted. However his own personal, slapstick style matured throughout the process, and many of the final designs reflect this.

GW: If a publisher approached you tomorrow and asked you to bring Zaku to other platforms, say, mobile phones or to a handheld such as the DS via DSiWare or PSP through PSN, for example... would you do so, or is Zaku more of a labor of love strictly designed for the Lynx?

BC: I'd tell 'em to go suck a lemon. We aren't faking retro in an attempt to cash in on nostalgia, we're embracing it and giving it the respect it deserves.

GW: Super Fighter has also published two other games for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive (Beggar Prince and Legend of Wukong). Are there any future plans to localize/publish other titles (heck, are there any more unseen rarities even left to publish?) or will we perhaps see an original creation at some point down the road should you happen to have a Genesis dev kit tucked away somewhere?

BC: Though I cannot go into further detail at this time, we have finished work on another new title for the Genesis / Mega Drive which is expected to ship in early 2010. "Never let dreams die" is a powerful credo, you know. :)

GW: In terms of production, is Super Fighter Team actually manufacturing the Lynx cards or are you working with an outside contractor? I'd imagine you just don't look up "Lynx Game Card Makers" in the Yellow Pages, correct?

BC: After we settle on a suitable product design, our factory in China takes care of the manufacturing details. This is how it goes for every product we produce on physical media. In the case of Zaku it was fairly pioneer, as nobody produces new game cards for the Lynx. It meant new PCBs, which were designed by a German fellow named Bernd Thomas, and most exciting to me: authentic reproductions of the hard plastic shells that surround them.

New Lynx games most always appear simply as bare circuit boards these days, something I've never found appealing. That wasn't going to fly with me for this product, so we will once again be bringing innovation to the table, going as green light on production values as we always have.

GW: As far as a completion time frame - about how far along is the game? Will you be posting videos of it in action on the Zaku site and have you figured out just how much all this hard work is going to cost for a retail copy of the game?

BC: Oh, the game's completed. Nothing to worry about there. We've already released a video via the game's official website. Zaku will be available for ordering before the end of the year at the price of $40.00 + shipping and handling. That's right - people will be paying LESS for this phenomenal quality release than they would be paying for the vast majority of other new Lynx game releases. Love, innovation, quality - it's a combination no one can "liq"!

GW: Once Zaku is done, will there be a bit of a break or there any other plans for more original Lynx games in the future?

BC: Anything is possible. We've all enjoyed working with the Lynx, and have kept hold of the official development kit.


GW: Finally, what are some of your favorite games (from any era, consoles or PC ) and what do you think of the current state of gaming?

BC: Star Blazer (Apple II) was one of the first "simple" games to impress me with its sheer complexity and challenge.

Earthbound (SNES) not only makes the idea of an RPG taking place in present-day "anytown USA" work, it does a fantastic job of capturing and displaying emotions in its characters and situations, as well as inspiring them in its players. It's surreal.

Quest for Glory 1 through 4 (PC) created worlds to become immersed in, introduced fantastic characters of all kinds, and always presented the player with variety and freshness. Add to these points some phenomenal Ad Lib and Roland soundtracks, and you've got a truly unforgettable experience.

Alone in the Dark (PC) is pure brilliance; quite possibly my favorite video game of all-time. At one point, I had played through the game so many times that it began to get monotonous, but I didn't want to stop playing. Since the game allowed so much freedom, I decided to try doing everything I could think of, in an attempt to produce results the programmer hadn't accounted for. This provided a wealth of new gameplay experiences, including finding many bugs that were left behind, and finally opening the two doors in the game that don't serve any purpose at all throughout the adventure. It's such a shame that the series went on a downward spiral after this masterpiece...

I was "lost in transition" when the Playstation came out. Games began to feel bland and uninteresting, or were chock full of movie clips every time you pushed a button. That was about it for me, though I can still appreciate a few titles here and there. When Halo 2 was all the rage, for example, I bought an Xbox and frequently got together with my friends for some 6-player system link action which usually spanned an entire day.

Now, I visit my nephew every week and we enjoy Halo 3 despite its shortcomings, along with Mario Kart Double Dash (the newer Wii version never did it for us) and a few others.

And that, dear readers, is that! Many thanks to Brandon for taking time out from his schedule to answer my questions and provide images of Zaku in its final packaging and the full color game manual. If you've got a Lynx, well, this is cause for major excitement. If you don't have a Lynx... well, you're going to be missing out on a REAL treat. I'll be one of those lucky folks sending Super Fighter my hard-earned bucks for a copy of the game, that's for sure.

We'll have more on Zaku as the new info arrives - stay tuned.

Interview: Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga Q & A

Well, it took a little while, but given that Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga is shipping next week, the timing is actually perfect. I initially thought this would be a simple Q & A session with an Xseed employee or two, but thanks to Xseed's Jimmy ("New Daddy!") Soga and busy-bee PR guy extreme Scott Fry, the Q's got sent out to Japan where I've the pleasure of noting that they were answered by Kiyoji Tomita, Section Chief at KUROGANE (the Osaka-based team assisting K2 with the development and localization process). How's that for service?

Anyway, here we go - enjoy!


Greg Wilcox: The Valhalla Knights series originated on the PSP, but Eldar Saga has moved to the Wii. What were the deciding factors in bringing VK to the console and do new players need any previous experience with the other games in the series in order to enjoy this new installment?

Kiyoji Tomita: In Eldar Saga the general world view is similar to the previous Valhalla Knights, but we wanted to changed the battle style from a symbol-encounter style to a seamless real-time battle style which was difficult to execute on the PSP,

We thought that with the Wii, the user can enjoy more intuitive gameplay controls. For players new to the series, they certainly will not have any problems playing this title. However, for users who played the previous games, there are things in the game that will make them smile.

GW: What were the influences on the team when creating the game world? Did they simply expand what was found in the PSP games to fit the Wii, or were elements inspired by other RPGs, books or even films?

KT: The basis of the world evolved from the dark and gloomy world view that previous entries in the Valhalla Knights series have. However, since this title is on the Wii we wanted to create a more realistic atmosphere where players can actually feel the world around them, so we used fantasy films such as Lord of the Rings for added reference.

GW: In terms of presentation, does the game use CG, in-engine cut scenes or a combination of both to tell the story? Additionally, is there any voice acting in the game?

KT: For this title, we are using the in-game models during the cut-scenes so that any equipment the player has equipped will be seen in the scene. Other than battle call-outs, there is no voice acting in the game.

GW: Character customization has always been part of a VK game. In Eldar Saga, how deep is the feature? Can players change things like skin color, hairstyles or facial elements to reflect actual ethnic features or will there be a limited number of looks to choose from?

KT: Players won’t be able to change the shape of the face but they will be able to select gender, face, and hairstyles to create their own character. Also for hair color, the player will be able to select from 8 different color palettes.

GW: Are there any new races in VKES and can PSP veterans expect the return of certain special races and job classes?

KT: There will be no new races in Eldar Saga. As for the “special race,” are you referring to the Machine race? In Eldar Saga it is set that they are a race that became extinct long ago. For jobs players will be able to use all the jobs from the previous games such as fighter, mage, priest, thief, monk, anchor, knight, samurai, ninja and others as well as new job classes such as godhand and engineer.

GW: How is the game structured? Are players forced to stick to the main storyline or can they freely explore the game world? Additionally, about how large is the game world (is it seamless) and how many towns are there to discover?

KT: At the start of the game it will be a linear story line for players to understand the game, but later on you can choose to stick with the main story or freely explore as you wish. Regarding the size of the game world, that’s a tough question since I don’t have anything to compare it with. But I can say there will be multiple fields in the game such as grass field, rugged mountain, snowy mountain, swamp, forest, underground cave, etc. For towns, players will be able to visit human, dwarf, elf, and halfling towns.

GW: If one were to do every possible quest in VKES, about how long would the game take to complete? Additionally, is it possible to do expansion content via download on the Wii should the game become successful?

KT: It will approximately take about 20-30 hours. We are not thinking of any downloadable content at this time.

GW: With the new “multi-generational” storyline, the lead character's story evolves as he marries and eventually has a child who takes up his/her own quest. How is that new quest related to the previous story and will we see the older hero in the second part of the game?

KT: This is something we want the players to actually play and see.., (LOL)

In the 2nd episode players will be able to see what the main character’s father did, the new hero’s early childhood stories, things about their mother and will be able to figure out some of the facts that were a mystery in the 1st episode. As for seeing the older hero, it’s a secret (LOL). I would love for the players to check it out themselves.

GW: How do players find a spouse for the first lead character? Is there some sort of “dating sim” element or is getting a mate an automatic part of the main storyline where your wife has already been chosen for you?

KT: The player will be able to meet the heroine (spouse) as they progress through the story. For the heroine event there are multiple choices and the heroine’s reactions will change according to the selected choices, but unlike a dating sim the player will always be successful in getting together with the heroine they wish to be with.

GW: As for mercenaries, once hired, how long can they remain in the party? Are they only going to stay with you for a certain amount of time, or will they be there until you "fire" them? Additionally, can players solo the entire game with no mercenaries at all?

KT: Mercenaries will stay with the player until you either let them go or hire a new mercenary. Also, it’s possible to finish the entire game without any mercenaries as well.

GW: Combat has changed since the PSP Valhalla Knights games to a more straightforward (real-time) hack & slash style. How much variety is in the combat (combo moves, magic system, ranged weapons, etc.) and could you explain the Wii-specific special moves a bit more?

KT: For combo moves, players are able to execute different variation of attacks since we introduced weak and strong attacks. The player will get to assess thse situation and use the two attacks accordingly.

For magic, the basic magic from the previous title is included as well as newly added bard magic. “Bard magic” is done by singing while playing the harp. Party members in the affected area will have elemental attributes added to their weapon or their status heightened for a period of time. However, the one executing the bard magic will not be affected by the spell they are casting.

For ranged weapons there are bows and launchers. We had bows throughout the series, but in Eldar Saga their strength will power up to 5 levels depending how long the player holds on to the attack button.

“Launchers” are weapons from the extinct Machine race I mentioned above that have been modified for people to use. It will take some getting used to but the range and power is very attractive.

For the Wii-specific special moves I’m assuming you are talking about the special attack by swinging the Nunchuk. You will open yourself up to counter-attack before and after the special attack, but the attack range and the power is well worth the risk. Also depending on the job class there are different special attacks, so I hope players will try them out and find the one that suits them best.

GW: Are there any new features added for the US version of the game such as harder difficulty levels (as in a New Game + mode), secret dungeons/bosses, bonus characters or more?

KT: Unfortunately there is no US-specific content.

GW: In other words, we're getting exactly the same game content found in the Japanese version. How deep is the co-op multiplayer mode? Are offline characters the same as online characters? Is there any huge difference between the two modes in terms of content or quests?

KT: The host player will create a room and the client player will join in and after selecting which quest to tackle, it will transfer the players to the quest field. After defeating the specified monster (one or multiple) the quest will be complete. The players will be able to use their one (main) offline characters in the co-op mode.

GW: In co-op, can players many levels apart play with each other? Also, will players be able to trade items between each other and take them into their own offline games?

KT: Even if the two players’ levels are far apart they will still be able to play together. However, the quest type they will be able to play will differ depending on which of the two is the host. Also you will not be able to trade items.

GW: I've read elsewhere that Motoi Sakuraba is the game's lead composer. If so, what can we expect from the soundtrack? Will the score sound similar to the older Valhalla Knights titles or can we expect a totally new aural experience?

KT: The music is different from the previous entries in the Valhalla Knights series. It is a bit more dark and gloomy to better fit the Eldar Saga world view. We hope the players will enjoy it.

GW: Finally, what's the official release date for the game?

KT: The North American release will be September 29, 2009.

GW: OK, one more question (if you can answer this!): Are there any plans to bring Valhalla Knights: Battle Stance to the US?

KT: We can’t say anything at this point, but we are hoping to bring it over for the Valhalla Knights fans.

Many thanks to Kiyoji Tomita for taking time from his hectic schedule to answer your questions as well as Jimmy Soga and Scott Fry for their assistance in getting this interview together. Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga will be in stores on September 29, 2009 - Back with a full review shortly.

Interview: Creating Fighting Fantasy: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain

One of the more impressive Nintendo DS games created to date is Fighting Fantasy: the Warlock of Firetop Mountain, created by London, Ontario-based Big Blue Bubble, Inc., published by Aspyr Media and set to hit stores on October 26, 2009.

What makes the game so amazing is how close it comes to replicating the experience of many great PC RPGs from years ago wile feeling completely fresh thanks to the DS touch screen and a dedicated team of artists and programmers looking to bring the book to life and beyond in portable form. FF looks to be a classic, deep first-person role-playing experience set in an huge game world running at a blazing 60 frames per second with full, intuitive touch screen controls and the ability to map locations as you like in order to uncover every nook and cranny of the world you'll explore.

I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to ask Damir Slogar, Big Blue Bubble's CEO and Goran Marinic, the game's Lead Designer a few questions about the game, most of them submitted by fans over on the game's Gamefaqs page. In addition, I'm more than pleased to show off the excellent concept art and weapon renders I just received, which hasn't been published anywhere else online.

Here's what they had to say about the game:


Greg Wilcox: How long has Fighting Fantasy been in development and was the Nintendo DS always the first choice for the project?

Damir Slogar: The game has been in development for over 3 years and Nintendo DS was always our first choice. I started working on the concept for this game way before that (in the good old Gameboy days) but DS was the first handheld platform with enough 'horsepower' to handle the game I envisioned.

GW: What were some of the biggest hurdles (technical and otherwise) the team has faced in translating FF into game form?

DS: As with any project of that scope, there are many challenges that we encountered during the different stages of development. Most of the technical hurdles we resolved in first few months while working on the core engine. By the time we developed a playable prototype, we resolved most of our big technical issues. Probably the biggest one that kept coming back was running at 60FPS. Almost every piece of code or art assets we added during the development had impact on the frame rate so we spent large amount of time just optimizing stuff.

GW: How close to the book to the game experience? Is this an interactive version of the source material or will there be additional elements created specifically for the game?

Goran Marinic: I'd say that this game is close to what FF is, given the framework of a DS 3D game. We took all the basic premises from the book, expanded upon some of them, and filled in the blanks where the book had to be simple due to restrictions of its format, e.g. our world is a proper 3D where you walk freely, you can look in all directions, you have much better control over the combat outcome, there is spell casting etc. But if you're a book fan, you'll recognize a lot of details from the Warlock of Firetop Mountain. For the fans of the 'original book experience', our company is currently developing 5 FF titles for iPhone which are rather strict adaptations of the book content, of course, always with some kind of twist.

GW: In terms of structure, is the game primarily a straightforward dungeon crawl (such as Orcs & Elves) or are there towns and other areas to explore? Conversely, how much freedom will players have in terms of exploration, interactions with NPCs and side quests?

GM: It will depend on the player and his desire to explore or play the game again. There are several ways to reach the end of the game, and some of the player's decisions will close other options, which influences NPC's and main quests up to a point. In any case, while the player will always get a hint on "what to do next", we tried not to make him feel that he's been forced down a single path whether he wants it or not. At any point, player will be free to explore outside of the main quest and if necessary go back to the areas populated with weaker enemies in order to build up his character.

GW: Could you describe the control layout? How customizable are the controls and how will the touch screen be used?

GM: The touch screen was designed to be the main interface, used for just about everything including the free look but excluding the actual movement in 3D world - this is mapped to a directional keypad. There are alternative button controls for almost everything and there is support for flipping controls to facilitate game for both left and right handed players. Also, a strategic part of the game is assigning some functions - spells, easily accessible weapons etc. - to the buttons on the touch screen.

GW: As far as the touch screen mapping system goes, can players make it through the entire adventure without it if they choose to do so?

GM: The opinions differ. I'd say yes. A lot of others would say no. I'd call it lack of dedication.

DS: I have to agree. Half of the fun I had playing old school classics like Dungeon Master or Eye Of The Beholder series was mapping my steps on the graph paper. This time player will be able to use the stylus to make the comments on the maps.

GW: On the sound front, will there be music during gameplay or is this the type of experience where players will need to use their eyes and ears along with their combat skills in order to survive?

GM: Careful listening is not required to solve any problems. It might give you slight advantage in the combat, but hardly any difference between life and death. On the other hand, we're using really nice environment effects which can build good atmosphere; all the actions are accompanied by sound feedback and I think that whoever plays FF: the Warlock of Firetop Mountain with the volume down will miss on this experience.

DS: There is another reason why the music can be heard only in the menus and not during the exploration. In order to keep the frame rate at 60fps we needed all the CPU power we can get. if we wanted the music playing at the same time it wouldn't sound very good as we will be very constrained.

GW: In terms of character customization, will there be some sort of "class" system. Also, how flexible is the customization and how significantly will this affect gameplay?

GM: There have been a lot of changes to the character system since the beginning. Basically, the player is allowed to tailor his character to match his game style. He may rely on brute force in melee, long distance spells, special abilities etc. If there's a weapon or armor piece he likes a lot, he might have to strengthen one side of his character so that he can equip that item.

DS: I would say that customization is very flexible (more than any RPG I've played recently) and effect on the gameplay is huge. Playing the game with the warrior character will be a totally different experience than playing as a mage.

GW: In the FF books one of the more unique aspects in the ability to "reroll" during situations if something goes wrong... is this element part of the DS game?

GM: No, there's no point, since the player has much greater control over his destiny than in the books (if we exclude cheating).

GW: About how long is the game and are there any completion bonuses for those who want to replay the adventure?

DS: You can finish the main game path in 8-10 hours but it is not very likely you will be able to do so. Keep in mind that you can finish Super Mario Bros. in five minutes. There are more than 80 missions and if you want to finish them all it will take a while. You can go through the game a 2nd and 3rd time with different characters while keeping all the items from 1st run.

GW: Any amusing developer stories or big revelations during the game's development?

DS: No. Nothing interesting really happened in last 3 years. :)
Seriously though, some of the key moments we are leaving for the post-mortem.

And that, folks... is the final word for now. I'll also note that Slogar is a big fan of classic PC RPGs such as Dungeon Master, Anvil of Dawn and other memorable quest, combat and challenge packed adventure games, so this project should easily equal some of those favorites. Many thanks to both of these busy guys for taking time to answer your questions and for providing the lovely concept artwork and weapon renders.

Look for the game in stores this October and absolutely pre-order this one, so it makes it to as many retail locations as possible.

DAF Q&A Updates!

Since I've gotten a few e-mails about the Q & A's I've set up, here's a follow-up or two to fill you in:

1. I'm still waiting for the fine (and very busy) folks at Xseed to get those Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga Q's I sent off a while ago back this way. But remember, folks: Xseed is comprised of a really small team with multiple projects going simultaneously for the Wii and other platforms.

2. I have an interview coming back this way soon with a few team members at Big Blue Bubble, the folks working on Fighting Fantasy: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, a great looking first-person RPG for the Nintendo DS set to be published by Aspyr. It would have been back sooner, but another site or magazine with more clout bumped my former "exclusive" so they could get their scoop first. And so it goes in this industry.... ah well.

I'm also working on a few other potential interview subjects for the near future - stay tuned...

Interview & Gallery: Robo-Shambo

"What the heck's a Robo-Shambo?!" you ask? Nooooo, it's not some sort of newfangled "European-style" late-night infomercial room cleaning device ("This is Vince for Robo Shambo!"), nor is it a wacky YouTube mash up of RoboCop and Rambo (although, that would be pretty darn hilarious seeing a metal-clad Stallone clanking around blowing holes in evil, evil men with .20 caliber rounds... "Adriaaaaaaaaaan!!!").

Robo-Shambo is in fact, a game project by GearSphere, a small team of 17 young programmers and artists up at the Art Institute of Vancouver. The game is a a third person six-player LAN shooter (set for release on September 14, 2009) coded using Microsoft's XNA Framework, which could mean a potential Xbox LIVE release down the road. And all this time you probably thought all they did in up in Vancouver was watch hockey, be Canadian and get free health care...

Carina Kom, the team's Project Manager, took time out to answer a few brief questions about the project, her obsession with the big boat she'll buy with her share of the game's royalties and her amazing collection of sealed jars of Nutella. OK, she only talked about the game, but I figured I'd beef up her profile a tiny bit to make her seem more like other big-shot project managers I've met in the games industry. It IS an important job, y'know...

Greg Wilcox: Does Robo-Shambo have a story, or is it a simpler "hop in and play" experience?

Carina Kom: To be brief, the story takes place in a future where soldiers have been replaced by Robots. There are two big companies (Cybernetics for Society and Cyber Soldiers, Inc.) that provide these Robots for fighting. In an effort to take out the competition, they have decided to destroy each other using Robots. Now the players take control of the Robots and run amok in the destruction.

GW: Is there a single player tutorial or other mode new players can jump into to learn things?

CK: Robo-Shambo is fairly straightforward and plays like any FPS (W, A, S, D, left click, right click). We did not implement a single player mode, players just jump into a multiplayer match via LAN.

GW: How many maps will the game have in total and what sort of environments can players expect?

CK: There are three maps in total. Players can expect futuristic levels (space ships, etc, etc...)

GW: What sort of system requirements does Robo-Shambo require and for the FPS junkies out there, what's the game running at?

CK: The system requirements aren't very demanding and the game should run on any computer (in other words, I'll have to get back to you on that one!). One of our programmers quoted me 40 frames per second on average for game speed over a LAN connection.

GW: How will the game be distributed and are there any plans to submit it to Microsoft for possible XBLA consideration?

CK: There is some talk about getting Robo-Shambo up onto XBLA, more information will be released as we draw closer to the release date.

Sounds good to me (although now, I'm curious as to whether or not Carina actually even likes boats or Nutella). Actually, Kom's true ambitions are to eventually enter the game industry as a game or level designer and hopefully work on a AAA product with a long-term goal of working her way up to a management position (where boats and Nutella are bonuses, from what I hear).

Here are some screenshots and wallpaper images from the game:

We'll have more on Robo-Shambo as the game nears its release date - stay tuned.