Tiny Diggers – An iPad Construction Truck Game for Kids Age 2-5

With the recent announcement of Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball by Blazing Lizard, I spoke with Studio Director Christopher Stockman. He was kind enough to allow an interview on the upcoming game and an assortment of peripheral topics, providing an interesting glimpse into, among other things, the concerns of indie developers. It’s always refreshing to speak to the people who are actually involved in the development, rather than the usual wall of PR people who either ignore you or throw meaningless hyperbole your way.

Enough ranting! On to the interview. And when you’re done reading, vote on our new poll to select the platform you would prefer to play the game on.

SM: Thanks so much for the interview. What I’ve seen of Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball has really caught my attention, and I’m looking forward to seeing it in motion. Any idea when we might see some video for the game?

CS: Video huh? Probably not for a few months or so. We’re still working on some of the tech and want to wait until all the bells and whistles are in place before launching videos.

SM: Mr. Stockman, in your profile on the website, you mention work in the 16-bit era. Many of us are old gamers and would love to hear what titles you and your colleagues worked on.

CS: My 16-bit days were spent working on games for then well known developer Park Place Productions (they were the very first developers for John Madden Football for the Genesis). I worked on such classics as Muhammad Ali’s KO Boxing, Magic Johnson’s Super Slam Dunk Basketball (exclusively released to Blockbuster video for rental only!), and Kawasaki’s Caribbean Challenge (one of the first jet ski games!). Ahh, those were the days.

SM: Mention is made of “an action-adventure title” on the PS1 as well. All I came up with matching that description was Animorphs: Shattered Reality.

CS: Yea, there is a funny story behind that product. When Singletrac originally was given the license a few artists and myself pushed pretty hard to make it a Super Metroid-inspired game. We thought the Animorphs IP lent itself well to that type of gameplay. Then out of the blue the company lays a bunch of us off. Needless to say other people didn’t share in our same vision and they decided to change it completely. Fast forward about a year later, the game is a complete mess, Infogrames decides that they just want to recoup as much money as they can and they decide to ship the game come hell or high water. I had just recently left my job at Novalogic when an old Producer friend of mine calls me up and asks me to come help them ship. I pack my bags and head back to Salt Lake City and we ended up finishing it fairly late in the Playstation’s life cycle. I ended up receiving a Design Consultant credit. It was a pretty bad game though and really not even close to our original vision so I often just say the game was canceled.

SM: Can you give us some insight on Saints Row for PS3′s cancellation this past May? I understand that THQ’s line was that they wanted to go forward with a sequel instead. Is it fair to say that GTA IV played a part in the decision?

CS: I don’t believe that GTA was a factor in that decision. But to be honest with you I wasn’t really privy to any of those discussions so I shouldn’t speculate as to why the game was ultimately canceled.

SM: Blazing Lizard’s focus seems to be on digital distribution of its games, which is something that is, of course, much more established with PCs. Do you feel that titles like Pirates vs. Ninjas could make a successful appearance on GameTap or Steam, rather than being limited to one or more of the three major consoles?

CS: I think PvND would do quite well on Steam (or other similar digital distribution portal). But developing a PC version is much more time consuming because the PC is such an open platform. The technology behind PvND is really designed for next-gen systems and for a PC version to be successful you really need to cater to as many configs as possible (which means we would have to rework assets, controls, etc) . So while it’s not out of the realm of possibility we aren’t focusing our efforts on it now.

SM: Aside from the obvious appeal of cost and speed, why does digital distribution appeal to Blazing Lizard so much as to be the only way they plan to release games?

CS: With today’s AAA budgeted titles it’s next to impossible for a developer to retain their IP. With smaller budgeted games we have a lot more breathing room to retain the IP. Also, it must be said that we see console digital distribution as a way of getting our feet wet as a company. We can build our processes, our technology, and our culture without spending obscene amounts of money. Mistakes can be made without breaking the bank. Maybe in the future we will branch out and decide to do larger scale games (*cough spiritual successor to Freespace cough*).

SM: Has PvND been designed for one system? The press release’s wording seems to imply it’s only coming to one TBD system. My guess was Xbox Live Arcade at first because that one’s the most established, but the family-friendly tilt of the game makes me want to reconsider that guess.

CS: No, PvND is being designed with next-gen console systems in mind. I wouldn’t rule out any system at this point.

SM: Is the decision for the title’s platform being held at this time because you don’t have the information to make the decision yet, or for some other reason?

CS: We don’t know which system PvND will ultimately end up on. I can say we are in discussions now with the big 3. Maybe you guys could do a poll and ask your readers which system they would prefer to see it on?

SM: With five teams slated for Pirates vs. Ninjas, I’ve guessed monkeys and robots may make an appearance. These seem to appear in arguments like these all the time, but I can’t think of another. Zombies don’t seem as though they’d be much competition on the court. Perhaps polar bears?

CS: Who says Zombies can’t kick butt in Dodgeball?
With that said we will announce the 3 remaining teams in due time.

SM: Will the characters in the game be customizable? If so, how will that work?

CS: We had discussed this in the early stages of the project and ultimately axed this feature due to not wanting to bite off more than we can chew for our first project. Maybe for future PvN games?

SM: Multiplayer is obviously key in any dodgeball game. Are you planning to implement voice support in the game?

CS: Yes.

SM: I found it interesting that the game will be so open, allowing players to roam anywhere on the court rather than having to stay on their own side. How are you handling the mechanics of throwing the ball at opponents when they really could be in any direction?

CS: We’re still working on our targeting system but right now it’s an auto-target system. So for example, when the player has the ball the code will pick the nearest opponent that is facing the player.

SM: How many human- and CPU-controlled members can there be team? Only a few appear in the screenshots, but I clearly remember hiding behind a crowd of people when playing dodgeball in school.

CS: 4 unique players per team, up to 8 total in a match (team vs team).

SM: If I could get some industry-related opinions from you…

As a developer who’s worked with the 360, can you tell us how you feel about the 360′s success as a platform? How do you feel about the reliability concerns associated with the system, and Microsoft’s recent warranty extension announcement?

CS: The 360 has some amazing games already out or that are about to come out. Halo 3 alone should make this a great holiday for MS. I’m glad MS did right with their consumers and extended the warranty.

SM: What are your thoughts on the Wii as a platform? Do you think it has the hardware capabilities to stay relevant with the more serious gaming audience that might enjoy the type of games you’ve worked on in the past?

CS: Nintendo has always marched to the beat of their own drums and this strategy has usually been very successful for them. I think the Wii is an amazing deal as a second console for hardcore gamers and a first console for the casual market that just likes to play a few hours a week or so. I really think their strategy has paid off in spades.

SM: Sony’s share of ups and downs this generation seems to be somewhat off balance. How do you feel, as a developer, about the PS3′s place in the industry?

CS: Well to be honest when I have to choose a game that is simultaneously released on both PS3 and 360 I tend to get the 360 version for achievements. However, once Sony updates with Home and their award system that decision will be much harder. With that said I love my PS3. Blu-Ray is awesome and I’m excited for all the PS3 exclusives coming out. Sony’s brand is super powerful and should never be underestimated.

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I’d like to extend my thanks to Blazing Lizard for their willingness to share with us, and to Christopher Stockman for his time. It will be interesting to watch as more information comes along for the game, and we look forward to sharing the stuff as it comes forward. It looks like a great concept and it’s hard to think about the potential the game has without grinning.