Nintendo Okie

Howdy Howdy folks!  I’m very happy to bring you an interview today with Douglas Gregory.  He’s here today to talk to us about Flip’s Twisted World.  I have to say that before we had this talk I didn’t know a whole lot about the game aside from the fact that it was a platformer coming to Wii.  Now that we’ve talked I’m much more interested in this title and think everyone should keep an eye on it.  Let’s hear about the game from Mr. Gregory, shall we? 

Thank you so much for joining us today. Can you introduce yourself to everyone and let them know how you’re associated with Flip’s Twisted World? 

My name is Douglas Gregory and I’m the Lead Designer on Flip’s Twisted World. I designed the mechanics and gesture controls that drive the game, and also created the game’s user interface and material effects.

We know the game is a 3D platformer, what else can you tell us about the game?

Flip’s Twisted World follows the adventures of an apprentice wizard, Flip, whose curiosity gets him trapped inside a mixed-up magical world. To get home, he’ll have to fight and puzzle his way through 6 six different worlds, learning new powers along the way. The first and most important power, as you probably know, is the ability to twist the world, turning gravity 90° at will in order to walk up walls and ceilings.

You’ve got some big names associated with the game. On the voice acting front you’ve got Anthony Stewart Head, who people might recognize from Buffy the Vampire Slayer or the BBC’s Merlin and Tommy Tallarico is doing the music for the game. Did you approach them or did they come to you looking to be involved with the game?

We approached them. Our CEO Julian Spillane has some pretty amazing connections – he knew Tommy personally through his involvement in video game conferences in Toronto and San Francisco, so he was able to get the conversation started.

With respect to Anthony Stewart Head, a number of our studio’s founding members are big Buffy fans, so it was a dream of ours to have Mr. Head voice a character in our games. We had no particular “in” there – we simply contacted his agent and were fortunate enough that our offer was accepted.

Working with both of these amazing individuals was an absolute treat, and we hope to have more opportunities to collaborate in the future.

You’ve talked before about this game not being able to get noticed by the Wii audience. With so many quality titles being announced recently by Nintendo alone, do you think Flip’s is going to have a hard time finding its place in the market?

It’s well-documented that Nintendo first-party games, and games built on established franchises sell best on the Wii. In that light, as an independent 3^rd-party developer, launching a brand-new IP, we’re not expecting to top the Wii sales charts. That being said, the Wii market is huge, so we’re confident that Flip’s will find its way into many homes to be enjoyed.

There has been a bit of a resurgence of old 2D style platformers and games like Super Mario Galaxy are really pushing the 3D platformer forward. What do you have to do to make sure your game stands out among an already full crowd of similar styled games?

What’s always driven platformers, right from the earliest days, is new mechanics. Mario had warp pipes and breakable blocks, Sonic had the spin-dash and loops. These signature mechanics make each truly new platformer play completely differently from its peers, and would set it apart even without the differences in character, setting, etc.

Flip’s world-twisting mechanic is something that’s never been done before in a 3D platformer. While games like Super Mario Galaxy (and Psychonauts before it) have played with unusual gravity, it’s never been put in the player’s constant control, the way it is in Flip’s. That’s what makes Flip’s Twisted World completely different to play than any other 3D platformer you’ve tried.

There is a lot of talk about having games be bigger and brighter and in HD. Many people wonder how much better a game like Super Mario Galaxy would be in HD. What was the decision behind putting the game on the Wii over the HD consoles?

When we first started working on Flip’s, it was actually aimed at the Xbox 360. Our team members are primarily experienced on HD systems, so naturally we built our publisher demos for the Xbox. When we got an invitation for Wii concepts though, we stopped to re-evaluate our approach.

The game’s family-friendly, puzzle-platformer nature meant that the Wii made a better demographic match – gamers who want that kind of experience are more likely to own a Wii. And the gesture controls offered by the Wii gave us the irresistible chance to put the world in the palm of players’ hands, twisting it around in true 3D. That cinched it for us.

Would Flip’s look better on an HD system? Defintiely. We’re proud of how far we managed to push the Wii visually, but it has its limits. But would Flip’s be more fun on an HD system? I doubt it. At the end of the day, solid gameplay is more important than pixel count. Go play Mario 3 on an interlaced CRT, and you’ll see what I mean.

What were some of the games that inspired Flip’s? 

All of the old Mario games, from the original through 64 (with some visual inspiration from Super Mario Galaxy), the Genesis Sonic titles, Ocarina of Time, and the Megaman series.

Can we expect any multi-player modes for the game or is this going to be a single player experience? 

In its present incarnation, Flip’s is a single-player experience. We had some mind-bending multiplayer modes in the original pitch, but none made it into Flip’s first foray. We’re hopeful, if the game is successful, we’ll have an opportunity to offer multiplayer in a sequel, port, or spin-off.

One of the core mechanics of the game is the ability to flip the world by twisting the Wii Remote. Does this mean there won’t be any other methods of control for the game? Was the Wii Remote basically the best control scheme for a game like this? 

You’ll also have the option of using the analog stick to twist the world. I find I have a more intuitive, tactile feel of what I’m doing when I use the gesture controls, but other players prefer the simplicity of the stick. What’s best is really up to your personal taste.

One of the things I hate with many Wii games is developers using motion just for the sake of a bullet point on the box. Those controls ending up hampering the experience rather than helping it. How, outside of rotating the world, is motion being used in the game? 

Motion is also used to attack with Flip’s magic powers. This wasn’t our first choice, but we ran out of buttons on the Wii remote! It turns out to be pretty fun when you’re wailing away on a monster with the Flail power, though.

The main character is fairly obviously a wizard. How many different spells will he end up using by the end of the game? 

Flip starts off with a basic melee attack combo and ground-pound, and learns six additional magic powers over the course of the game. The first is the ability to twist the world, and the second is the devastating Flail attack I alluded to above. The rest, you’ll have to discover as you play the game.

What one thing do you want people to say who are maybe seeing the game for the first time? 

“This looks fun” – it’s always rewarding when we hear that! (“Wow” and “Cool” are much-appreciated too)

Flip’s was shown off at E3 2009 for the first time and people were getting some hands on time with the game even back then. It’s been more than a year since then. How has the game changed in that time? 

We’ve added more worlds and bosses and tightened-up the controls a lot. We took some harsh criticism on the quality of our visuals at the time, and we took that to heart by overhauling the game’s textures and materials. We added a whole-new lighting system since then, which adds a lot more depth to our environments and helps the characters pop. Overall, the game looks better and plays smoother and longer.

When can we expect to see Flip’s Twisted World in stores? 

As I understand it the release date is September 21^st. This is decided by the publisher and retailers though, so don’t take my word for it – check your favourite game store to find out for sure.

Thank you so much for joining us today and talking about Flip’s Twisted World. Is there anything else you’d like to let readers know before we leave? 

Flip’s Twisted World is our first game since founding Frozen North Productions, and for most of its development we were building it with just 7 people. Some of us came from prior industry experience, while others came into Flip’s straight out of school. So, if you’ve ever dreamed of making your own games as an indie developer, Flip’s Twisted World is one more piece of proof that with the right team of people you can make it happen. From all of us at Frozen North, we hope you enjoy it!
I really want to thank Mr. Gregory for joining us today to talk about Flip’s Twisted World.  I’m going to be keeping my eye on this game and you can keep checking back here to Nintendo Okie for more information on the title.