Haha, well, they did a good job. Okay, so explain the basics of the gameplay.
Guermonprez:Well, it's pretty simple. We did not want anything complicated; just instant fun, only this time with original gameplay, not a blatant ripoff like we shamelessly did with NB. (grins)
So you move your ship with the stylus (for bullet dodging, mostly).
And you also use your stylus to shoot fireworks at the baddies, just like striking a match. You can shoot any direction, as long as it's upwards. And you can shoot a lot if you want.
That's it. You can find gameplay videos on YouTube. Dont know how they ended up there. Nothing to do with us. Honest.
Of course, it gets trickier and trickier as you progress in the game (9 worlds, 9 levels plus a boss per world). To balance this, you get special features (homing missiles, mirror shields, time stoppers, etc), which you activate either by making gestures with your stylus—for example: horizontal dash for shield, backward dash for stop time, hold stylus still for fireball—or by pressing a trigger while shooting for a homing missile. These features are unlocked as you progress in the game: some of them are specific to a world, some of them you keep for the rest of the game.
So you move your ship with the stylus (for bullet dodging, mostly).
And you also use your stylus to shoot fireworks at the baddies, just like striking a match. You can shoot any direction, as long as it's upwards. And you can shoot a lot if you want.
Of course, it gets trickier and trickier as you progress in the game (9 worlds, 9 levels plus a boss per world). To balance this, you get special features (homing missiles, mirror shields, time stoppers, etc), which you activate either by making gestures with your stylus—for example: horizontal dash for shield, backward dash for stop time, hold stylus still for fireball—or by pressing a trigger while shooting for a homing missile. These features are unlocked as you progress in the game: some of them are specific to a world, some of them you keep for the rest of the game.
Is there a slighty different way of playing each of the worlds, like there was in Nervous Brickdown, or do they all play pretty similarly? (Not that that's a bad thing.)
Guermonprez:The general gameplay stays, this time. We had complaints (but also praises...) about our constant context switching in NB. We had to do it for Nervous Brickdown, because we really wanted the game not to be boring after a while. But with BBM, as you control your own rhythm, we decided to build something around the basic (hopefully solid) gameplay, keep it, and add stuff as you go. You'll see. (smiles)
We also tried to beef up the experience a little, with new modes.
The challenge mode is a score mode where you can publish your score on an online leaderboard; you can also track your friends progress with friend codes. It was done by Clément, who came to help us on the game. With Aurélien, they decided to go the Vectrex way on this, and it would have been really foolish not to let them do so: I believe it looks and plays great. I am stuck around 500,000 points, but I would not be surprised to see scores around a million or more soon after the game will be out. It is heavily combo based, and Yubaba coded a tune which would slowly become more complex and punchier, as the game becomes hellish and new enemies come and say "Hi." It has been quite my favorite part of the game lately.
Then, there is the vs. mode. Two DS, one cart, DS Download. You hold your DS like a book (there is a left hand option), and you shoot fireworks at your opponent. Add to this a little volleyball feeling, as you can pick your opponents shot when they fall in your screen, and throw them back (faster, of course) (grins) at your opponent. Maiïween, who did the multiplayer part in Nervous Brickdown, was in charge of this part. You also have 4 power-ups to help you, but can only use them once during your match.
Clement also did a Mission Mode; you have to beat the game to unlock this; think "Advanced Levels" when you killed GladOS. (smile) 25 missions to complete, with sick constraints—beat this level in less than 22 shots, kill this boss in 30 seconds, etc. The real stuff.
So with Relax Mode and Alarm Clock on top of that, we really tried to stuff the cartridge. We used the same size as we did with Nervous Brickdown.
One thing we are really proud of, is that Nintendo selected us for having a DS demo via the Wii, and even on interactive demo units on retail stores in the US! We just finished it yesterday. I think it will go live for 2 or 3 months a few weeks before he game is out, so, beginning of January. Hopefully it will help people play the game and enjoy it.
We also tried to beef up the experience a little, with new modes.
Then, there is the vs. mode. Two DS, one cart, DS Download. You hold your DS like a book (there is a left hand option), and you shoot fireworks at your opponent. Add to this a little volleyball feeling, as you can pick your opponents shot when they fall in your screen, and throw them back (faster, of course) (grins) at your opponent. Maiïween, who did the multiplayer part in Nervous Brickdown, was in charge of this part. You also have 4 power-ups to help you, but can only use them once during your match.
Clement also did a Mission Mode; you have to beat the game to unlock this; think "Advanced Levels" when you killed GladOS. (smile) 25 missions to complete, with sick constraints—beat this level in less than 22 shots, kill this boss in 30 seconds, etc. The real stuff.
So with Relax Mode and Alarm Clock on top of that, we really tried to stuff the cartridge. We used the same size as we did with Nervous Brickdown.
One thing we are really proud of, is that Nintendo selected us for having a DS demo via the Wii, and even on interactive demo units on retail stores in the US! We just finished it yesterday. I think it will go live for 2 or 3 months a few weeks before he game is out, so, beginning of January. Hopefully it will help people play the game and enjoy it.