Avatar Showdown Developer Interview With Avatar Showdown sitting on the top of the Xbox Live Indie Game sales charts I figured we should learn a bit more about how it came to the platform and the guys behind it. Jeremy and Ty from JForce Games were kind enough to answer some questions about their hit title.
Question: How did the idea for Avatar Showdown come about?
Jeremy: Actually, believe it or not, the original idea didn't include avatars. We were crunching pretty hard on Unstoppable and Jonny really wanted a break from it. We saw that lots of really simple mini-games were making good money on XBLIG and we said hey, we can do that! (we really wanted a finished game under our belts, and of course the money too). So the first idea we had was to remake Samurai Kirby from Kirby Superstar, except with online play, and you play as cool 2D samurais instead and upon victory you thrust your sword into your opponent's chest. We played the Kirby game a lot as kids and so did many others, so this was a good idea. But then they announced that we'd be able to put avatars in our games, and the idea got even gooder. We instantly decided to use avatars instead. We knew this would be a popular feature (we started work on this before any avatar games were out). But still the idea needed more of a hook. Originally for the single player mode you were just gonna face off against each member of JForce, but eventually I came up with the idea to put in avatars that mimic characters who are even more famous than us, each with a funny quote. And obviously that's a big factor in this game's success.
Question: Could you describe Avatar Showdown for anyone who hasn’t seen it?
Jeremy: It's like a fighting game, except not really. It's much, much simpler. You play as your avatar (duh) and you punch your friend's avatars in the face if you're faster. You can play locally, online, or single player, which pits you against the most epic line-up of opponents ever. It's worth a dollar for that alone, especially the last boss.
Ty: Alright, here's the deal, think about the most dreadfully obese female that you know. No, really...think about it...Got her? Ok, now imagine her on a relatively undersized toilet, unleashing the most viciously explosive diarrhea dump known to mankind. I'm talking 'bout the kind of diarrhea that comes out not in a straight line but more like a torrential cone-shaped area-of-effect. Oh, and she's also in the middle of an extremely heavy menstrual cycle, so there's like...these little blood clot thingies trickling out that are homogenizing with the spicy poo...
...You get the picture, and folks, to get right down to it, such an experience wouldn't make for a great Indie Game, but you're in luck, because describing our Avatar Showdown would entail describing the exact opposite of such a putrid experience, and this s*** just got real! (OMG!!!!!!!!!)
Question: How large was the team that created Avatar Showdown and how long did it take to develop?
Jeremy: Jonny did the majority of work. I just did some graphics and design work, and Ty helped out with ideas and testing. We started this project way back in August, but Jonny really didn't work on it that much during the fall due to college. It was maybe around 3 months of work. Took awhile to get the networking figured out.
Question: When you created Avatar Showdown did you think it might become as popular as it has?
Jeremy: Well, this is JForce you're talkin to. Everything we create will become popular. But honestly, no I wasn't really expecting this, #1 seller and all. Though I knew the game would be a top-ten seller, I expected more than $10k in sales and I knew there was a good chance it could really take-off like it has.
Question: Looking back on Avatar Showdown what are the things that you are most proud of?
Jeremy: Making people laugh. Many people have told us how hilarious they think the game is, and that's really the goal. It's what we do. We had a lot of fun making it.
Ty: I'm exceedingly proud of Brian Peppers and his willingness to make a cameo for us in the in-game trailer.
Question: Was there anything you were hoping to get into Avatar Showdown that did not make it?
Jeremy: I really wanted a leaderboards component, where it saves your average time from online matches and then ranks you. But Jonny the code-monkey said it was too much work, so no deal. Plus we wouldn't really be able to do it properly without leaving an Xbox on 24/7, and we're not really able to do that just yet.
Also we have an update coming soon that fixes the crashing issues some people are experiencing in online multiplayer. And it'll have two new characters in single player.
Question: Now that Avatar Showdown has released are you planning another Indie game?
Jeremy: Yep, we're back to work on Unstoppable, the game we've been working on for the last 2 years or so (officially titled "JForce: Unstoppable"). And this game, it's just...it's just gonna be way too epic. Ok, I mean, really, words can not describe the greatness this game is gonna bring to the indie scene. Your hype-o-meter will break. If you only knew what we have in-store... So stay tuned, major hype-inducing announcements are coming soon. It may even get a whole new art direction! Who knows!
Question: Can you give us some tips or strategies for Avatar Showdown?
Jeremy: When you see the flash, press any button as fast as you can.
More? Ok. If you're having trouble against the 'ol Chuckster, you may have to press the button before you actually see the flash and just hope for the best. The time range that the flash will randomly appear is 2-6.5 seconds, so if you wanted to be really hardcore you could even get a timer to increase your success rate. So then taking it to multiplayer, if you're up 1-0, don't be afraid to give up one of your fouls by attempting this prediction tactic. This could also lead to you getting really lucky and scoring .000, which is accompanied by a thunder strike and gives you plenty of right to humiliate your opponent with a long falsetto OOOOOHHHH!!! Another tactic you can do (this is a cheap trick we did a lot as kids playing this game) is to make noises to trick your opponent into striking. After a few seconds of silence, just bust out a quick HAH! They might fall for it, and then you get to laugh in their face.
Ty: Use the bumper buttons, they're the fastest to activate, just like your mom. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOhhh! (JK!!!!!!!)
Jeremy: Jonny thinks it's best if you use the face buttons and slightly press the button halfway, just enough so it's not registering, but bringing your thumb that much closer to pressing it all the way. But hey look at all this strategy! This game has so much depth OMG.
Oh and another thing, you can navigate the menu with the right stick, and LB can progress through the menu just like the A button. This means you can hold the controller with one hand, and that's great if your other hand is... occupied. It's really a stroke of genius.
Question: Where would you like to see the Xbox Live Indie Game platform go in the future?
Jeremy: More vibrator games please.
Ty: The same place that I would like the platform to go is the same place that it will: Wherever JForce decides.
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