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Written by Jigsaw hc
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Thursday, 18 September 2008 08:44 |
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Since Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 released on Xbox Live Arcade it quickly climbed to top of the games rated here at XBLA Ratings. Since everyone enjoys it so much I got in touch with Bizarre Creations, and they agreed to do a Question and Answer with me about Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2.
I want to thank Stephen Cakebread, Senior Coder at Bizarre Creations for being so cool and taking the time to answer some questions for us.
Question: When the decision to make Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 was made what things about the first Geometry Wars did you want to keep in the sequel?
Stephen Cakebread: We wanted to keep the fundamental gameplay of the first game, so that it didn’t feel like a completely new game when you picked up the sequel. The design should be built on the best bits of the first GWRE, but broader and better in all the areas which count.
Likewise we wanted to keep as many enemies as possible from the first game whilst introducing some new ones where appropriate. Same goes for the visual style… it should be recognizable as Geometry Wars, but with enough new visual flair to make you realize that it’s a new game in its own right.
Q: Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 is currently the highest rated game and most rated game on XBLA Ratings. So, clearly a lot of people really enjoy it. Did you expect it to be so well received as it was being developed?
SC: Well, after the first game did so well critically (which we weren’t expecting), we set ourselves an incredibly high bar with the sequel. We’re our own biggest critics, and GWRE2 needed to meet our own very high standards before it got released. So in those terms, we knew we had a good game but we still weren’t sure whether the world at large would feel the same!
Q: Looking back on Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 what are the things that you are most proud of?
SC: I’m most proud of the complete package, and how the game modes fit together to form a compelling game. Each game mode was designed to introduce new gameplay elements, and hopefully by the time you complete Sequence you’ll be a much better GWRE player than you were when you started!
Q: Is there anything you were hoping to get into Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 that did not make the cut? If so, is there any chance we'll see it as DLC or in a future Geometry Wars?
SC: There were lots of things that we were brutal with, and we cut out. If they didn’t meet the high quality bar, then they didn’t make the final game. Among these things were lots of different types of game modes and enemies.
One of the game modes that didn’t make it was an air-hockey style thing, with gravity wells as goals. It was good fun, but it didn’t have the same depth as the other modes and was ultimately not included in the final product.
It’s for this reason that you probably won’t see many of these things as DLC. If we thought they could work then we would have included them in the full game in the first place. :)
Q: What is your favorite mode to play? Why?
SC: I enjoy playing Sequence, because you need to properly execute strategies to maximize the points from each level. There’s a lot of depth there…
Q: What mode do you find to be the most challenging? Why?
SC: Again, that would be Sequence. It’s as hard as nails! However, I always intended it to be like that as it was the last game mode… a fitting finale to the game. Likewise it’s really a mode for the hardcore to learn, and show off their skills.
Q: How enjoyable was it to design and implement the Achievements?
SC: As enjoyable as the rest of the design really. We designed the achievements to complement the gameplay, and give player something else to think about as they played. For me, the achievements were all about asking the player to look at the gameplay in a different way… from an angle they might not normally consider.
Q: Can you give us a few tips and tricks for how be a better Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 player?
SC: Rule number one: don’t die! To maximize your score, you should try to use gravity wells and gates to their full advantage. For example, bouncing bullets off of gates gets you a 5x score multiplier for every enemy you kill using this method. Driving through multiple gates in a row in quick succession gets you a points bonus too. Finally, catching enemies in the explosions of gates and gravity wells also awards a 5x bonus.
Make sure you pick up geoms… and pick them up early in the game. Geoms increase your multiplier, so the more geoms you have, the better your score will be.
Oh and remember, practice makes perfect! |
