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I want to start by thanking Ed Allard, VP, Strategic Development, PopCap Games for taking the time to answer a few questions for us. Since Feeding Frenzy and Feeding Frenzy 2: Shipwreck Showdown seem to be popular with a lot of you I thought everyone might be interested in PopCap's thoughts on the recently released Feeding Frenzy 2: Shipwreck Showdown.
Question: When the decision to make Feeding Frenzy 2: Shipwreck Showdown was made, what things about the first Feeding Frenzy did you want to keep in the sequel? Ed Allard: The key elements for a Feeding Frenzy game are simple: intuitive controls and a sense of highly accessible fun that anyone can enjoy. Those are really the cornerstone of the game. The simplicity of the core mechanic is what makes the game appeal to such a broad audience, and we wanted to be careful not to take away from that by adding too many crazy new controls and features. Instead, we decided to focus on a few key elements that build naturally on top of the existing mechanic. For example, jumping out of water is a natural extension of the “dash” feature that players are already comfortable with, and the nighttime levels and boss battles add a whole new sense of tension without players having to learn new rules or controls. Similarly, the multiplayer mini-games are built on the same set of skills and mechanics you learn from the single player adventure.
Q: Was it difficult to develop for Xbox Live Arcade?
Ed Allard: PopCap has developed quite a bit of experience on the Xbox LIVE Arcade over the last couple years with games like Zuma, Heavy Weapon, Bejeweled 2, and the original Feeding Frenzy. Microsoft provides a great development environment for the platform with tons of support and documentation. They also impose some very strict conformance standards that everyone needs to follow, and that often turns out to be one of the more challenging parts of the process. Of course, those standards result in the terrific Xbox LIVE environment that we all know and love, so it’s hard to complain. So, I’d have to say no – Xbox LIVE Arcade is really not a difficult platform to develop for.
Q: Looking back on Feeding Frenzy 2: Shipwreck Showdown what are the things that you are most proud of?
Ed Allard: It’s hard to call out individual elements, because I’m really pleased with how the whole thing turned out. The team did a terrific job, and I’m proud to have been a part of it. I think the multiplayer game modes turned out to be a lot of fun – in particular the Chomp ‘n Chase party game has turned into one of the development team’s favorite pastimes. After hundreds of hours playing and testing the same game, it’s hard to find features that still feel fresh. Getting four players around a TV for a few rounds of Chomp ‘n Chase, still puts a smile on all our faces. I also think that the game ended up looking really great. The visual fidelity of the game took a big jump from the original.
Q: Is there anything you were hoping to get into Feeding Frenzy 2: Shipwreck Showdown that did not make the cut? If so, is there any chance we'll see it as DLC or in a future Feeding Frenzy game?
Ed Allard: There’s always tons of stuff that doesn’t make the cut. The most obvious one is LIVE multiplayer. We spent a lot of time looking into this, and we decided that we wouldn’t be able to do it and still provide the same great feel that the single player game has. It turns out the AI’s and interactions that fish have with each other is pretty complex. Fish school together, flee from predators, chase smaller fish, dodge mines, respond to tail bites, and all kinds of behaviors. There can be hundreds of creatures on the screen at one time, and each one needs to be aware of and react to all the other fish in the sea. In the end, the effort required to bring the complex interactions between all the creatures into a solid online environment just wasn’t in the scope of an XBLA title.
Q: What is your favorite mode to play and why?
EA: Like I mentioned earlier, the Comp ‘n Chase party game is one of my favorite new ways to play Feeding Frenzy 2. I love party style games, and this game always has me laughing and talking trash with my friends. Co-op story mode is probably tied for first though. One of the nice things about a game like Feeding Frenzy is that players of different skill levels can play together and have a blast. I can play co-op with my wife, and she doesn’t get frustrated like she does with some of the more traditional hardcore titles I try to rope her into.
Q: How enjoyable/challenging was it to design and implement the Achievements?
Ed Allard: Achievements are always fun to design. I do wish we had more achievements to work with in Xbox LIVE Arcade titles because it’s tough to find just the right mix. You want some easy ones and some really hard ones. You need some that reward the player for progress, but you also want to make sure you reward players who walk off the beaten path. We also wanted to get a decent mix of multiplayer achievements in there. I’d say there were at least a dozen additional achievements we’d have put in there if we could have.
Q: Can you give us a few tips and tricks for how to be a better Feeding Frenzy 2: Shipwreck Showdown player?
Ed Allard: While you’re Boris in the early levels, only eat the sure thing. Stay away from the prey that are a little too close to the predators, and only eat the prey that are near other prey or well away from the bigger fish. Once Boris’ levels are done, it’s time to go back to school. Use your “B” button suck power to inhale schools of fish which not only fills your FRENZY meter quickly, but it also gives you a school bonus of 500 points AND it’s tied to an achievement. Stay a little closer to the bottom when the pearls come into play. You can grow quickly by eating pearls and picking up some schools of fish while keeping your predators in check. Take advantage of the power up bubbles. The Shrink Shroom and Looney Lure can get you out of a lot of trouble.
Lots of folks have had trouble with the quadruple jump and I’ll admit it took me a few times on XBLA to get it. Grab a lightning bubble, race toward the surface and press the A button 5 times with just a quick second between each button press. The first A button press gets you out of the water and the rest will get your flips for the achievement. |
