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Boom Boom Rocket Q&A Feature

Jon Wilcox

11/04/2007

As EA's Xbox Live Arcade debut arrives on Marketplace, TVG chats to two of the guys from the game's developers at Bizarre Creations...

Scoring an Xbox Live Arcade winner with Geometry Wars: Evolved during the launch of Xbox 360 at the end of 2005, Bizarre Creations makes a return to the digitally distributed network with Electronic Arts' Boom Boom Rocket. The debut Xbox Live Arcade title from EA, the game can perhaps be broken down as "Guitar Hero with Pyrotechnics" - minus the plastic peripheral, of course.

To mark Boom Boom Rocket's arrival on Marketplace today, TVG sat down with Bizarre Creations and discussed their latest title:

TVG: Boom Boom Rocket isn't the first title from Bizarre Creations, so can you describe some of the differences in developing it compared to Geometry Wars: Evolved?

Well for starters, it's a completely different genre of game, so there was a completely different mindset. Geometry Wars goes for the hardcore player, so we had to change tact a little bit. We cater for the hardcore gamer [in Boom Boom Rocket], but we also had to make an effort to cater for the casual gamer too.

TVG: There are some similarities between the two though; both are very visually bright and bold, and both build up incredible sound - are these elements becoming trademarks of Bizarre Creations' Xbox Live Arcade style?

Within Bizarre, the audio team played a key role in the nature of the role. But Stephen Cakebread, the programmer behind Geometry Wars, was involved in Boom Boom Rocket. Likewise, the audio team was involved in Geometry Wars - so there is sharing involved. It [Boom Boom Rocket] does have his [Cakebread's] stamp over it. At the same time, they are very different games. Geometry Wars is catering for a more hardcore gaming market, whereas we are trying to pull in people who wouldn't necessarily play games, with this.

TVG: You can definitely see that. Boom Boom Rocket is very immediate, and it does seem that it will fill a gap for original casual games on XBLA.

Yeah, we've spent a lot of effort in that. Even people who haven't played games before can pick it up and get through a level. With the level design, we spent a lot of time balancing them, mainly because with ten songs and three difficulty levels across that, it was actually quite tricky to make the easy levels accessible enough, but also leave enough for the more experienced gamer. To actually spread that across with just three difficult levels, there was a lot of balancing involved. Hopefully we've got that good spread.

We've also got the Freestyle mode, which is good for anyone who can press one button. It's designed to be playable by kids - if you can't play the easy level, which will be surprising, you can play Freestyle mode. Somebody who was helping out the test team was the Managing Director's three-year old son, so we had his feedback on it too.

TVG: Boom Boom Rocket is a rhythm title with fireworks against a backdrop of a cityscape - was anybody at EA Pogo [joint-developers on Boom Boom Rocket with Bizarre Creations] or Bizarre fans of Fantavision on PS2, and is Boom Boom some sort of loose homage to the game?

Not really. I don't know anybody on the project who was very familiar to it - we've all played it very briefly. I wouldn't say it was a homage to Fantavision - it's quite a different game. It does share a visual style in a way because it's stylised fireworks. The game probably shares more with Guitar Hero than Fantavision; the fireworks set to a city background is similar but the gameplay is completely different.

I think it can be misleading because you see it and you think it's one type of game, and then you pick it up and it's another type of thing.

TVG: You mentioned Guitar Hero, in many ways, it's like Guitar Hero with pyrotechnics.

Yeah, I like that.

TVG: EA aren't renowned for being a platform exclusive publisher; have you been briefed by EA to develop Boom Boom Rocket for PlayStation Network or will it be an Xbox 360 exclusive?

At this stage, we've made just what you've seen.

TVG: Microsoft recently upped the file size cap for Xbox Live Arcade titles from 50MB - is this something that Boom Boom Rocket takes advantage of?

It would have been tight to get it into 50MB. When we started we were aiming for 50MB, but all of this was unfolding while we were making the game, so were just keeping an eye on the actual size limit. It's quite lucky really because I think the game is better because we had that extra space we could use. There are more varied sound effects, the music is of better quality because of it - it worked in our favour.

TVG: So it was the culmination of good timing?

Yeah, although we weren't anywhere near that [the limit]. We came in about half the maximum limit, so we were more than 50MB, but only enough to do what we originally wanted to do without compromising.

It saved a few headaches because at the end of the project we just had to concentrate about getting it out rather than worry about getting it out under the 50 Megs.

TVG: I also noticed that there's an option for Downloadable Content; is this something that you're on at present?

It's something that we're considering, but that's all I can say.

TVG: But what form could that take? Additional tracks?

At this stage, it's just about seeing how well the game goes down and then we'll take it from there I guess.

TVG: Bizarre is working with two other publishers at the moment; The Club with SEGA and PGR4 with Microsoft Game Studios. Do you anticipate that by working with EA on Boom Boom Rocket, it paves the way for that relationship to burgeon?

It's been a great project to work on; working with [EA] Pogo, they've been fully behind us all the way and involved in all of the details. It's been really good - from here, I don't know what happens, but it's been good so far.

TVG: And the development team on Boom Boom Rocket was larger than the one that worked on Geometry Wars?

It was coding really. It [Geometry Wars] was a one-man band with additional help with bits and pieces. With Boom Boom Rocket the actual development has not been like any other game that Bizarre has done. After the original idea was done [by EA Pogo], up to the point where the game idea had taken shape, we [the Bizarre audio team] were approached with the offer of overseeing the development of it, and being heavily involved with it.

As for people who actually worked for the game, it's all been more about people offering their services for it, so the team has fallen around the game - which has been really good because it's meant that everybody's been really positive and has wanted to work on it from day one. They've volunteered to get involved so again, I think the quality of the game reflects the passion that everybody that's worked on it had.

There's been a lot of enthusiasm for the game - we really feel like we've taken ownership of it. At the same time, it's come on top of everybody's day jobs as it were. It's almost a breath of fresh air; you do the normal day-to-day stuff, and then you come onto this and let your hair down and experiment.

TVG: So it's not something that you've been working exclusively on?

I sort of have, but I'm the only one that's been a coder for full-time. Essentially it's been very freeform as to how the whole development's gone, everyone's roles have been very flexible too. I've done gameplay [and audio], it's been quite fluid, which has worked very well for us.

We've had quite a bit of freedom which has been really good. I'd be working late one night and throw in an idea - I'd say to the guys "What do you think of this?" If it's a good idea, then we'll keep that - it's been really refreshing to work like that.

The bigger titles don't have that sort of quick turnaround, it would have to go through various places before something made it into the game or not. Whereas with this you can just try it out, and if it works, it stays.

TVG: It sounds like there's been a good development atmosphere on the project; can you explain about the working relationship with EA Pogo? What did they bring as a concept, and how much of that was taken on board and developed by Bizarre - was there close collaboration?

There's been close collaboration with EA Pogo all the way; they originally approached Bizarre with the idea of a rhythm-action game with fireworks being the main event. Beyond that, Jeff Lewis, our veteran game designer, worked closely with Pogo to develop that and hone it down into a really solid, core gameplay idea. We [the Bizarre audio team] got approached shortly afterwards, and the project grew from that.

The game has turned out different because of working with EA Pogo, and their experience with the casual market.

TVG: Are there plans to bring Boom Boom Rocket to mobiles, following in the footsteps of Geometry Wars?

We don't know about that - no comment.

TVG: And where does the development team on Boom Boom Rocket go from here?

PGR4 and The Club pretty much, though they're both getting into full swing now. That's going to be taking up a lot of our time - once they're out of our way it would be nice to put some of the experience that we've learnt into more use, but we'll have to see how that goes.

TVG: So Geometry Wars 3?

No comment.

TVG would like to thank both EA and Bizarre Creations for discussing Boom Boom Rocket. Incidentally, the game is available from today on Xbox Live Marketplace for 800 Microsoft Points.

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