Vblank Entertainment on the possibility of Retro City Rampage on 3DS, 3DS talk in general
Vblank Entertainment CEO Brian Provinciano on the possibilty of Retro City Rampge 3DS…
“I love how things get taken out of context, haha. I did an interview about RCR recently in which they went fishing at the end by throwing in a question about what I thought of the 3DS… and here we are! I think pretty much every developer is interested in the 3DS. With the downloadable space finally in full swing, the market being there for smaller games, and the almost risk-free environment where we needn’t worry about manufacturing, distribution and shelf space, it’s very enticing.
I’m definitely interested in the 3DS, although the existing platforms for RCR are the priority. The number one thing right now is getting it tied in a bow and into gamers’ hands. From there, we will explore other options.
I wouldn’t want to port RCR to the 3DS outright. It would definitely be a sequel or spin-off, and definitely have additions which take advantage of the 3D. One step at a time, but I have ideas in mind which would be incredibly fun to both make AND play.
I’m one of those programmers who always wants to learn new things and play with new toys (ie. new console and handheld development systems). It’s glorious to see your game running on multiple platforms. To this date, I’ve worked on pretty much everything, from the mainstream consoles and handhelds to those Jakks TV Games joysticks. The Jakks hardware was actually pretty fun to work on. Although it wasn’t without its problems, it was like having the opportunity to do real commercial 16-bit games as late as 2004/2005. It wasn’t incredibly different from the Sega/Nintendo platforms, and I even had a chance to do some assembly language programming.
Long story short, everyone go out and buy Retro City Rampage on its launch platforms so it hits the top sales charts! It’ll ensure we have the opportunity to continue making our dream games, which include sequels and spin-offs to it and would provide the means to invest in new platforms.”
Provinciano on what his potential ideas for the 3DS could be…
“We have ideas for a few different games, both small and medium sized, for consoles and handhelds in general. After RCR, we will continue to do retro stuff, but also be doing current gen 2D/3D games as well.”
Provinciano on what he believes the most challenging aspect of 3DS development will be…
“Definitely the gimmick dilemma. I must say, one of my pet peeves is how so many games on the Nintendo DS, especially at launch just HAD to throw in stylus actions. They usually broke the flow of the game and took you out of the experience. More often than not, these action were simply the “scenic route” to effectively pressing a button. One sidescroller in particular I remember required three hands to play (or two and a table). I never bothered playing past the first level.
I look forward to seeing 3D games on the 3DS that don’t just sprinkle 3D on top, but use it to create new game experiences. I’m sure we’ll see this, but it’s definitely going to be the biggest designer challenge in my mind. I have no doubt that Nintendo’s first party games have already mastered this challenge!”
Thanks to David T for the tip!
