Interview avec Glenn Dphrepaulezz (Mind Over Mutant DS)

Interview by: HP Zoner and JumpButton

With little more than a couple of weeks until Mind Over Mutant's release, DS owners wonder how the game will be like for Nintendo's dual-screen handheld. Here to tell you all about it is Glenn Dphrepaulezz, in an interview that reveals the very first details about MOM for the DS. Cheers to Glenn for doing it!

Q: Word out there is that the game will be a mix between various genres. Though 2D platforming is thought to be the main aspect of the game, what other elements will be included? How do the DS' touch and sound features work into this?
A: Platforming is definitely the primary genre of the DS sku of Crash Mind over Mutant. The majority of our game is cross between platforming and puzzle-solving, and the sub-genre actually comes in the flavor of fighting / combat. Where a lot of our general combat is the same as it has been in previous games, we have spent some additional time with the Mutant-based combat through the implementation of dodging / evading, blocking, and improved abilities. In regard to the touch screen and the mic features on the DS, we decided that they didn’t fit what we were looking to accomplish with the primary gameplay mechanics, so were we do use the touch screen in the single player game… we saved the use of these features for the experience with our minigames.

Q: What can you tell us about the Titans in this game? In what ways do they differ from the console versions?
A: There are definitely similarities between some of the Mutants in the DS sku and the Mutants in the console sku, but the primary difference is we were looking to create more of a sense of investment with the mutants through allowing the player to actually evolve them through gameplay. The mutants in the game typically evolved through 3 stages, and with each evolution they gain new abilities that they player can use to defeat enemies and solve environment-based puzzles .

Q: How many Titans are there? Do any of the DS exclusive titans from the last game return? Are there any new Titans that are only on DS?
A: In total, the DS sku has 16 Titans. We actually didn’t take any of the exclusive titans over from the previous DS sku, but there are definitely new and exclusive Titans with the DS sku of Crash Mind over Mutant.

Q: Is the story the same as in the console versions, or will it be unique to the DS?
A: The story used for the DS sku is actually derived from the story used in the console game. There are some differences between the two, but the overall story itself follows the same arch.

Q: How many levels does this version have?
A: I actually don’t remember off-hand exactly how many levels there are, but we have 5 Worlds and each World has between 8 to 12 stages (not including the Boss stages). So, I’d say around 50 levels plus the Boss Battles.

Q: Are the sprites in this game made from scratch, or will they be pre-rendered from 3D models?
A: Actually, a bit of both. Each of the 5 worlds uses at least one sprite that is pre-rendered from a 3D model from the console skus. All of the other enemies in the game are sprites that have been created from scratch by the development team. In addition to that, Crash, the Titans, and the Bosses are all actual 3D models.

Q: Are the cutscenes going to take a more traditional route, or will they feature audio dialogue?
A: The cut-scenes in the DS sku of Crash Mind over Mutant will take a more traditional route, but they will also play a very minor role in the game. With Mind over Mutant, we actually took time away from cut-scenes to focus more on the execution of the gameplay style and the dynamic between the player and the Titans (as they evolve). We originally spent quite a bit of time on the cut-scenes but then decided to dial it back as we felt it did not significantly add to the experience we were looking to achieve.

Q: Any multiplayer or Wi-Fi features?
A: We do have a competitive multiplayer mode where the players can go head-to-head with their Titans (based upon what they have unlocked and evolved in the single player game), and we have 3 minigame modes that support up to 4 players that take more advantage of the benefits of playing on the Wii platform. However, we actually do not have any support for Wifi player. This is something that we REALLY wanted to support as we had some really cool plans and ideas for wireless multiplayer and how we could incorporate our design for Titan evolution, but quite honestly… time wasn’t on our side.

Q: How do bosses, if there are any, work?
A: We definitely have Bosses in the game. All of our Boss battles are designed to be a different puzzle experience, followed up with a focus on using the combat mechanics in the game to go toe-to-toe with the bosses. In most cases, the bosses will be based upon the most evolved form of the Titans in the game… so the player can either go in as Crash and rely on tactics to defeat these massive Titans in close combat, or bring in another evolved Titan to beat the Bosses into submission.