Hardware

Wii Info

Wii Past

Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional
Valid CSS
RSS Feed

Stunt Cars interview

Yesterday we heard about three new titles coming onto WiiWare, one of these being Stunt Cars, a racing game that shows some promise.

The developers responsible are Icon Games. I sent over a few questions to their main man, the iconic Mr Richard Hill-Whittall to get more info.

WW: Heya, could you introduce yourself and describe what you do at Icon Games?

Rich: Richard Hill-Whittall and I am the owner/director of Icon. I oversee the production of all of Icon's titles and future product development. I am also very hands-on with the art & design of our games - so right now my role covers the studio management, art direction, project management, game design, business development, financial budgeting & planning! Busy but incredibly fulfilling.

WW: Can you tell us about your new game Stunt Cars? There are a few racers on WiiWare by now, what will you be doing differently?

Rich: In many ways Stunt Cars is a little more retro - with influences from Super Sprint, Stunt Car Racer, Trackmania and a few others along the way. We are trying to create a good solid arcade race game, with a decent set of features that provide good value for money and a lot of fun.

WW: The game has four multiplayer modes, are any of them online?

Rich: No - while we would have liked to do that, our development budget and timescale meant it was just out of the question. It would have added several more months' development time and a head exploding QA commitment that right now is beyond what we can handle.

WW: Are the 24 tracks unique, or does that number include alternate routes around the same track?

Rich: There are 24 unique tracks, with a number of different locations and time of day themes.

WW: Have you taken inspiration from other racing titles? Looking at the screenshots I'm reminded a little of Re-Volt, an oldie from the PC.

Rich: Well it just so happens that the vehicle artist on Stunt Cars (Joseph Groombridge) was the vehicle artist on ReVolt. Well spotted :) Initially we were planning an RC car game - but moved away from that when we saw a couple of similar themed games announced.

WW: Given the release window of Q3 2009, it must be pretty close to completion?

Rich: Yep - days away now.

WW: There's also a PSP version coming, which one is better? :)

Rich: LOL! Hopefully both as good although there are a couple of extras on Wii.

WW: You've decided to publish your own games from here on, what's the biggest challenge you're facing having taken this step?

Rich: The scope and planning of it really; now we have to cover the QA, marketing, age ratings, translations, etc.

That said though it isn't as daunting as it may sound - and so far it has been a fantastic experience.

Many thanks to Rich for taking some time out for us. Shadows or not, Stunt Cars is one to keep an eye on.

Posts

No posts. Be a pioneer.

Add a post





Upload avatar



Around the web