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Boogie interview with EA's VP of Montreal

C

CaVaYeRo

Member
I had the opportunity to go to the official pres. in Spain, so I have some hands-on and this interview. Since it's in English, I thought you'd like to read it (at least one thing I can share):

Revogamers: Alain Tascan, Vice president and general manager of EA Montreal. Could you please tell us about your role in the project?
AT: So in this project I’m the co-creator. I’m very proud of it, but it’s a work of a team. We’re almost 50 people and every taunt has been very important. I’m the General Manager of the studio so I’m also the executive producer of the product.

RG: EA has been making some big titles specifically for the Wii lately, with SSX Blur or MySims. Why did you decide to bring Boogie exclusively for this system?
AT: We felt that it was the perfect system, because it’s something fun with the new controller… innovative music oriented and we felt that it was a perfect match between a game that is…you know, gear to give you pleasure. And the Wii, which is really based on fun and family.

RG: Have you planned downloadable tracks, creations sharing or multiplayer game via the Wii online features?
AT: For the moment on this version, no. Everything will be on the machine and not online.

RG: How will each boog affect the gameplay?
AT: The gameplay is the same but each character has its own animation and personal customizations. So, in the story mode you have to play all the characters and see all the animation by all the customization to really add fun and different experience. But the gameplay, the core gameplay, is the same.

RG: Will you include any region-exclusive tracks?
AT: We’re working on it now, we cannot announce anything but we wanna include specific singing for, you know, Spanish songs for instance or songs from Spain because sometimes Spanish songs don’t work all over the place, so we’re working on it for the moment.

RG: Was a dance pad considered at an earlier development stage?
AT: Not really. I mean, this is something we really wanted to do with the Wii controller, and try to do the best of it so we didn’t think that the pad was something that will add more to this experience.

RG: What do you think of Elite Beat Agents? Would the Boogie concept be suitable for a portable version?
AT: So that’s very possible! Actually… (laughs). You know, I love this game and I think that this is something that we would be able to put on the NDS, probably.

RG: Speaking of music games… can we look forward to a Rock Band specific version?
AT: I can’t talk on this, I don’t know the answer.

RG: You recently called the development costs “crazy”. How do you think Nintendo’s approach with the Wii will affect that?
AT: (Yes, I said a lot of things… laughs) I feel that the Wii is a great machine to develop on because you don’t base everything on the biggest technology, the fastest processor but they’ve really done something really different, really creative. I think the other machines have their own quality but this machine is really good to just do something and focus on the fun and the gameplay.

RG: Boogie will face well-known music and dancing games like DDR, Wii Music or Guitar Hero. How will Boogie become the star in that dance floor?
AT: Number one it will be the first game on the Wii to offer karaoke. It’s really this free form one on one, we want to make difference. It’s something that should play with younger audience, more… older audience, people who like more gameplay oriented like hardcore gamers… What we want to do, other than being competition is offering something that nobody’s offering. And that’s really focus on the fun and the gameplay for every ages.

RG: A last comment for the Spanish Wii user?
AT: I think it’s like a good fiesta time (laughs). I went out yesterday in Madrid and I saw that the Spanish people are really found of going out and dancing and singing so I think this is the perfect game for this summer.

RG: Ok, that’s all. Thanks a lot for your time.
AT: Thank you very much, gracias.
Click to expand...

Here's the original article with pics, etc (page 4 in English).

Also, I'm open to answer any related question. Controls, Game modes and that stuff. For those who can read Spanish, I posted the preview here.

UPDATED: Bolded some things ;)
 
C

CaVaYeRo

Member
Starchasing said:
Thanks a lot !

Do you think this will be a hit?
Click to expand...

Yes, I think so. it's not Guitar Hero or DDR, it's something that a lot of casual gamers will buy with that style and a good campaign. I would've added some depth/difficulty, but it'll be fun anyway.
 
S

schuelma

Wastes hours checking old Famitsu software data, but that's why we love him.
Kind of off topic, but do you have any idea if the Montreal studio is the one making FIFA 08 for Wii?
 
C

CaVaYeRo

Member
schuelma said:
Kind of off topic, but do you have any idea if the Montreal studio is the one making FIFA 08 for Wii?
Click to expand...

That's Vancouver. This is from SSX Blur team, and it shares a lot of things with it: identical menus / pointer, characters design, Boogie meter... I would've loved some Uber tricks, also.
 
S

schuelma

Wastes hours checking old Famitsu software data, but that's why we love him.
CaVaYeRo said:
That's Vancouver. This is from SSX Blur team, and it shares a lot of things with it: identical menus / pointer, characters design, Boogie meter... I would've loved some Uber tricks, also.
Click to expand...


Ok...so is Vancouver the team that did Madden? I hope so..I really want FIFA to be good and the Madden team nailed it. Thanks!
 
C

colinp

Banned
CaVaYeRo said:
That's Vancouver. This is from SSX Blur team, and it shares a lot of things with it: identical menus / pointer, characters design, Boogie meter... I would've loved some Uber tricks, also.
Click to expand...

Ooh I didn't realize it was the same team. Interesting all the similarities you mentioned.

Did you enjoy the dancing part with the wiimote? What songs did they have in the game at the moment?
 
C

CaVaYeRo

Member
colinp said:
Ooh I didn't realize it was the same team. Interesting all the similarities you mentioned.

Did you enjoy the dancing part with the wiimote? What songs did they have in the game at the moment?
Click to expand...

I enjoyed it, but I wanted more depth. At the first time you feel like everything you do is OK for the game and adding points to your meter. Then at the co-op mode you discover it's very important to NOT repeat the same move (ala SSX) and to combine and move around. You can tilt the Wiimote and you can change your set. And then what I liked more were the combos, those combinations in which you could hit once a beat or go harder and hit twice a beat, for example. This applies to the normal gameplay, also. That was better. But I still prefer music games were they "command" you to do something strictly. This is very permissive, so very aimed at "all audiences".

I played the latest version (after the IGN one, I suppose) and they had Brick House and Don't Cha for the dancing mode. I saw some more tracks in there.

And I also liked the singing part :lol
 
O

Oichi

I'm like a Hadouken, down-right Fierce!
Boogie said:
Thread titles for this game always confuse the hell out of me for a couple seconds :-/
Click to expand...

I thought this was a thread about you for a second.... I'm sorely disappointed. :(
 
C

colinp

Banned
CaVaYeRo said:
I enjoyed it, but I wanted more depth. At the first time you feel like everything you do is OK for the game and adding points to your meter. Then at the co-op mode you discover it's very important to NOT repeat the same move (ala SSX) and to combine and move around. You can tilt the Wiimote and you can change your set. And then what I liked more were the combos, those combinations in which you could hit once a beat or go harder and hit twice a beat, for example. This applies to the normal gameplay, also. That was better. But I still prefer music games were they "command" you to do something strictly. This is very permissive, so very aimed at "all audiences".

I played the latest version (after the IGN one, I suppose) and they had Brick House and Don't Cha for the dancing mode. I saw some more tracks in there.

And I also liked the singing part :lol
Click to expand...


The inclusion of Don't Cha makes me want to slit my wrists, but otherwise I think the game sounds quite fun. :D Grab a few friends and make an alcohol filled night out of it and I could see a good time ensue. Are you allowed to divulge the other tracks you saw or are those hush hush?

I agree with you re wanting more direction in the game. Though, ya know, I've played Samba De Amigo with family and friends a million times, and my older brother for the life of him cannot get into the game and ends up just flailing wildly (much to everyone's amusement). This game might actually be a perfect fit for him! :lol
 
P

Phife Dawg

Member
Thanks Cava.

CaVaYeRo said:
I enjoyed it, but I wanted more depth. At the first time you feel like everything you do is OK for the game and adding points to your meter. Then at the co-op mode you discover it's very important to NOT repeat the same move (ala SSX) and to combine and move around. You can tilt the Wiimote and you can change your set. And then what I liked more were the combos, those combinations in which you could hit once a beat or go harder and hit twice a beat, for example. This applies to the normal gameplay, also. That was better. But I still prefer music games were they "command" you to do something strictly. This is very permissive, so very aimed at "all audiences".

I played the latest version (after the IGN one, I suppose) and they had Brick House and Don't Cha for the dancing mode. I saw some more tracks in there.

And I also liked the singing part :lol
Click to expand...
That's what I was thinking as well (without playing it of course). Just make something like the WW dancing boss stage with more depth and more moves and you have a great, fun and rewarding system. I'm not sold at all on this free-form stuff, I don't think it'll work the way they expect it to.

I'll get this just for the singing part though. Do the boogs lip-sync when you sing? And is it somewhat accurate?

Oh and do you know how many songs they'll include? Anything on release date? My favourite online shop has this slated for an August release, nintendofans as well. Any truth to this?

Thanks in advance.
 
C

CaVaYeRo

Member
Phife Dawg said:
Thanks Cava.


I'll get this just for the singing part though. Do the boogs lip-sync when you sing? And is it somewhat accurate?

Oh and do you know how many songs they'll include? Anything on release date? My favourite online shop has this slated for an August release, nintendofans as well. Any truth to this?

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Hey, Dawg. This is better, but i don't recognize you without the old avatar! :p

In the singing part, when you start doing really well, the boog starts dancing and lip-syncs. That's only decorative, but the voice recognition (not the lyrics, of course) works really well. I like it's always showing your voice with an arrow at the pentagram (little, black):

karaoke.jpg


so you know how you're doing. Also, you can decide the original voice volume (from "off" to "top"), but it will only be heard when you try to sing: perfect for shy-guys! :D

It'll include 40 cover tracks: Daft Punk, The Commadors, The Pussycat Dolls, Jackson Five, Culture Club, MC Hammer, Lou Bega… I remember "One more time" and I saw 2 or 3 more, but don't recall them - it was the beta version so we couldn't use every track, neither entering the Video Maker, which was shown by Alain Tascan.

What you say about the release date could be very possible. I thought it was coming this fall (same at everyone at our site), but checkout the latest answer:

I think this is the perfect game for this summer.
Click to expand...

that have us wondering if it's really coming to Europe that soon. And your dates are European, too, so... we'll see (I'm gonna ask our PR later this week, I suppose)

EDIT: There's also boog lip-sync when you're dancing and press Z on the nunchuck. Some bars, press when the voice and all that classic stuff
 
P

Phife Dawg

Member
CaVaYeRo said:
Hey, Dawg. This is better, but i don't recognize you without the old avatar! :p

In the singing part, when you start doing really well, the boog starts dancing and lip-syncs. That's only decorative, but the voice recognition (not the lyrics, of course) works really well. I like it's always showing your voice with an arrow at the pentagram (little, black):

http://www.revogamers.net/Imag/avances/boogie/karaoke.jpg

so you know how you're doing. Also, you can decide the original voice volume (from "off" to "top"), but it will only be heard when you try to sing: perfect for shy-guys! :D

It'll include 40 cover tracks: Daft Punk, The Commadors, The Pussycat Dolls, Jackson Five, Culture Club, MC Hammer, Lou Bega… I remember "One more time" and I saw 2 or 3 more, but don't recall them - it was the beta version so we couldn't use every track, neither entering the Video Maker, which was shown by Alain Tascan.

What you say about the release date could be very possible. I thought it was coming this fall (same at everyone at our site), but checkout the latest answer:

that have us wondering if it's really coming to Europe that soon. And your dates are European, too, so... we'll see (I'm gonna ask our PR later this week, I suppose)

EDIT: There's also boog lip-sync when you're dancing and press Z on the nunchuck. Some bars, press when the voice and all that classic stuff
Click to expand...
Hehe, I'm the same. I usually remember people from their avatars, not neccessarily their screen name.

Singing sounds awesome, I like the fact their rewarding the player when they are trying to sing better. 40 tracks is pretty good I'd say, I can pre-order this for 50,- € including the mic - not that bad.

Hey I read the interview and that little gem totally slipped me. Summer would be great, this would be the perfect game to get people in the mood before going out drinking.

As always thanks for the impressions, I guess I must learn Spanish some day so I can check out more of your site.
 
V

Visualante

Member
Boogie for DS is unlikely when you consider EBA sales.
However if Boogie is a ridiculously huge (1 million+) hit- then it would be wise to use the pre-installed DS market to extend the brand to people who might not own a Wii.

I hope they're considering the Japanese market with this game also.
 
T

titiklabingapat

Member
Visualante said:
Boogie for DS is unlikely when you consider EBA sales.
However if Boogie is a ridiculously huge (1 million+) hit- then it would be wise to use the pre-installed DS market to extend the brand to people who might not own a Wii.

I hope they're considering the Japanese market with this game also.
Click to expand...

Too freeform for the Japanese, I would think.
 
Z

Zynx

Member
Sheesh - a few days ago they were talking as if they hadn't worked out what exactly the game concept would be, and now it's releasing in 2 months or so? Bad sign if you ask me. I don't think this is turning exactly into a high-budget game.

And man, of all the art styles they could have chosen, this is the worst. Some unlovable-alien-thing as their title character? It's not even cute.
 
C

CaVaYeRo

Member
Zynx said:
Sheesh - a few days ago they were talking as if they hadn't worked out what exactly the game concept would be, and now it's releasing in 2 months or so? Bad sign if you ask me. I don't think this is turning exactly into a high-budget game.

And man, of all the art styles they could have chosen, this is the worst. Some unlovable-alien-thing as their title character? It's not even cute.
Click to expand...

well, I think the design is one of its best points. The version we played seemed very final. I don't see the problem of deciding which control are you using at a final stage. And I see why they've chosen that freedom one - although I would've preferred more challenge.

Anyway, She's a brick rarararaaa House
She's mighty mighty la la la la :D
 
S

Shorty

Banned
So is it possible to sing with your friends with more than 1 mic or is it more like: "You sing and I dance"?
That would suck balls because SingStar was only enjoyable when another guy sang togehter with you. Singing alone would just be awkward.
 
C

CaVaYeRo

Member
Shorty said:
So is it possible to sing with your friends with more than 1 mic or is it more like: "You sing and I dance"?
That would suck balls because SingStar was only enjoyable when another guy sang togehter with you. Singing alone would just be awkward.
Click to expand...

that's it, and just in the Video Maker mode.

I love that trailer :D
 
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