Bigdownload.com recently interviewed us asking some pretty interesting questions. I was unsure about posting it myself (you know, being one of the people interviewed), but since several details about the gameplay are discussed I think it can warrant a new thread.
Link: http://news.bigdownload.com/2011/03/06/interview-we-chat-with-team-members-behind-dudebro-ii/
Some highlights:
I hope it's a good read
Link: http://news.bigdownload.com/2011/03/06/interview-we-chat-with-team-members-behind-dudebro-ii/
Some highlights:
The game is obviously meant to be funny but how hard is it to make a parody game that's also a good game?
Miguel: Similarly to what Sil and Andrea said, Dudebro II being mainly a parody game means that many don't take it very seriously. This affects our chances of getting new volunteers willing to commit themselves into helping us with the project. But the game is more than just a parody: we have spent quite a bit of time thinking how the gameplay could be fun and engaging, and, underneath the surface, the story is more complex than you would expect!
Many contributors also don't have much experience (if any at all) with game development, so yeah, sometimes it's quite hard to keep everything together, but it's also a great experience for everyone involved.
What sort of gameplay can we expect to see in Dudebro II?
Andrea: Not exactly what you would expect from an indie top-down shooter. Instead of just having the player fight waves of enemies in small arenas, something that is likely to become repetitive after a while, we went for a more open-ended and mission-based style of gameplay. Each chapter consists of a single map populated with missions the player can find and accept by exploring it. I'd say it's a bit of an open world-ish approach at its core, except in obviously much smaller environments. The missions themselves are what give variety to the game by offering different spins to the core gameplay or even changes to the basic level design. Completing missions awards the player with medals used to unlock boss battles and proceed further in the campaign. The game also uses physics, and being able to pick up and throw objects (something both Dudebro and some enemies can do) is core part of the gameplay. I'd say that throwing an explosive barrel towards a large group of enemies and blowing it up with a well-aimed shot can feel quite satisfying.
What sort of locations and settings will we see in the game?
Andrea: I'm not going to spoil them into detail, but each chapter is set in a completely different location. Dudebro is going to travel a lot during his adventure, so you'll see a variety of settings. The first one, depicted in the first screenshots we released, is Alaska. More specifically, the snowfields surrounding a facility built next to the oil pipeline and taken over by terrorists. But right after such a cold area, what could be better than laying in the sun on a Cuban beach? Using different locations around the world allowed us to build up some pretty nice contrast, making each chapter look more unique.
You got Jon St John to do Dudebro's voice. How was he to work with and how is his voice different from his work on Duke Nukem?
Sil: We can't express enough how fortunate we are that Jon St. John was willing to voice and record lines for Dudebro. He has been extremely supportive of Dudebro II and our project at large. Recently, at this year's MagFest, he held a panel during which he let the audience hear some of the lines he recorded for Dudebro. It was great to see that not only the audience, but also Jon St. John himself enjoyed listening to that dialogue.
Overall how has the game's development gone for the team?
Sil: When we first started, we were overwhelmed by support and people asking to join the team. Everything started as a community effort, so as we grew larger so did the game's scope to accommodate all these volunteers. A few months later, though, real life kicked in and several key team members had personal, school, or work issues preventing them from continuing to work on the project. The way our team was organized allowed us to absorb the impact so that the game wasn't critically affected, and we had a chance to rethink the direction we wanted to take with Dudebro II. We decided to go with 2D sprites for the characters instead of the 3D models we had earlier. Not only does this new change better reflects our team's skill-set, but it also gives the game a better and more unique feel than ever before. Now, we are looking to expand the team again. Anyone who's interested in joining us can contact us through our website, http://www.dudebro2.com.
Why is the game going to be free when the team could easily sell the title and make some money back?
Andrea: When money enters any scenario, everything gets more complicated. The prospect of making money would be a hell of a motivator for many, but with so many people involved we'd hardly please everyone, or even make enough to turn in a decent profit. So we decided to just take money out of the equation entirely, while still trying to make a game as good as one you'd pay for, and we plan to allow everyone who played, and liked, it to donate money to charity instead.
I hope it's a good read