Nintendo-Difference's Interview about Skylanders with Executive Producer

Aura24 · May 30, 2011 5:08 PM

Nintendo-Differences interviews about Skylanders with the game's exective producer is revealed:

http://www.nintendo-difference.com/doss … htm#chap_0

Here's some of the Q&A from the interview:

ND: Do you feel that this is a natural evolution of the franchise Spyro?

JY: I think it's good change from the gameplay blending the worlds of toys and video game that we seek, and Spyro is a perfect choice for it. When people ask what a Skylander, we reply that it is a legendary hero, a champion in the world of Skyland. As we have seen through the Spyro games, he has earned his stripes as a legendary champion and earned the rank of Skylander among the 32 champions who represent the cream, the leaders of Skyland. It is well known and is the standard for heroism. So it's a natural evolution of the franchise.

ND: What was the first idea, the combination of toys and video game, or use of the Spyro franchise?

JY: It was really done in tandem. Make the game was a nice union of creativity in our studios Toys for Bob, and work with our other Internet group, Red Octane, who had already made devices in the past for DJ Hero and Guitar Hero. So we had the right people behind the technology, and good people behind the creativity. We started by telling us "Ok, let's find the best ideas we may have for toys, characters, and what their capabilities are in the game world" and then we use technology to see if we could bring life to these toys. Many people think it can not be done, but hey, let's try! Maybe you make a mistake along the way, but see if something is possible, that is the real spirit to advance in the industry. Such developments, the evolution of games and toys, that is why we entered the industry. It is an exciting race ahead for each of these two worlds.

ND: Is this game is aimed at a younger audience, or is it that players who grew up with Spyro also find themselves in the game?

JY: I think so. I love playing this game, though of course I'm on the side of the publisher. Have the pleasure of your toys to life and freedom of choice through what you can do in the game, I think these are things that speak to everyone. I think for everyone, you, myself, especially children, we are told all the time what we should do, where we must do, when, why, how. Even in games, often we are told "You will use this character in this level now," "Now you play a side-scroller, you will use this character and you have to do it that way." What we do and what I think happens Skylanders to do is give you some power over the choice. You know what? This level is filled with water? I did not use a water character. I'll use a character who can fly, and fly just above the water. Or I'll use this monster lava and jump on these islands. It's just a matter of saying "You know what? Go and play! . This is what the games were at the beginning, it was only freedom of expression and fun. Sometimes people forget that freedom may just invent what you want to do when you want to do. It's like giving the power to your imagination and take a step back, I love that feeling of freedom. It provides excellent replayability, as each character is unique. So you can play at one level, such as a water level with a character on the mainland, Eruptor example, running from island to island. You'll quickly understand how it works and you could get rid of your enemies head on. Maybe then you'll want to replay that level with Gill Grunt. Now you swim in water, you sneak behind your enemies because you can leave the water and shoot them with your harpoon before using your jet pack water before joining the new wave. You can use the water to have unlimited ammo, since it is owned water and that it is fueling his jet pack and a water pistol. You adopt a completely different strategy and can explore new paths in the level, then you almost feel like playing a different game.

ND: Are you asking questions of children to have ideas?

JY: Probably, you ensure that you are still on track to please everyone. Toys for Bob has conducted numerous iterations with many ideas for different characters before stopping at this group of 32 characters. So, you know, that kind of position, you use every tool in your arsenal to explore your imagination and that of the whole world to see what you could find.

ND: Can we expect more adventures of Spyro mature in the near future?

JY: You know, you approach the next step smartly, and you do what you think is good for the history of the characters, the gameplay and the hearing of the game you do not do something just because you can. You can already see what we have done with many other games within Activision. I do not think of giving your more mature Spyro because we can be a good thing because it will not work in the universe, the style, the gameplay, the audience that we seek to achieve . We're always seeking new ways to play, that's how we got this game is just unique compared to what has already been done. We really take our time to what is the next step, and as regards the direction of the franchise, I can not say anything yet. We always try to overcome the obstacles on this game, we're just the alpha phase of the project and we are aiming for release this fall. There is much work to do during this time. When we come to the conclusion that we look to the future, then of course we can give more details on this.

ND: Is there something you would say to fans of Spyro French, to conclude this interview?

JY: If there was one thing I could say would be that I can not wait for everyone to finally get his hands on the game, just like you today. Beyond this, besides the revelation of character that we showed today, there are many things we will reveal, during and after E3, approaching the exit of the game is just so much more I wish I could tell you everything now. I'm really excited about this game It awakens the child in me, and I'm really looking forward to see more people play. It's been almost 10 years I worked in the industry and saw many people in the control groups and I have seen people light up playing some games. I had never seen people like this, with a smile to the face while playing the game for today, look at all these people press play duel, and when the battle ended , see the rush to change character as quickly as possible. I can not wait to see what kind of reaction massively and watch everyone enjoy this game This is why I got into the industry initially. It will be so rewarding to see everyone have fun playing when the game is out,

ontels · May 30, 2011 5:52 PM

Eghhh I'm sick of developers beating around the bush in interviews, just answer the dam question!

Aura24 · May 30, 2011 5:53 PM

You mean the publishers. They try not to reveal too much on the future of the franchise.

ontels · May 30, 2011 9:08 PM

Publishers then. I don't mind them not releasing info on the future but answer the questions about the game itself strait at least.

Latias fan · May 30, 2011 11:25 PM

If this is a natural change for the series, then rosie o donald should be miss october this year.

Spash the Bandragon · May 31, 2011 9:07 PM

I think this game's looking pretty good right now. Course it could still go either way, but at least this interview implied there will be swimming (for non-fire characters) and flying. Sounds like a fun game, hope we keep getting new info!

Right now I'm guessing this game will be better than Legend of Spyro but not as good as the classics. It would take a whole lot for me to acknowledge ANY game as better than Year of the Dragon.

Aura24 · Jun 01, 2011 2:22 AM

Yeah, I can't wait to try swimming out, but only the water-based characters, like Gill Grunt, are able to swim.

JakBandiFan · Jun 01, 2011 1:40 PM

Okay, I've gone to see the trailer and I just don't get why 98% of the comments were pure whining. So what if Spyro looks different? Look at the Elder Scrolls - the characters' designs change in every game. Don't believe me? Google it.

Rants aside, Activision could mess this up. I mean, they nearly made Infinity Ward bankrupt and Tony Hawk Ride did not go down well at all...

So far it looks good but I'm worried that once I get this game, the characters may move really slowly, each level may have 1 minute load times and the game might be a 2nd ETD. How likely is this to happen? neutral

JazzJackrabbit · Jun 01, 2011 4:52 PM

Mario looks nothing like he originally did. I didn't hear any of his fans whining.

Ok, maybe he looks the same as he did in SMB2

Stormy · Jun 01, 2011 5:32 PM

Well of course they had to change Mario a little if they were ever going to put him in anything but a 2D game. In fact, I think he looks about as similar as he possibly could to his 2D counterparts while still progressing with technology. Spyro, on the other hand, has never been 2D, and most of his redesigns were pretty unnecessary. I'm looking at you, DotD Spyro.

And before you all whine at me for whining, I'm not; I'm not even interested in this game at all, so I couldn't care less what he looks like. Just wanted to point that out.

JakBandiFan · Jun 01, 2011 6:54 PM

Stormy, just being disinterested in a game is not whining. I was talking about the whining comments on the Skylanders trailer such as:

"Insomniac, PLEASE COME BACK!!!!!"

"Insomniac made a big mistake when they sold Spyro."

"What the F*** is this??!!"

Just to let you know. roll

Aura24 · Jun 01, 2011 7:01 PM

Those fans failed to know that Insomniac never owned the rights to Spyro in the first place.

JakBandiFan · Jun 01, 2011 8:08 PM

Those fans failed to know that Insomniac never owned the rights to Spyro in the first place.

Yeah, I know. The only thing I'm worried about this game though that Activision might force Toys for Bob to rush it and we might end up with a 2nd ETD. At least it will have an awesome soundtrack like always...

Aura24 · Jun 01, 2011 8:51 PM

Toys for Bob spent 3 years on this game and are close to completing it. How are they rushing it?

Spash the Bandragon · Jun 01, 2011 8:53 PM

JakBandiFan wrote:

The only thing I'm worried about this game though that Activision might force Toys for Bob to rush it and we might end up with a 2nd ETD. At least it will have an awesome soundtrack like always...

I think if the game was crap, it wouldn't be getting all these hype-generating interviews and the risky new toy mechanic. If Activision was trying to throw some crap together they'd just make one quick trailer and few weeks before the game comes out and not even bother with this "toy" thing.

As for Spyro's redisign, obviously it's to appeal to new fans instead of Classic or Legend fans. I mean, the target audience probably's never heard of Spyro, and hey, at least his controls are stated to be the same as the classic.

As for the swimming, I'm predicting there won't be any underwater swimming- that would be unfair, what with forcing us to use a water type to get to it and all. Or if there is an undewater part, it'll be behind one of those "element gates" I believe the interview mentioned.

It sounds to me like this game will be a kind of mix between the old Crash Bandicoot games and Super Mario Galaxy (as in, linear instead of free-roaming, plus the whole "toy" thing).

ontels · Jun 01, 2011 11:06 PM

I hope there is underwater exploration! You get Gill Grunt in the starter pack anyway.

Spash the Bandragon · Jun 02, 2011 1:52 AM

ontels wrote:

I hope there is underwater exploration! You get Gill Grunt in the starter pack anyway.

It would have to be optional, though, because there's a chance you could lose the water toy, or just want to play the whole thing as Spyro or something. (Although Spyro COULD swim underwater in the originals...)

Come to think of it, if some kid were to lose all three of the game's toys, or the Portal, they'd be out of luck...

JazzJackrabbit · Jun 02, 2011 2:10 AM

Or maybe they'd just lose the ability to carry the data with them. Hopefully the data can be accessed without having to use the portal.

ontels · Jun 02, 2011 8:39 AM

You can say that for anything though. If a kid is stupid enough to lose all three toys and the portal then what’s stopping him from losing the discs for all his other games?

JakBandiFan · Jun 02, 2011 9:35 AM

It sounds to me like this game will be a kind of mix between the old Crash Bandicoot games and Super Mario Galaxy (as in, linear instead of free-roaming, plus the whole "toy" thing).

Spash, I believe that the game will be a mix of the first Jak & Daxter game and A Hero's Tail. Both games which are awesome. big_smile

Spash the Bandragon · Jun 02, 2011 4:54 PM

ontels wrote:

You can say that for anything though. If a kid is stupid enough to lose all three toys and the portal then what’s stopping him from losing the discs for all his other games?

Point taken. Although these toys are a bit small, so they'd be easier to lose than, say, the Wii Remote.

JakBandiFan wrote:

Spash, I believe that the game will be a mix of the first Jak & Daxter game and A Hero's Tail. Both games which are awesome.

Those games are free-roamers, though. Skylanders looks linear (judgeing by the trailer, at least). But yes, those are some good games. Maybe Skylanders will have some elements from them?

JakBandiFan · Jun 02, 2011 7:09 PM

Those games are free-roamers, though. Skylanders looks linear (judgeing by the trailer, at least). But yes, those are some good games. Maybe Skylanders will have some elements from them?

Maybe. The beach-like level reminds me of some of the first levels of Jak & Daxter TPL and also AHT's Dragonfly Falls.
And I'm wondering if the treasure would count towards 100% completion or just act as currency like in AHT?

In the first Jak & Daxter, it was both and it was super annoying as I cannot find the last Precoursor Orbs mad

Spash the Bandragon · Jun 02, 2011 7:31 PM

Maybe it will be a mix of linear and free-roaming. That would at least be truer to Spyro's orignis that A New Beginning was.

Also bear in mind that in order to get 100%, we know'd you'd have to have at least 8 toys (one of each element). And given this game is marketed at children, I doubt the game makers are expecting many people to bother doing that, so my money's on very little to no 100% completion extras. The element-only paths will likely be there for XP and extra weapons, not a "Gotta Catch Em All" like the originals.

Swaffy · Jun 03, 2011 4:38 AM

Latias fan wrote:

If this is a natural change for the series, then rosie o donald should be miss october this year.

Skylanders better be the last game of its kind. It practically makes fun of
Spyro. No one is allowed to make fun of Spyro like that ...

Aura24 · Jun 03, 2011 4:39 AM

This game isn't making fun of Spyro. -_- That's only in the perspective of Spyro fans who don't like this game since day 1 and hasn't moved on to other things..

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Nintendo-Difference's Interview about Skylanders with Executive Producer

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