Unless
you've been living under a rock for
the last 6 months chances are you'll
have heard about a little PS2 game called
'Buzz: The Music Quiz' a
game that Relentless Software seem pretty
darn proud of and with good reason,
this is looking to be one of the huge
hits of the pre Christmas / Christmas
period. With its weird controllers (buzzers
specifically designed for the game)
and its cheesy gameshow appeal we think
Buzz may well lure even the 'wife' set
of non gamers into the gaming fold.
Trusty
PR Tracy set about asking the folk at
Relentless many questions that they
were all too pleased to answer for us
and here's the result... the Relentless
Software Buzz Q & A.....
|
 |
How
did you come up with the idea for Buzz? |
 |
Sony
had seen success with their EyeToy and
SingStar products and they were keen to
expand further into the social gaming
market. A pop quiz game seemed like a
good fit, so they teamed up with a company
called Sleepydog who sourced the clips
and wrote the questions, then approached
us and asked whether we'd be interesting
on developing such a title. |
| |
|
|
Will
you be releasing add-ons for specific
genres (ie Movies, Sport, TV, General
Knowledge)? |
|
We're
working on some other ideas, but I'll
remain tight lipped for the moment. |
| |
|
|
Who
came up with the concept of the Buzzer,
was that always going to be an integral
part of the game? |
|
We
felt that to really reach the intended
market the game needed to have the simplest
possible interface, and also we felt that
it would be a real boon to let four players
play from the off. A set of buzzers was
the obvious choice, but we felt that perhaps
it would be too expensive for Sony. We
were pleasantly surprised when Sony provided
us with the first prototype buzzers just
a few months later. |
| |
|
|
We
at Thumb Bandits think that Buzz may not
only appeal to gamers because it finally
offers something different, but also will
have a huge appeal for non gamers, is
this something you’ve considered?
|
|
I'd
be disappointed if we only reached existing
gamers. I consider it a design challenge
to create a game which is appealing and
unintimidating for a non-gamer, and I'm
pretty sure we've succeded with Buzz. |
| |
|
|
Will
you be releasing games on any other platforms
or just the PS2? |
|
Working
as a 2nd party developer for Sony means
that an Xbox version is unlikely. We are,
of course, considering Sony's other platforms.
|
| |
|
|
Did
you have any female developers on the
Team? If not .. why? |
|
It
saddens me to say that on a team of around
30 people, not one is female. I would
love a more balanced team, but 95% of
the CVs we receive are male and I do not
wish to positively discriminate, however
much I would like a gender-balanced team. |
| |
|
|
We
love the cheesy talk show feel of the
host, is it based on anyone in particular?
|
|
It's a hundred gameshow hosts rolled into
one. It's not based on anyone in particular,
but we decided that a cheesy, tongue-in-cheek
host would work better than someone more
serious. I think Somethin' Else, who directed
the audio, added their own touch of humour
too. |
| |
|
|
Do
you feel that with this generation of
games development there seems to be an
overall ideology that games need to be
non simplistic to be good, was this a
worry in the initial design stages of
Buzz given its simplistic nature? |
|
Games
with too much complexity are a pet hate
at Relentless. Developers, who predominantly
are gamers, often design games assuming
that the consumer will have the same encyclopaedic
knowledge of game mechanics as they themselves
have and I think this is one of the aspects
that stops gaming reaching a wider market. |
| |
|
|
Are
any of the team that worked on Buzz ‘old
skool gamers’? |
|
I've been making games for about fifteen
years, which is probably considered old
school these days. Other people in the
team have similar levels of experience,
but to be honest those old skool mentalities
(both in terms of working practices and
game design practices) have to be left
at the door. |
| |
|
|
Many
of the girls and guys at Thumb Bandits
believe the magic of game design is stilted
to a degree because huge companies now
dictate ‘gaming lore’, do
you feel this is the case or that it’s
largely a misnomer given Buzz seems to
harken back to simplistic but outright
fun gameplay? |
|
I
agree. It's stilted because too often
games are made by gamers making games
for themselves. I have great admiration
for Sony with SingStar and EyeToy because
they were brave enough to take gaming
in another direction. I've also got admiration
for Nintendo for sticking to outright
fun gameplay over the years. |
| |
|
|
Are
there any quirky advertising stunts planned
in the lead up to the release of Buzz
such as snapping a photo of Anne Robinson
or Chris Tarrant sporting one of the controllers?
|
|
You'd
have to ask the marketing department at
Sony! I'm sure they have a whole host
of stunts planned, but I doubt they include
any celebrity endorsement as they don't
want the game to be associated with a
specific gameshow or gameshow host. |
| |
|
|
Where
are you hoping Buzz will place in the
Christmas gaming charts? |
|
Good
question! We have high hopes, but we're
out two months before Christmas and we're
up against some heavy hitters. We'll see.
|
| |
|
|
On
your website you say Videogames are in
the hands of the masses, but are they
getting the games they want to play, what
do you think of the present state of gaming
with the huge amount of sequels, FPS and
driving titles that are flooding the shelves?
|
|
Some
of the games out there are highly accomplished,
and I have nothing but respect for those
games, but there is a disappointing
amount of also-ran games and disappointly
few games which reach out to a new kind
of gamer. |
| |
|
|
You
also state that “at Relentless Software
you create games that appeal to more than
the hardcore gamer by designing social
and innovative games that everyone can
enjoy, without facing a steep learning
curve”. Do you work this way in
order to attract non gamers to the market
and what are your hopes, that being the
case? |
|
We
create a different kind of game for a
different type of gamer. It's true that
our games are created with a non-gamer
in mind, but we're also careful to ensure
that it's something that will be enjoyed
and respected by the gaming hardcore.
Why we chose those kind of games is partly
because we believe in those kind of games
and partly because of business pragmatism:
competing with developers who are established
masters of their art is difficult; competing
in a popular but underserved area is easier. |
| |
|
Buzz:
The Music Quiz - Screenshots
|
The
girls and guys at Thumb Bandits would
like to say thanks for taking the Q&A,
We can safely say without an ounce of
butt kissing that many of us are truly
looking forward to this product which
is finally something new and innovative!
Not that we're not all fans of FPS and
Driving titles but we like to mix it
up a little also.
Thanks!
|
