XBLA INFO - Inteview with Martyn Brown of Team17

04:49 pm - Inteview with Martyn Brown of Team17

For the first of many interviews I had a chat with Martyn Brown (studio director of Team17) about the upcoming Xbox live arcade game ‘Worms’. Worms is a fun, turn-based strategy game that is part of the Worms franchise which has been around since 1994. Although the Worms franchise was originally 2D many of the most recent games have been 3D. The xbla version will make a welcome return to 2D.

 
In previous interviews Martyn has already said that this version will be more basic (less weapons and game options) than some previous editions of Worms. In my interview I have tried to find out more about this highly anticipated game.

1. Worms on Xbox live arcade has a long history, take us through the story so far.

We met with a Microsoft executive at a Publisher-Developer event in Lyon (Game Connection) back in late 2004. Soon after, we were contacted by the then Xenon team in Seattle and they wanted to enquire about Worms for a new digital platform. We’d heard it all before (new world-beating system etc) and besides, we were pretty busy at the studio, so despite talks rumbling on, kits being sent out, discussions of a 3rd party doing the game, things broke down after a while – and that was really Team17’s doing – despite their (and Ross Erickson’s) pressure Worms wouldn’t be a launch title. Then in late 2005 we saw Live Arcade on launch. It took about 5 seconds to realise they were right and Worms needed to be on there. A few phone calls later and the ball was rolling again, much to Microsoft’s and Ross’s delight.
 
2. Please confirm what is new for this version of the game.
  
We’ve not brought anything dramatically new into this title other than really embellished it for the platform; HD visuals, live multiplayer (and Leaderboards) and made to feel comfortable on the 360.   
 
3. I think that the decision to return Worms to its roots is fantastic, the ‘re-balanced’ weapon set will really enhance the strategic element of the game. However, in OXM’s review of the game they criticised it because it doesn’t include as many weapons as some previous Worms games. Please reiterate the reasons behind the decision.

There are a few reasons really. Firstly, we’ve tried to widen the appeal of the game by making it less hardcore. New players to the old series were often battered and bruised by their online escapades, which put a lot of people off. Too many options and wildly imbalanced weapon sets were very unfriendly and the highly competitive nature tended to give things a sour taste. With the current weapon set (which harks back to the core, tense strategic game play) it’s a lot more clearer and whilst it’s still skill based, it’s a lot easier for new players to feel more involved and less “noob” if you like. The OTT large weapons, whilst amusing in one-off shots, tended to imbalance the game even further and move it away from it’s core values. We realise that some people may miss that stuff, but we believe the game is much stronger for it. Most of the humour in Worms comes from the banter between players and the outrageous chain reactions, all of which is present in healthy doses here.
    
 
4. In another interview you said that all of the data for Worms (the main game plus downloadable content) comes to around 500mb. That’s a lot of downloadable content seeing as the game on its own is under 50mb. Will any downloadable content be available at the launch of the game?
 
That actually includes a lot of audio tracks and also FMV, which is perhaps less important in the core content. We expect additional themes and voice-sets to be available from the off, with more to follow soon after and over the months.

 
5. One of my favourite features of Worms is the voice packs. Could you give an example of one that will be available?
    
We envisage that most, if not all, the classic voice packs will be made available over time. We’re currently discussing the release calendar for this kind of stuff.

 
6. Weapon packs haven’t been mentioned as downloadable content. Is there any chance that we will see them in the future?
    
None, I’m afraid. This goes hand in hand with what I was saying earlier, you need to know that everyone has the same weapons and what the strategies will be. Whilst players can adjust the weapon scheme (contents, availability etc) having different players with essentially different game versions wouldn’t be great (or useful).

 
7. Worms has been developed for so many different formats, how does Xbox live arcade compare?
    
We didn’t really have many problems until it came to the certification/testing loop which has rumbled on somewhat. There’s a lot of house-keeping required for all the dashboard features and it takes a fair while to test/repeat-test all that stuff.
 
8. Have you got any plans for more games on Xbox live arcade?
    
Sure, but I can’t say what.
 
9. Are there any Xbox live arcade games (other than Worms) that you particularly admire? Why?
    
I like a bunch of XBLA titles, I LOVE hexic and obviously Geometry Wars. I’m looking forward to the board games too. I play most of the XBLA releases, aside from the retro releases really.
 
10. Have you got anything else you would like to say to Worms fans?

I just hope everyone enjoys the game and plays with a good spirit – and that means no quitting, being hospitable etc – the community will be made or broken BY the community! GLHF!