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Guacamelee! is an upcoming Mexican-themed exploration and brawling action title for the PlayStation Vita from the same folks behind the Pocket Gamer Gold Award-winning Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack.
I just had to get in touch with Chris McQuinn - one of the lead designers responsible for game mechanics, level creation, and player narrative - over at DrinkBox Studios to find out more about his firm's forthcoming "Metroidvania beat-'em-up platformer".
During the interview, McQuinn tells me about the unique dimension-shifting gameplay mechanic in Guacamelee!, Sony's cross-platform initiatives, DrinkBox's "responsibility in portraying Mexican art style", and just how the team came up with THAT name.
Without further ado, then...
Pocket Gamer: First up, though Guacamelee! is a brilliant name for a game, it doesn't give away too much about what the game entails.
How did the name come about, and what can gamers expect to find when they fire up Guacamelee!?
Chris McQuinn: Thanks. We're pretty proud of the title.
The name itself just popped up during a brainstorming meeting. During these session, members of the studio sit around shouting out stupid names that we'll never use, and, well, it turns out we did use one.
Guacamelee! will provide gamers with an hilarious epic adventure. Or so we hope.
You seem quite proud of your multiple genre approach to game design, combining brawling, platforming, and Metroidvania-esque exploring in Guacamelee!
How tricky has it been trying to blend these styles into a single gaming experience?
Very tricky. Combining genres is really a designer's dream and a producer's nightmare.
A lot of iteration was involved in the design process. Major questions start to arise such as: how do you pace out a game with such varying elements? Should a level be combat exclusive, platform exclusive, or a combination of both?
It gives me a headache just thinking about it.
Another feature of your upcoming game is the flicking between dimensions. How does this element affect the platforming and combat?
The two dimensions in Guacamelee! play a pivotal role in the gameplay. Platforms may exist in the World of the Living or the World of the Dead. Players jumping from one platform to another may be required to switch between dimensions mid-jump.
Combat engagements may consist of a group of enemies existing in either dimension, thereby requiring you to strategically switch in the heat of combat. We made a concerted effort to fully experiment with the dimension-switching mechanic.
Local multiplayer is supported on PlayStation 3 - is this the case in the Vita version?
The Vita version only has the single-player experience, although the Vita itself can be used as a controller with the PS3 during a co-op experience.
As a small studio, we have limited resources, and we need to make decisions on game features to include. Local multiplayer between two Vitas did not seem to be something the majority of players would be interested in. Sorry if you were one of the people who did want that, mind.
More and more Vita game designers are including support for Sony's Cross Buy, Cross Play, and Cross Save initiatives in their titles, and adding extra incentives for players.
You're doing the same with Guacamelee!, so presumably you see a lot of value in Sony's cross-platform initiatives?
We do. The "Cross" initiatives seem to be gamer focused, permitting gamers a greater degree of freedom in how they can enjoy their games.
I love the idea that I can play Guacamelee! on my TV, then switch over to my Vita when somebody else in the house takes control of the TV for Netflix.
You're a Toronto-based company, but you're building a game that is inspired by lucha libre and - in a wider sense - Mexican traditions like the Day of the Dead.
As outsiders to the Mexican culture, how easy have you found it to walk the line between eye-catching aesthetic and caricature?
Once the studio had decided to go down this road, there was an internal decision to be as authentic as possible by carrying out a lot of due diligence for almost any material we used.
We felt a sense of responsibility in portraying Mexican art style, folklore, and culture in an authentic manner.
Our animator Augusto has been a great help to us in overseeing the content that has gone into the game, for he grew up in the particular area of Mexico from which we drew much of the inspiration forGuacamelee!
So, after Guacamelee! goes live on the PS Store, what next for DrinkBox?
Considering you've been giving a lot of love to Sony handheld systems of late, do you plan on developing more titles for those platforms? What about for PS Mobile?
DrinkBox has a lot of exciting plans. We're open to the idea of putting out games on any platform, although Sony platforms have seemed to make sense for us with our past titles.
Guacamelee! has taken up the majority of our recent time, so we've only just started brainstorming for our next projects.
Guacamelee! will be available for PS Vita on the PlayStation Store on April 10th. Check out the gameplay trailer below while you're waiting.
I just had to get in touch with Chris McQuinn - one of the lead designers responsible for game mechanics, level creation, and player narrative - over at DrinkBox Studios to find out more about his firm's forthcoming "Metroidvania beat-'em-up platformer".
During the interview, McQuinn tells me about the unique dimension-shifting gameplay mechanic in Guacamelee!, Sony's cross-platform initiatives, DrinkBox's "responsibility in portraying Mexican art style", and just how the team came up with THAT name.
Without further ado, then...
Pocket Gamer: First up, though Guacamelee! is a brilliant name for a game, it doesn't give away too much about what the game entails.
How did the name come about, and what can gamers expect to find when they fire up Guacamelee!?
Chris McQuinn: Thanks. We're pretty proud of the title.
The name itself just popped up during a brainstorming meeting. During these session, members of the studio sit around shouting out stupid names that we'll never use, and, well, it turns out we did use one.
Guacamelee! will provide gamers with an hilarious epic adventure. Or so we hope.
You seem quite proud of your multiple genre approach to game design, combining brawling, platforming, and Metroidvania-esque exploring in Guacamelee!
How tricky has it been trying to blend these styles into a single gaming experience?
Very tricky. Combining genres is really a designer's dream and a producer's nightmare.
A lot of iteration was involved in the design process. Major questions start to arise such as: how do you pace out a game with such varying elements? Should a level be combat exclusive, platform exclusive, or a combination of both?
It gives me a headache just thinking about it.
Another feature of your upcoming game is the flicking between dimensions. How does this element affect the platforming and combat?
The two dimensions in Guacamelee! play a pivotal role in the gameplay. Platforms may exist in the World of the Living or the World of the Dead. Players jumping from one platform to another may be required to switch between dimensions mid-jump.
Combat engagements may consist of a group of enemies existing in either dimension, thereby requiring you to strategically switch in the heat of combat. We made a concerted effort to fully experiment with the dimension-switching mechanic.
Local multiplayer is supported on PlayStation 3 - is this the case in the Vita version?
The Vita version only has the single-player experience, although the Vita itself can be used as a controller with the PS3 during a co-op experience.
As a small studio, we have limited resources, and we need to make decisions on game features to include. Local multiplayer between two Vitas did not seem to be something the majority of players would be interested in. Sorry if you were one of the people who did want that, mind.
More and more Vita game designers are including support for Sony's Cross Buy, Cross Play, and Cross Save initiatives in their titles, and adding extra incentives for players.
You're doing the same with Guacamelee!, so presumably you see a lot of value in Sony's cross-platform initiatives?
We do. The "Cross" initiatives seem to be gamer focused, permitting gamers a greater degree of freedom in how they can enjoy their games.
I love the idea that I can play Guacamelee! on my TV, then switch over to my Vita when somebody else in the house takes control of the TV for Netflix.
You're a Toronto-based company, but you're building a game that is inspired by lucha libre and - in a wider sense - Mexican traditions like the Day of the Dead.
As outsiders to the Mexican culture, how easy have you found it to walk the line between eye-catching aesthetic and caricature?
Once the studio had decided to go down this road, there was an internal decision to be as authentic as possible by carrying out a lot of due diligence for almost any material we used.
We felt a sense of responsibility in portraying Mexican art style, folklore, and culture in an authentic manner.
Our animator Augusto has been a great help to us in overseeing the content that has gone into the game, for he grew up in the particular area of Mexico from which we drew much of the inspiration forGuacamelee!
So, after Guacamelee! goes live on the PS Store, what next for DrinkBox?
Considering you've been giving a lot of love to Sony handheld systems of late, do you plan on developing more titles for those platforms? What about for PS Mobile?
DrinkBox has a lot of exciting plans. We're open to the idea of putting out games on any platform, although Sony platforms have seemed to make sense for us with our past titles.
Guacamelee! has taken up the majority of our recent time, so we've only just started brainstorming for our next projects.
Guacamelee! will be available for PS Vita on the PlayStation Store on April 10th. Check out the gameplay trailer below while you're waiting.
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