PinataIsland.info interview with Cameron Davis

[jimmcq]

PinataIsland.info was given the opportunity to interview Cameron Davis, lead designer of Viva Pinata: Party Animals from Krome Studios. Read on for the full interview including details about the release of a demo.

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First please give us a little background on yourself and your involvement in Viva Pinata: Party Animals.

My name’s Cameron Davis and I work at Krome Studios in sunny Brisbane, Australia. I’ve been a dedicated gamer ever since the days of the Atari 2600 and now I’m lucky enough to help make them. I’m the Lead Designer on Viva Piñata: Party Animals. That basically means I help get the design in working order with my team and then make sure it’s fun after it’s gone in the game. It also means I get to play the game a lot

How does the reality TV show structure fit into the gameplay?

Viva Piñata Championship Challenge is the Piñata’s favorite show. It pits four willing (or foolish) Piñatas in a whirlwind race from one end of Piñata Island to the other. At every stop the contestants compete in a handful of mini games where the main goal is to collect as much candy as possible to earn points. You get bonus points for doing well in the races, and whoever has the most points at the end of the games wins the main prize. This is, of course, the opportunity to go to a VIP party and be the star Pinata!

To emphasise the reality TV aspect, Viva Piñata: Party Animals is presented like a television broadcast. Pierre Parrybo and Pecky Pudgeon are the hosts of the show and provide color commentary throughout the entire game. They provide track highlights, tips on playing and insult each other when there’s nothing else going on.

What audience is this game targeted towards? How will it appeal to children, adult casual gamers, and hardcore gamers alike?

The one thing that all three of those groups have in common is that they like having fun, and that’s what Party Animals is all about. We geared both the mini games and the races to be as enjoyable for first time gamers as they are for dedicated Viva Piñata fans. Our big aim with this game was to create something that really can be enjoyed by the whole family without messy setting up of multiplayer games or explaining complicated controls.

Are the character models in the game the same ones used in the original Viva Pinata game and/or tv show? and are they voiced by the same actors as the tv show?

They are indeed voiced by the same actors from the TV show and they pulled out an awesome performance for the game. Hearing the characters talk to each other and react to the in-game events is very cool! The character models are based on the original RARE ones and combined with elements from the TV show models in order to bring out their true character. Both Rare and 4Kids have been hugely helpful making sure we match the designs perfectly.

How many different playable characters are included in the game (including unlockables if any)?

There will be eight playable characters in the game – six of which have already been seen on the television show. Fergy, Franklin, Hudson and Paulie are of course familiar to everyone. Two female characters from series one will be playable, and two more from series two will make their debut in the game.

What kind of achievements are awarded during gameplay?

Good timing, we just finalized what all 50 achievements will be! Some of them are simple ‘win a race’ or ‘earn lots of candy in this mini game’ achievements, but some will require you to play the game in new ways that relate to the character’s personality. For example, there is an achievement you can only get if everyone plays as Hudson Horstachio – after all, he has to prove that he’s the most popular Piñata in town!

Which minigame is your personal favorite?

I’m a big fan of all of them, but there’s some that we come back to after hours to play over and over again. Raisant Stomp, where you squash Raisants to get candy and squash each other to get more, is great fun with four players. Bouncy Bowling is like ten pin(ata) bowling but with tons more crazy stuff happening. If you ever played “hot potato” as a child you’ll be familiar with Bombs Away!, which combines that with explosive Loathers. Passing a Loather onto your friends just before it blows up.

Of the minigames that we've seen, "Blown Away" (the belching/sailboat game) appears to be hilarious. How did you come up with the idea for this particular game?

The core idea of it was that I wanted the player to use the controller in a new way, and hitting two random buttons as quickly as possible was just the ticket. Also, we drink far too much soda at work!

Are there plans to release a playable demo on Xbox Live before the game is released?

It should be out very, very, very soon, if not already

Is there anything that you would like to share with us about Viva Pinata: Party Animals?

I really hope you like it. It’s been an absolute blast to make and I can’t wait to play it over Xbox LIVE with everyone from PinataIsland.info! I’m a huge fan of the original Viva Pinata and pretty much everything Rare have ever made, and I hope it matches their high standards. I’m looking forward to seeing what you think of it!

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Thank you Cameron for taking the time to answer our questions. You heard it here first folks, the demo should be out in just a few short days!!

[geo12301]

I want to play the demo,I hope its out ths wednesday!

[Kawigi]

Excellent interview, Jim!

So we have already probably seen two of the female characters that will be in the game - who does everyone think they are? Florence Fizzlybear? Beverly Badgesicle? Mabel Moozipan? Professor Pester dressed up as a female horstachio?

[jimmcq]

Originally Posted by Kawigi

Excellent interview, Jim!

So we have already probably seen two of the female characters that will be in the game - who does everyone think they are? Florence Fizzlybear? Beverly Badgesicle? Mabel Moozipan? Professor Pester dressed up as a female horstachio?

One of them has got to be Ella... I'm not sure on the other, but I hope it is Mabel.
Feel the wrath of my giant hoe, garden wrecker!

[Spartan]

Cool interview, PA seems like it is shaping up to be pretty good. And the demo should help me decide between buy or rent but it sounds like a great game. Thanks for the interview, Cameron.
No Les, awww.

[BIGsheep]

Nice work, Jim. I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for the demo.

[lix2k3]

It's pretty sad that Microsoft, Krome, and Rare are not knowledgeable enough about their own series to recognize that Les Galagoogoo is one of the 8 most popular characters in Viva Pinata. All in all, Les is probably the second most popular. Why would they leave him out as a playable character. Mind boggling... I'll purchase if Les is downloadable at some point.

[Dark_MEMENTO]

Pierre's the host!

*Descends into unpostable madness*

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTAGE!

On the down side, no Les will disappoint many people hugely.

[Spartan]

Originally Posted by Dark_MEMENTO

On the down side, no Les will kill many people off.

It'll disappoint some people but I don't think that I'm going to base my desicion on one character.

[lix2k3]

Originally Posted by Dark_MEMENTO

Pierre's the host!

On the down side, no Les will kill many people off.

QFT. I know one of the developers of this title HAS to know who the popular characters are and who aren't. After all, some of them are posting in this forum. It seems to me that they decided upon the characters arbitrarily instead of doing what the community would want. That type of decision making hurts sales and the franchise altogether. The four main characters were shoe-ins but for the other four, they should have polled this website for that and let the users decide. IMHO, I think 10-12 characters would be a better fit anyway, considering that there are over 60 species in the game.

I like the direction the game is taking, opening it up and integrating it with the show. They just need for the higher ups with the decision-making abilities to care enough about the franchise to visit sites like this and see what users like and dislike about it.