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Interview with Stefan Boberg, lead programer of Addiction
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Q1: |
Tell me about some of the influences for Addiction - what tables
have you played, what themes have you liked, what pinball videogames
do you have a lot of respect for, what makes a good pinball videogame? |
A1: |
We have travelled around quite a bit looking for tables, in arcades and
(to a lesser extent) pubs. We have also been to the actual distributors of
games to have a look at what they have got, and to take photos. We have also
rented a couple of tables to have in the office, for research (measuring
things, studying game mechanics, LED stuff, verify ball physics, etc).
Some good tables that spring to mind are Fish Tales, White Water,
Theatre Of Magic, Jurassic Park, Twilight Zone, Star
Trek, and Road Show. The one I liked most is probably Theatre Of
Magic.
The currently best pinball videogames are Pro Pinball: The Web,
and True Pinball (Hyper 3D Pinball in
the States). A good pinball videogame should have reasonably
accurate physics, and interesting themes - just like real tables, really.
It is quite difficult to put the finger on exactly what makes one table
work and another not work...
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Q2: |
What is your philosophy for Addiction. How do you think this compares
to other games on the market? What game are you aiming to beat? |
A2: |
We are of course aiming to create the BEST pinball game ever. Anything
else would be pointless. The primary competitor is Empire's "Pro Pinball"
series, which we think is really good, although quite sparse on tables.
We are not necessarily locking ourselves into doing only things that would
be possible on real pinball tables. We are always looking for things that
can be done to increase the appeal of the game to people who are not
usually interested in pinball, but without moving too far away from the
subject matter (that would scare away the Pinball Purists :). |
Q3: |
With the info questions earlier, I asked you what you did. You said
you were doing the music graphics and sound effects to "...keep in control." What
did you mean by this? Do you see yourself as a control freak? If so why, if
not why not? |
A3: |
We are probably perfectionists and control freaks, both of us. That is one
of the reasons why I'm programming all versions (PC, PSX & Saturn) of the
game. Another big reason is simply that no-one else could do the
conversions as quickly as myself, for obvious reasons (I know my code, and
can design things to simplify conversion right from the start).
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Q4: |
Do you think a well crafted game could be viewed as art? If so, what
kind of art do you think Ballistic represents? |
A4: |
Oooh, getting philosophical, aren't we? :-) It depends on how 'art' is
defined, but I do think that a game as a whole (overall design and
playability) could be viewed as art. But if 'art' is defined as the result
of some kind of divine inspiration, programming is probably less about art
and more about abstraction, organization and logical thinking. |
Q5: |
Regarding the sound and music, what style of music is going to be
used for the tables? What sort of music are you and Stefan influenced by? Any
special effects, tricks, techniques worthy of mention that will give
Addiction the edge over its main competitors? |
A5: |
Me and Tony listen to almost anything except the 'Bon Jovi' branch of
music (so-called Rock'n Roll?) and other boring stuff. Anything fresh and
well-produced, really. This is probably not going to have a direct impact
on the game music, since we have to select a style of music for each table
that fits the theme. For instance, having drum'n bass on the Worms table
would be silly.
As for what would give Addiction an edge over competitors: For one thing, I've
used my experience in data compression to enable me to squeeze in more
data (graphics, sound etc) than any other pinball game has. This will
enable us to have more appealing visuals and more atmospheric sound when
compared to the competition. Other than that, solid simulation and more
sophisticated table designs, made possible by the custom-developed tools
(almost a "Pinball Construction Set" :-). |
Q6: |
Do you think it would benefit Sony and the Industry if more people had access
to programming tools for the Playstation? What do you think
of the current restrictions? |
A6: |
I don't think you could ever get the same kind of thing on the PSX as
you had on the C64, because the hardware is more complex, and you need
quite a bit of programming experience and time to be able to get anything
interesting out of it. |
Q7: |
Martyn mentioned that instead of four tables, there are now going to be three.
What were the reasons for this decision? |
A7: |
Time. It takes a more time and effort to design and test tables than we
initially expected, and we felt that it would be better to take the time
and design three good tables rather than rush four tables just for the
sake of it. |
Q8: |
Is there anything else regarding Addiction such as the LED
sub-games, the speed and resolution of the game you think are worth
especial note? |
A8: |
It's a pinball game, what can I say :-) Personally, I'm most proud of
the way everything works technically, with compression etc., which enables
us to have a lot of lights, animations and other stuff. Other than that,
there's the quality of the graphics, sounds and designs that will put it
ahead of the rest. |
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