Chat: Q & A w/Azureus Design about BB2 (by BCSoft Games)



Who exactly are you in relation to BCSoft?

Well, I run a small design company called Azureus Design. The company was created primarily to do web pages and I've done many of them including the BCSoft website. I worked doing some beta testing with BB1, and made a lot of suggestions on how things should look and feel. Like hundreds of thousands of people out there, I also thought I had a great idea for a game. BCSoft was willing to put that thought to action if Azureus Design provided the graphics and so a partnership was born for that project: Time Command. Before TC was released, BCSoft chose to keep my company on to do the graphics for the next game that would worked on...however due to a change in plans, that game became BB2. It is still the intent of Azureus Design to provide the graphics for that original "next game," after BB2 is finished.

Question 1: There are honestly far too many breakout clones out there, what possessed you to do another?

Answer: Well that goes more to BCSoft for the actual reasons, but I think I can give you a good run-down. First off, the game takes breakout where it has never gone before. The first game in the series introduced VS. play. This game is all about VS play. I am confident that this game will lead to many clones copying one of its coolest features: different paddles with different abilities and special weapons. I think of this game as a cross between Street Fighter 2 and Breakout. Beyond that, there were some things that are fun upgrades, such as network play and a board designer.

Question 2: What can you tell us about these "different paddles?"

Answer 2: Just about anything you want to know. The different paddles are really the core to the game. There are six paddles. My favorite seems to change daily. The basic paddle has the ability to wind up and hit the ball extra hard. When it does, the ball moves faster. A new feature to BB2 is that when the ball is moving fast, it can break multiple bricks at once. (which slows the ball back down) Other paddles include a magnetic paddle, which does catch and release of the ball or it repulses the ball depending on which polarity you have it set too. The missile paddle fires missiles, the rubber paddle bounces the ball faster and fires rubber balls, the winds paddle never actually lets the ball hit it...it blows it away first! Each paddle has 3 levels. As the paddle goes to new levels, the "power-up" of the paddle increases in ability. For example: with the missile paddle on level 3, the missiles are fast and guided.

Question 3: You mentioned a "board designer" what is that exactly?

Answer 3: The board designer is exactly what it claims to be. One feature I absolutely thought BB2 needed was a way for people who owned the game to make their own levels and boards. I also wanted a place for people to share the boards online. I envisioned a community where people could create boards and swap them. For me this just makes the game more interesting. Everyone can then have nearly limitless levels to try and conquer.

Question 4: BB2 also adds in network play, what other new features are available?

Answer 4: There are quite a few actually. I already mentioned the different paddle types, there are of course also different ball types: fire, ice, power, and toxic. Each player also has the option of playing with one of 6 ball skins, so you can have a more customized look to your ball. Another new feature is "poisons." Poisons are power-ups that have varying results. One of them makes the ball randomly move left or right. Another makes all the power-ups avoid you. There are quite a few of them, and they only affect you for a short period of time. The game keeps your high score as the last version did, but it also adds keeping your profile. That way, you can have a running tally of your win/loss record versus others or versus the computer. Spin has also been added so you can spin the ball away from your opponent, or you can spin it into that impossible to hit brick.

Question 5: This is the 3rd major BCSoft release in just over a year, what has kept you motivated while working on this game?

Answer 5: Well this is actually the second game that Azureus Design has been involved with. Each game takes massive amounts of time and planning and can become tiring easy. I noticed that with Time Command, our January release, that I was very tired of the game by the time we finished it...not to say that it was a bad game, but I'd played it to death. With BB2, I haven't been that way, in fact, I think I'll spend more time playing it after it comes out than I did while working on it, simply because I'll be able to sit back and enjoy it.

Question 6: A lot of people believe that a small game company has no hope in today's gaming world, and that games like this, while nice aren't as well done as a professional game. What do you say to that?

Answer 6: I think that anyone who plays the game will be very pleased with how professional the game looks and feels. It is based on a game engine that has been getting improvements for 2 plus years now, so the game play is as fluid as any game out there, and honestly, the play control is much better than many games available. The graphics have continued to improve as well. AD was contacted about doing Time Command back in March of last year and was happy to be contacted to do BB2. TC was a first for Azureus Design in the world of game graphics. The lessons learned have made BB2 beautiful frankly. I think everyone will be pleased with it...What's more, many people undervalue small game creation companies. Just b/c a company is large doesn't mean it has better ideas than a smaller game company. I think a lot of the more interesting conceptual games I've played in the last few years have come from smaller companies.

Question 7: What is in store next?

Answer 7: WHOA! Slow down there. I think the first big thing is to work further with BB2...after all it isn't out yet. It is a great game, and the Board Editor will make it have nearly endless challenges. If that game does well, we've already discussed the possibility of an expansion pack. There are hundreds of images that have been created but held out of BB2 due to the size of the game and the major distribution method being over the internet. Ideas for new paddles also came up during the creation of the game that might be fun to add-on later. Beyond that, those who have played the full version of Time Command have seen a glimpse of where things are headed. The next major release will be space-based and heavy on multiplayer. It will mark our first move into the foray of 3D. Work has already begun, in fact some 3D modeling work began in November of last year. That game is not likely to appear for another year and a half. In the meantime, we plan a freeware asteroids knock-off that should come out before December.

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