As one of the most anticipated movie releases approaches, so does the game based on the movie: Transformers. Didi had the chance to sit down with some of the creative minds behind the creation of Transformers Mobile for a quick Q&A.
Meet Daren Chencinski, Director of Production, and David Zemke, Senior Brand Manager, and see what they have to tell us about such a big hit going pocket-size.
Gamer’s Intuition: How did you feel when you first heard you would be involved in bringing one of the longest-running and most popular franchises to mobile platforms?
Daren Chencinski: Pretty amped to say the least. This is a game that everyone wanted to work on when Glu got the license. Everyone on the team was particularly excited to say the least. All of us love Transformers and grew up with them in one form or another. To be a part of this major reinvigoration of the brand is an honor for all of us.
GI: Where did the idea first originated, and how was the game’s genre decided?
Daren: Well, we knew we wanted a game with a story element and a game that displayed the power of Transformers. An action-oriented, story driven game seemed like a no brainer to us. We wanted to give the target fans exactly what they’d expect so it seemed like the right way to go.
GI: Does the game tie in with the upcoming movie’s events?
David Zemke: The game and the upcoming movie share the same theme: that the Autobots are trying to help save the world from complete destruction by the Decepticons.
However, Glu and Hasbro recognized that making a game that directly followed the movie’s plot would not translate as well to a mobile screen. So we worked with Hasbro on a parallel plot that uses some of the same locations in the movie, but engages the user in a new and different storyline.
Daren: The Autobots and Decepticons are in a race for the Allspark. The player teams alongside the Autobots to help them beat the Decepticons.
GI: Can you tell us more about the premise of the game? Is there a specific plot and goal to achieve?
David: In order to do so, their phone – or as the story goes – gets reformatted to accept and receive Cybertronian transmissions. As the player, you become “enlisted” in the race and use your phone as a communication link to help the Autobots.
GI: What are some of the most appealing features of Transformers Mobile?
Daren: Well, people really seem to dig the combat, which is a good thing for us. There are 15 different enemies in the game all of which require special tactics to defeat. Plus you get to fight Megatron and another major Decepticon from the movie.
We feature full screen, animating heads of some of the Autobots and Decepticons. These really pull you up close and give you a beautiful look at the cool new looks of the Transformers.
There are 2 endings to the story based on your performance in the game. Additionally, we have a unique story to mobile that you won’t find anywhere else. The mobile game’s plot basically is parallel to that of the movie, however it is not exactly the same. There are twist and turns in this story that you won’t find anywhere else.
Finally there are 3 environments and 20 levels in the game. It has a lot of playtime for a mobile device, weighing in around 3-5 hours.
GI: What can you tell us about the combat system?
Daren: Basically we wanted to create a system that allows you to do everything you’d expect in an action-combat platform game. Players want to run, transform, jump and have all that fun navigation/platforming style stuff that is expected in a Transformers game. Players also want to shoot from afar and beat Decepticons up from a close distance. We’ve got that too, but that’s not so standard. We didn’t want to use a lot of buttons to dictate shooting or punching and different types of punches. In Transformers, if you’re close to an enemy, you punch it. If you’re far from it, you shoot it. It’s pretty simple in that way.
Targets are acquired automatically. So, if some enemy comes in from above, Optimus already has that target acquired. The player simply needs to react to that enemy coming in and make sure he initiates attack simply by pressing OK. The game takes control of the rest. Let’s say for instance, Optimus is shooting at an enemy and walks in close to it while doing so, then he shifts to a close combat mode and starts punching him.
David: The controls are kept simple and follow the logic and expectations of the player. In another example, Optimus may be waiting for an enemy to attack. Optimus will automatically block this attack as long as he himself is not attacking. After blocking, the player can simply initiate combat with OK and then Optimus will start attacking. So here you’ve got a typical block followed by a parry strike that simply requires navigation and the timing to press one button.
While the player is punching an enemy – which, by the way, he wails on the enemy with a combination of brutal left and rights – Optimus’s fist may start glowing. This is your time to strike! At this moment, you can press the power move key in order to uppercut the enemy into the air. In doing so you create a juggle by way of long range fire. Again, the firing just happens automatically so as long as you get the enemy up in the air you’ll start firing at him.
Once an enemy is in the air, there’s a really advanced technique where the player can transform and ram the enemy as he’s falling. It’s pretty satisfying. So, this is really just the stuff Optimus can do.
As mentioned earlier there are a large host of enemies that all require different strategies. I.e. you can’t just walk up to any guy and fire or punch at him (well, you can really early in the game). You will have to find openings and the right opportunity to toggle combat on for the desired effect.
For example, there are enemies in the game that have a really powerful attack. The only time this enemy is open to your attacks is during the tell of their really powerful attack. There are other enemies that can only be hit by a dash attack and even other enemies that are only open to a truck attack while they’re firing at you – conveniently right along the topside of Optimus’s truck. There are a bunch of other types of behaviors and techniques, but I’ll leave that for the game itself.
So, come to think of it, there are even more things that the player can do. They can do a dash attack by double tapping in the direction of an enemy. Again, staying with the contextual nature of the controls, if the player double taps away from an enemy he will dodge back instead.
Finally, the player is able to switch which target is in focus. The player doesn’t have to acquire targets; that happens automatically. However, there are times they may want to manually switch, which they can do. This is particularly useful when getting ganged up on.
All of this may sound complicated, but you’ll notice the complexity is all in the logic to determine what Optimus can do based off his context. The player doesn’t have to press a lot of buttons, they simply have to react to their situation which is done by constantly changing their position and activating or deactivating combat.
GI: On a more technical approach, how do a cell phone’s controls work for this particular game?
David: The controls are designed for simplicity in the mobile environment so all maneuvering can be done with the directional pad.
Daren: Up jumps. Left and right navigate. Down transforms and up is your “and back!” A dash can be performed by simply pressing left or right quickly 2 times. Pressing OK toggles whether combat mode is on/off. While in combat, the 1 or 3 key can be used to do a power move. If you’re in firing range a powershot is fired. If you’re in melee range you do an uppercut. Also, while in combat, 7 or 9 can be used to switch targets. If combat is off, you simply need to face the direction of an attack to block it.
GI: In your opinion, how does the game fare in the sound and graphics departments?
Daren: They’re fantastic, really. I can confidently say we have GBA quality graphics and animations. We may not have as much of a breadth of variety due to application size limitations, but you’d be really surprised at how beautiful the game looks and how clean and smooth the animations are. The game has original music shorts and cool mp3 sfx.
David: This combination is pretty enjoyable, especially considering phones only allow one sound at a time.
GI: Will the voicetones and wallpapers come with the game or be part of a series of separate downloads? Will there be a special bundle that includes it all, for die-hard Transformers fans?
David: The voicetones and wallpapers will be available as separate downloads.
GI: It’s extremely unfair to compare previous console titles to a mobile game, so what will Transformers Mobile have that will appeal to both mobile gamers and fans of the series? Do you think it will be well received by the mobile gaming market? Will it make the series justice?
David: This is the first time that Transformers has been available to mobile fans in any format on a phone, so there definitely is some interest and demand for this type of game. Of course, it does not make sense to compare the mobile and console games directly as they are vastly different. However, fans of both platforms will expect what any game fan would want: solid controls, fun and evolved gameplay, clever level designs, and a pretty game. In these areas, I believe mobile gamers and fans of the series will be quite pleased with Transformers on mobile.
GI: As a gamer, how would you evaluate and recommend Transformers Mobile to other gamers?
Daren: If you want a great action game with a unique Transformers story I’d say it’s a must buy.
Thank you to Daren and David for taking the time to answer all of our questions, and to Keely Fox for this opportunity and for putting us in touch.