darkSpyro

I actually like seeing an animal in a game's title, and then the game ACTUALLY stars that animal. ...But hey, that's me. Still, I try not to get my hopes up for games staring anthro characters.

Quote: MugoUrth

I actually like seeing an animal in a game's title, and then the game ACTUALLY stars that animal. ...But hey, that's me. Still, I try not to get my hopes up for games staring anthro characters.

I actually agree with you there! I mean, I prefer cartoony animals that are the main character of a game, like Banjo, Yooka, Spyro, etc.
Looking at another Indie Platforming game coming out, "FreezeMe", and I think the humans design looks silly, and I prefer if they changed it. I find that an cartoony anthro animals catches attention, has appeal, and stands out. ^ Your not the only one with that opinion ! One question, why do you not have hopes for games that star anthro characters?

Quote: Bryman04

Quote: MugoUrth

I actually like seeing an animal in a game's title, and then the game ACTUALLY stars that animal. ...But hey, that's me. Still, I try not to get my hopes up for games staring anthro characters.

I actually agree with you there! I mean, I prefer cartoony animals that are the main character of a game, like Banjo, Yooka, Spyro, etc.
Looking at another Indie Platforming game coming out, "FreezeMe", and I think the humans design looks silly, and I prefer if they changed it. I find that an cartoony anthro animals catches attention, has appeal, and stands out. ^ Your not the only one with that opinion ! One question, why do you not have hopes for games that star anthro characters?

Because, sadly, too many anthro games I get my hopes up for end up sucking.

What kind of variety in gameplay can we expect and will the game feature bosses?
Gameplay will not be all that varied mechanically, but the objectives and locals will. I am not a fan of mini-games and obligatory change-ups seen in a lot of these titles. Mutt won’t be getting behind the wheel of any random vehicles or participating in any frustrating quick-time events, for example. While the scale of this game is rather ambitious, one of the ways we are reining-in the scope is by sticking to the core platforming/collecting roots as much as we can.
Boss battles are a massive part of this game. Each world will have a primary boss who is a member of the masked Liga de los Villanos. These characters can be unmasked once defeated which grants Mutt their powers and abilities, much like the bosses in MegaMan titles. In turn, he will be able to use these new powers to take on new challenges and return to past areas and explore them further (a la Metroid). We also have sub-bosses in each world that provided a more varied, often larger scale, battle than the Liga members. For example, World One is WikiTiki Woods, a Polynesian-inspired forest world that is being deforested by the world’s villain, Gnawton Sawtooth III. He is a enterprising capitalist running the operation and is eventually who Mutt will face off with as the bosses’ Villanos battle. But the sub-boss will have players going toe-to-toe with T.I.M.B.U.R., a buzz-saw wielding deforestation machine, piloted by one of Gnawton’s Lumberchuck goons............
RARE games were known for their incredible soundtracks. Do you have any special plans for the game’s soundtrack?
Oh, yes. Our composer, Gooseworx, is working hard on a dynamic soundtrack for each world that will change based on the areas the player visits. This is inspired by the crossfading seen in the Rare N64 games like Diddy Kong Racing, DK64 and of course, the Banjo titles. Gooseworx has a sound that will be instantly appealing for those of us who are fans of Grant Kirkhope’s classic tracks. This game is going to have a killer soundtrack.................

What are your biggest inspirations in the gaming industry in regards to what kind of game you want Lobodestroyo to become? What are the teams’ favorite 3D Action Platformers?

Lobodestroyo is firmly rooted in the platforming adventure titles on the Nintendo 64. Primarily the Rareware games. Most notably we draw inspiration from the Banjo-Kazooie games, which are our favorites, as well as their later adventure titles like Conker’s Bad Fur Day and DK64. From obvious gameplay mechanics right down to the wide cast of goofy characters- we are breathing in Rare’s influences as much as possible and hoping our fondness of their brilliant work will be channelled into Lobodestroyo.

How did you decide on the (as we interpret it) Central American/Mexican theme of Lobodestroyo? Or how would you like to describe the setting of the game and the feel you want to convey to the players?
The Mexican influence and luchador ties are very evident in the grounding of our hero Mutt and the legend of the ‘Lobodestroyo’ character. However the game quickly spirals into different worlds and themes including all the classic archetypes seen in past titles. Defeating each of the world bosses results in the player taking the masks of the bad guys and unlocking their abilities/moves, so we get a little more of the luchador theme in that way as well. Our character’s belt, Dorado, has a very inspired voice that harkens back to traditional Mexican ledges also.................

Are you planning on incorporating any interesting features or gameplay mechanics that will set Lobodestroyo apart from other games in the same genre? How will you manage to not get Lobodestroyo regarded as the runt of the litter, so to speak, compared to other similar games in the genre?

We are actually taking a somewhat backwards approach to gameplay mechanics. The basic gameplay will consist of platforming, collection, exploration and combat. And we really don’t want to stray away from that. No pop-up mini game tasks or ham-fisted vehicle segments… this is an adventure game. No more no less. My concept from the beginning has been to avoid shifting the focus to tedious micro-games when people are here to explore and collect things!

The graphics look Wind-Waker esque
How did you come up with the idea for the game’s protagonist, basically, why did Mutt end up the way he did? Did you go through a lot of different concepts before deciding on the current character?
Mutt is an amalgamation of Daxter, Banjo, Crash and Ratchet in his physical design. This is again, in tribute to the characters of adventure games past.

You cite Metroid, Mega Man, and Banjo-Kazooie as the main inspirations behind the game's design; a lot of people have reminisced of the Rare platformers of old, but this is the first time I've heard of the arm-cannon duo being brought into the mix. It's unique, and the way you describe it is intriguing; what was the appeal in these franchises specifically that made you think they'd work together?
In Mega Man and Metroid you earn abilities of the bosses you defeat, and use your new abilities and moves to retrace your steps and gain access to new areas... These are traits we wanted to include in our game from day one. While this is far from revolutionary in the action-platformer genre, we want to play up the fact that we are leaning on these classic mechanics and infuse that logic into the Banjo/Mario 64 style gameplay as much as possible. The mask system we are developing will let players switch between the various abilities on the fly, allowing Mutt to perform alternate moves depending on which one of the boss masks he has equipped. Physical changes to the player character will also represent how much the player has accomplished in the game. Upgraded boots, trunks, gloves and capes will alter the appearance of Mutt in addition to the various elemental masks the player obtains from boss battles.

This game looks promising. Need to see it in action, of course, but I love its style.

You know, I'm going to be honest... I'm not sure I like Lobodestroyo all that much despite being anthro. He just seems to be more of a generic furry anthro rather than a cartoon/video game anthro which I tend to prefer.

Quote: MugoUrth

You know, I'm going to be honest... I'm not sure I like Lobodestroyo all that much despite being anthro. He just seems to be more of a generic furry anthro rather than a cartoon/video game anthro which I tend to prefer.

Ya know what's funny about this game? Compared to Yooka-Laylee, and A Hat in Time, this game is the underdog of the two! heh, get it? Ugh, I'm terrible at puns... But seriously, I understand how you feel, MugoUrth. Oh, and I'm sorry for my terrible jokes. But this game really is the unpopular one of the bunch.

I wish I had insight to give, but I'm not sure what to say.

The in-progress gameplay shots in their most recent update look really cool. I wonder how long until we see actual gameplay video, though?

^ could you upload some of the pictures, I'm having a bad internet connection right now

I like the humour, but I need to see way more of the gameplay/levels before I decide wether to buy.

Gotta say, really glad there are more 3D platformers popping up through indies.

4.Talking of the theme, what was the reason behind the name ‘Lobodestroyo’ anyway? I know it’s the name of an individual in the game’s setting, but is there a meaning behind the term?

Yes, the Lobodestroyo (or loosely translated ‘wolf of destruction’) is a legendary figure in our game’s world. At the outset of the game he gets taken out and is gone under mysterious circumstances. It’s up to Mutt, the player character, to avenge his fallen hero and track down those responsible for the destruction of his village.

5. Is there a main villain behind the La Liga de Los Villanos? Like how the Mega Man robot masters had Dr Wily as the true force behind them?

Very early in the game there is a prison break and the maximum security lockdown villains get loose. These are all big time baddies that were previously defeated and locked up by the Lobodestroyo. With him out of the picture, these big-bads have banded together to form a league and are wreaking havoc on Costa Lucha (our game world).

6. Lobodestroyo has a very unique art style to it. Can you tell us a bit about the story behind it and why said style was chosen?

It’s a mix of wanting to harken back to simpler, clean character designs that have that childish cartoonyness to them, but also have a style that makes everything feel like it’s from the same game universe. That, and we are keeping out design rather simple visually (which was initially out of necessity considering the hardware we would potentially be running the game on) to make sure to tweak things to get that ‘lobo-look’ we’re gunning for. There are rarely any straight lines in our game. Everything is a bit wonky or crooked. It makes it all rather cohesive and helps craft the look of the world.

7. Apparently, you’ll need powers from later levels to clear missions and defeat bosses in earlier ones. What’s the general set up for this? Is it just learning new moves in one place, leaving to the hub and returning, ala the first Banjo Kazooie? Or is it like Banjo Tooie where the levels are also directly connected to each other?

There is world interconnectivity in our game as well as a centralized hub that allows players to explore and unlock the game worlds. Some missions will branch between worlds, and other will require abilities that you might not have when first encountered. You get a healthy batch of initial abilities at the outset of your adventure, but gain new ones as you defeat and lock up boss villains. Taking down a boss is what grants you new powers after you unmask them, which is a theme lifted from old school lucha libre Mask vs Mask, retirement matches.

In Lobodestroyo when you take down a boss, you ‘retire him’ and claim his mask, which grants you some powers unique to that villain. It’s rather Mega Man in that regard, and allows for further exploration of previously visited worlds much like in the Metroid titles.