Here is our exclusive interview with Martin Brown, creative director at Team 17, makers of the fantastic Worms 3D! The Interview took place on Wed 5th November, and was conducted by Smackdown5.com's webmaster Mark O'Connell
Mark O'Connell: Hi, thanks for taking the time to talk to Smackdown5.com! Can you tell us a little about yourself?
Martyn Brown: Hi, my name is Martyn Brown, Im Creative Director at Team17, responsible for our titles game content/direction and also for running the studio.
MOC: What features are you most excited about in Worms 3D?
MD: Worms is lucky in that it doesnt particularly rely on a key feature or gimmick, its a blend of many things since theres quite a lot in the game. In terms of pride, Im very happy that we managed to take the look, feel and spirit of the 2d game series and move it relatively unhurt into 3d dimensions.
MOC: Did any of the original worms team work on the latest version?
MD: Yes, a fair number of the original team were involved, although the team was pretty big 30-40 people!
MOC:How long was Worms 3D in production?
MD: It was in development around 15-16 months, with 3-4 months pre-production, some prototyping & design before that. Its been under consideration for years.
MOC: Have any new weapons been introduced to the latest game?
MD: About a dozen or so weapons and utilities have been introduced to W3d, making around 50 in total, which certainly gives you plenty of options.
MOC: Which weapon causes the most destruction, and what is your weapon of choice?
MD: The Holy Hand Grenade is perhaps the most destructive, its tough to use, but its my favourite the choice of a champion! (Not that I am a champion, but its an endearing image)
MOC: Were there any inherent problems transitioning Worms into a 3D environment?
MD: Very many, we were worried on many counts. Given that the games uses all new 3d dynamic deformation technology (i.e. you can completely blow the level up) this introduced a lot of camera and positioning problems, as well as dealing with randomly generated worlds. On the play mechanics, we were keen to make sure the game was fluid and felt like its 2d counterparts.
MOC: Are there any themed hidden landscapes, accessable through the land generator?
MD: No, although there are lots (100 or so) things to unlock through the single player games.
MOC: The audio track is as funny as ever, who created it?
MD: Which one? Theres the cover track Shake Your Coconuts by Junior-Senior and then the Worms song on the credits, which is by our studio musician, Bjorn Lynne. Bjorn also did the audio work on everything else, including the very many tracks in the game.
MOC: Are there plans in the future to take advantage of Sony and XBox's Online capabilities?
MD: Yes, its a shame we just didnt have the schedule time to do it this time, but well look to online in the future, certainly.
MOC: What do you attribute to Worms lasting appeal?
MD: Because it feels fresh/different every time. You can play it how you want to, without having to invest a lot of time/effort.
MOC: Whats next on the horizon? Any plans for more spin off games such as Worms Blast?
MD: Weve got a few more Wormy things in the pipeline, although no more indirect spin-offs.
MOC: Thanks for your time!
Martyn Brown: Hi, my name is Martyn Brown, Im Creative Director at Team17, responsible for our titles game content/direction and also for running the studio.
MOC: What features are you most excited about in Worms 3D?
MD: Worms is lucky in that it doesnt particularly rely on a key feature or gimmick, its a blend of many things since theres quite a lot in the game. In terms of pride, Im very happy that we managed to take the look, feel and spirit of the 2d game series and move it relatively unhurt into 3d dimensions.
MOC: Did any of the original worms team work on the latest version?
MD: Yes, a fair number of the original team were involved, although the team was pretty big 30-40 people!
MOC:How long was Worms 3D in production?
MD: It was in development around 15-16 months, with 3-4 months pre-production, some prototyping & design before that. Its been under consideration for years.
MOC: Have any new weapons been introduced to the latest game?
MD: About a dozen or so weapons and utilities have been introduced to W3d, making around 50 in total, which certainly gives you plenty of options.
MOC: Which weapon causes the most destruction, and what is your weapon of choice?
MD: The Holy Hand Grenade is perhaps the most destructive, its tough to use, but its my favourite the choice of a champion! (Not that I am a champion, but its an endearing image)
MOC: Were there any inherent problems transitioning Worms into a 3D environment?
MD: Very many, we were worried on many counts. Given that the games uses all new 3d dynamic deformation technology (i.e. you can completely blow the level up) this introduced a lot of camera and positioning problems, as well as dealing with randomly generated worlds. On the play mechanics, we were keen to make sure the game was fluid and felt like its 2d counterparts.
MOC: Are there any themed hidden landscapes, accessable through the land generator?
MD: No, although there are lots (100 or so) things to unlock through the single player games.
MOC: The audio track is as funny as ever, who created it?
MD: Which one? Theres the cover track Shake Your Coconuts by Junior-Senior and then the Worms song on the credits, which is by our studio musician, Bjorn Lynne. Bjorn also did the audio work on everything else, including the very many tracks in the game.
MOC: Are there plans in the future to take advantage of Sony and XBox's Online capabilities?
MD: Yes, its a shame we just didnt have the schedule time to do it this time, but well look to online in the future, certainly.
MOC: What do you attribute to Worms lasting appeal?
MD: Because it feels fresh/different every time. You can play it how you want to, without having to invest a lot of time/effort.
MOC: Whats next on the horizon? Any plans for more spin off games such as Worms Blast?
MD: Weve got a few more Wormy things in the pipeline, although no more indirect spin-offs.
MOC: Thanks for your time!
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interview MUST be credited soley to
www.Smackdown5.com
