February 17, 2009

Hitting the Slopes with Snowboard Riot’s Amar Gavhane
By Louis Bedigian

"Making a game for WiiWare forces you to boil a game down to its purest fun elements."

Slowly but surely, WiiWare games are creeping toward a higher grade of console gaming. This is particularly evident by Snowboard Riot, a new WiiWare racing game that offers four-player online racing and Balance Board support. "The Wii Remote/Nunchuk combo will feel more natural to most gamers, since we’re used to using those controllers," said Amar Gavhane, Associate Brand Manager. "You’ll move with the Nunchuk’s control stick and use the buttons to jump, use weapons, pull tricks, and so on.

"The Balance Board may feel a little more natural to folks who snowboard or surf. Obviously, it’s not exactly like those sports, but after a little practice, they’ll feel right at home. With the Balance Board, you’re still holding the controllers to use the buttons, but obviously you’re not using the stick to steer."

What is it like working with the Balance Board? Is it hard to get the sensitivity just right so that the game reacts properly for gamers, who will all lean and balance differently?

Amar Gavhane: I wouldn’t say it’s that difficult. The Balance Board calibrates based on the weight of whoever’s on it. Like any game, you’ve got to tweak the controls and sensitivity until it feels ‘right.’ The Balance Board by its very nature makes people tend to lean and balance in a similar manner. You’re not going to be able to stand on one leg and lean backwards parallel to the floor and play a game without falling over…unless you’re freakishly gifted, I guess.

Are you including different sensitivity settings for the Wii remote or Balance Board?

AG: No, there are no sensitivity settings. Like most games, once you get used to the standard controls, you’re golden.

Give us some info on the different courses/race environments.

AG: There are four different courses. You’re going down a snow-covered mountain, naturally; even though you’re using weapons, you’re not on some sci-fi mountain. Obviously, some courses are more difficult than others, and you’ll come across caves, narrow bridges, cliffs, and even some shortcuts.

What race types will be included? Race, time trial or stunt competitions -- the usual, I presume?

AG: Hah! Define usual in a snowboard game with weapons. Yeah, you’ve got the ‘normal’ battle mode where you race downhill using weapons against other racers, you’ve got ‘stoic’ mode in which you race against them but without weapons, and you’ve got time attack mode where it’s just you vs. the mountain.

You can play those modes offline with another friend, or you can go online and race with up to four people in battle and stoic modes. Depending on how you do in each race, whether it’s finishing first or hitting 3 people with weapons, your rating will go up or down, changing your class. You can see this class on the ranking leaderboard and go for bragging rights.

If stunts are involved, how do you perform them on the Balance Board, which Nintendo urges us not to jump on or off of (despite our desire to do so)?

AG: Yeah, you’re not doing any frontside 720’s on the Balance Board, that’s for sure. You basically do them by moving the control stick in a direction then jumping with the A Button in a direction to perform a specific trick.

Talk about the power-ups. There are homing bullets and invisibility -- what else? Also, what is the benefit of becoming invisible?

AG: Well, some of the other weapons include freeze, turbo, and high jump. Those names are pretty self-explanatory. If you become invisible, your opponents aren’t going to be able to see you and therefore they aren’t going to be able to shoot you. Not getting shot is definitely a benefit.

Snowboard Riot offers four different characters. Do they differ beyond aesthetics, and if so, how?

AG: Yeah, there are slight differences. Edge is good all-around, Lira has better control, Ledrov is the fastest, and Angel-A is good at jumps and tricks. Of course, you can customize your character with Oakley gear that changes their abilities, so even if you pick a slower boarder, you can boost their speed back up.

It's interesting that Snowboard Riot was chosen for a WiiWare release when many other comparable-looking games are coming out on disc. Tell us about this decision.

AG: Well, I guess there are a few reasons we decided to put Snowboard Riot on WiiWare. First, Hudson’s got a long-running, great relationship with Nintendo. That immediately pointed us towards the Wii for this game. Second, Hudson’s key strength is making simple, just-plain-fun games. Making a game for WiiWare forces you to boil a game down to its purest fun elements. I’m sure if we had put this out on disc, you’d see a lot more levels, boarders, improved graphics, and other features, but you’d still see the same fun gameplay.

Anything else you'd like to say about Snowboard Riot, its development, gameplay content, or any other aspect?

AG: It’s snowboarding plus weapons. ‘Nuff said.

Thank you for your time.

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