Giving Tennis the “Hot Shots” Treatment; Associate Producer Chris Hinojosa-Miranda Talks to GameZone
by Louis Bedigian 

“We feel that this sort of face-to-face four-player interactivity is true to the nature of real life tennis.” 

Everyone loves a good pick-up-and-play experience. From the early days of beat-‘em-ups like Streets of Rage to the modern-day slopes of SSX, nothing tops a game you can jump right into. 

Hot Shots Golf has been providing that style of gameplay since the series began several years ago. Now its creators are applying their development skills to another sport, creating Hot Shots Tennis.  

“Our main goal behind Hot Shots Tennis was to make the gameplay easily accessible to anyone, regardless of gaming history,” said Chris Hinojosa-Miranda, Associate Producer. “For this we figured out a simple intuitive two-part control system: first we designated both movement, shot direction, and angle to the left analog stick (or D-pad) giving players the freedom to concentrate solely on timing their shots and enjoying the rallies. 

“Second, we picked four basic shots (stroke, slice, dropshot, lob) that will allow new players to get easily accustomed to the game basics, and this of course is just the top layer of gameplay. As the player dives further into the game they will find that a combination of timing, angle, and style are all important factors in going up classes.”  

This is the first time the Hot Shots series has reached beyond golf. Tell us how this came about, and why tennis is the perfect game to get the Hot Shots treatment. 

Chris Hinojosa-Miranda: Tennis was picked from two major factors: one, simple gameplay and two, resource issues. Clap Hanz, the developer for the Hot Shots series, has always had a passion to make fun and entertaining sports games. One thing they make sure to do is pick a sport that everyone has played growing up, and that the rules are simple. Baseball was one other game they were looking at, but it is obviously a more complex sport and required more resources. 

Most tennis games feel like a glorified version of Pong. What gameplay mechanics will set this apart from the crowd? 

CHM: PONG and Hot Shots Tennis only have one thing in common: they're both video games… and that makes it impossible to do a "comparison test" to find differences between Hot Shots Tennis and PONG (and glorified versions of). Instead, I would say that Hot Shots Tennis is more like Table Tennis in terms of player accessibility, design aesthetic, learning curve, and overall instant gratification. Hot Shots Tennis will feature an intuitive control mechanism that can easily adjust to the user's skill level, quick and unique customizable options, exotic backgrounds, and all the humorous antics players have grown to expect from a Hot Shots title. 

How will the button timing and shot angles work? 

CHM: In Hot Shots Tennis, just like in real tennis, timing is everything; however, the player is not penalized for "un-timely" hits... or better yet, not penalized much. The timing system is broken down into four areas: too early, too late, just right, and sweet spot. Hitting the ball too early or too late will make your shots veer left or right respectively; hitting the ball just right will make sure your stroke will land exactly where directed; and a sweet spot stroke is an tough to stop high velocity shot. Perfecting the timing is not enough though, as players will have to combine it with angles to throw off their opponents. This combination of styles is the only way to move up as the game progresses. Once you've mastered 'the art of aiming'… then you'll be unstoppable.  

Let's talk about the 14 playable characters and five umpires. What is special / cool / unique about them? 

CHM: The Clap Hanz team has had a long history of creating memorable characters with unique outfits and humorous dialogue, and keeping true to that tradition, each Hot Shots Tennis character has that classic Clap Hanz flavor. We have a few characters that have migrated over from the Hot Shots Golf series and a whole slew of new faces like Big Chief, Will, and Miranda. Every character has multiple color schemes and alternate outfits and their playing styles differ greatly, so any player can find and personalize their "character." 

As in real tennis, umpires play an important role in the game, and we wanted to accent that by giving each chair umpire a unique voice as well as additional voice styles. These are all small details that make the Hot Shots Tennis experience so enjoyable. 

Will there be any kind of story applied to the characters? 

CHM: There is no "traditional" story line per say and that really wasn't our goal with Hot Shots Tennis; we want Hot Shots Tennis to be a game that anyone can pick it up and get a couple of games in without having to invest too much time. That being said, there is a unlock system to Hot Shots Tennis, where players will have to advance through the Hot Shots Challenge mode to unlock characters, costumes, umpires, and additional courts.  

In what ways will player attributes be dispersed? Are they pre-assigned? Can you tweak / upgrade your players? 

CHM: Each match won in the Hot Shots Challenge Mode will unlock a particular game component, be it a new character, a new outfit or a new court.  All the locked items are made available through a simple rule of thumb: if you're playing a new character, or in a new court, or an old character in a new outfit, you'll gain that new item once you win the match. Once the items are unlocked, you can choose the outfit/character/court from the character selection window. Also, all your progress and unlocked items can be viewed through the Data option.   

Will there be a create-a-player mode? 

CHM: While the Hot Shot Golf PSP title was famous for its deep character customization, we felt that with Hot Shots Tennis we wanted to create a quick pick up and play mechanism that didn't have any extra steps between picking up the controller, joining a match and having fun. With Hot Shots Tennis, you'll pick your character, select their costume, select a court, and umpire and start playing! 

Can you give us some info on the courts / locations we'll be playing at? 

CHM: The perfect thing about tennis is that we're not bound by location per say, so we can set every court in a different exotic location, plus the Clap Hanz team has always had a very humorous side to them so they've added secret spots to each court.  If you accidentally find one and hit it (at the right speed as well) you'll see some serious Monty Python "ha-ha" action.  As far as the settings go, we'll have various backdrops like Hawaii, the Alps, and Greece… can't give away too much, but players will definitely be entertained.  

What is the Challenge Mode all about, and what are the seven player classes? 

CHM: Hot Shots Challenge mode is where all the game's additional features can be unlocked by winning singles and doubles matches. As the player moves up classes, new characters, courts, and outfits become available.  Each new character has unique abilities: killer smashes, tight net players, etc. There are a total of seven classes: Beginner, Amateur, Semi-Pro, Pro, National, World, and a very special class at the very end of the game (you'll have to play to find out). Moving up a class will pit you against new players as well as older ones; however, the A.I. gets wicked smart as you move up so you'll have to constantly be creative during volleys. 

Costumes, characters, umpires, and courts – these are some of the unlockables. What can you tell us about them? 

CHM: The Hot Shots Tennis Challenge mode starts off fairly simple with a limited set of characters available to choose from.  However, within the first six minutes of the game, you'll be able unlock a new player. This is the essence of the Challenge Mode: being able to unlock something new every step of the game and having it readily available. It's all about instant gratification.  

Thus far the game sounds pretty realistic. Are there any over-the-top elements we can look forward to? 

CHM: As a whole, Hot Shots Tennis has comic elements interlaced throughout the entire game, be it Will's alternate costume, or the classic Hot Shots stylized win/defeat poses, or the voice over work (especially Ashley and Big Chief, two of my favorites). There are just too many to pinpoint. It's one of those things you can't really explain until your character is saying "I am totem pole" and you find yourself repeating it for the rest of the day.  

Will Hot Shots Tennis contain any mini-games, and if so, can you tell us about them? 

CHM: All of the mini-games are in the training mode, which I personally feel is a great way to get familiarized with the game's more advanced control mechanics. 

Hot Shots Tennis has some promising multiplayer content in the works, with four-player doubles competitions at the top of the list. What other features multiplayer will be available? Are there any specific game modes tied to multiplayer? 

CHM: When planning for the multiplayer features for Hot Shots Tennis we looked at all our options and decided to concentrate on the PS2 multi-tap. We feel that this sort of face-to-face four-player interactivity is true to the nature of real life tennis. Think about it: if you are playing doubles with a group of friends, doesn't it feel better to give your partner a high-five when they score? Inversely, it's also easier to take out your frustration when your partner messes up… a punch is just a reach away. Hot Shots Tennis was created with that quick and fun delivery mindset, either during single player Challenge Mode or through Fun Time Tennis with up to four friends in a doubles tournament.  

Lastly, are any other sports being considered for the Hot Shots treatment? 

CHM: For the time being, we are concentrating on the next Hot Shot Golf titles… but who knows… maybe we can do something a little more off the beaten path like Hot Shots Curling…

Thank you for your time.