In December 2008, gamers saw a mysterious trailer of an unnamed Wii exclusive title, which got many of us wondering, what lies behind the words "Commander Video" and "Only a Man". Finally the truth got revealed – a new development studio Gaijin Games told about the rhythm/music game BIT. TRIP BEAT, that they were working on WiiWare. CEO of Gaijin Games, Alex Neuse answered our questions.
Can you introduce yourself for Finnish gamers and readers of KonsoliFIN?
Haloo. My name is Alex Neuse, and I'm the CEO & Designer at Gaijin Games. I love video games. It's true.
How did you come up with an idea of a music game, with retro visuals? Did the release and success of Mega Man 9 affect your decisions?
I have wanted to make a rhythm/music game for a long time. I've also wanted to make a game that was very retro. Not just NES era retro, but 2600 retro. I had a lot of ideas bouncing around in my brain, but it wasn't until Chris
Osborn, our Engineer, and I were talking about our mutual love for chiptune music that the two genres came together and the design for BIT.TRIP BEAT finally clicked.
After the main design revealed itself to me, I turned to Mike Roush – our artist – for inspiration on the visuals. His vision is what led us down the path of using 3D, but keeping it retro-inspired.
It was through collaboration with the team that the game became fully retro-inspired, yet modern at the same time.
The release of Mega Man 9 came after we'd started, and it didn't really affect our decisions as we went, but it definitely excited us to see that people were receptive to a retro game like that. And Mega Man is one of my
favorite franchises, so I was completely excited to get a new "NES" version.
Did you dig up the Atari 2600 for research and to achieve the style of that era?
We definitely dug up the 2600 for research. I've got an extensive video game collection, and digging out my 2600 wasn't that big of a challenge. We played dozens of 2600 games and tried to pick what we liked from the
gameplay and art and focused on making BIT.TRIP BEAT feel like it could be a remake of a game that never existed on the platform.
How do the controls work for BIT. TRIP BEAT? Which ones are the supported controllers?
The Wii Remote is the only supported controller and the controls are very simple and intuitive. The Wii Remote is held horizontally like a classic NES controller and the player rocks it forward and backward to move the
on-screen paddle up and down to repel the beats.
The controls take about 3 – 5 minutes to get used to, but as the player continues to play, it feels completely natural. Oh, and if you're one of those folks who prefers an inverted Y-axis, simply hold the controller with the +Control Pad on the right.
Bit. Trip Beat looks fascinating, but at the same time I am worried, if staring the game long enough could make my head spin or cause headache. Have you noticed any kind of symptoms when playing the game yourself? ;-)
Ha! Good question. I've been playing the game every day, sometimes all day long, for about 3 months straight and I've suffered no ill effects. I think you'll be fine. :)
Any thoughts or guesses, when the game is out?
We're still hoping for a February release for the US. If not, I'm confident that it will be out in March. The European release will follow shortly thereafter. And then after that, an Asian release will hit the market.
Speaking of music games, what do you think about Nintendo's Wii Music?
I think that Wii Music is a nice diversion and an interesting idea, but I wish there were more meta-game aspects to it. I wish that it had more goals and that it felt more like a proper game. It reminded me of Electroplankton
in that it was fun to play with, but I don't think I'll go back to it too often.
How many people are working in Gaijin Games? And can you tell us the brief introduction and history of them?
At Gaijin Games, there are 3 of us working on the game full-time. I am the designer, Mike Roush is the artist, and Chris Osborn is the engineer.
In addition to the Gaijin Games development team, we have contracted out the Sound Design/Music Composition and we have a publishing team at Aksys Games who supports us with Marketing, QA, etc.
Chris, Mike and I met while we were working at another video game studio called Santa Cruz Games. Having just finished up the DS version of Tomb Raider Underworld each of us went our separate ways before reconnecting late last year to start Gaijin Games.
If you want to get to know us better, check out our Team Bios page on our website.
Do you have any ideas for a next WiiWare game? What about other gaming platforms?
We are currently working on our next WiiWare game—the second episode of the BIT.TRIP series. Game #2 (as yet untitled) picks up where the story from BIT.TRIP BEAT leaves off.
As far as getting on other gaming platforms goes, we eventually hope to, but since we're just starting up, we want to make sure to take things slowly so that we can grow at a steady pace rather than getting out of control and
growing too fast, like a lot of small developers have done.
What kind of gamers should pay attention to BIT. TRIP BEAT in the first place?
Anyone who enjoys having fun should pay attention to BIT.TRIP BEAT. This game is all about enjoying yourself and getting in a zone. It can get very difficult, but when it does, you can always ask a friend to join in and help
out. BIT.TRIP BEAT is one of those games that's easy to pick-up-and-play, but difficult to master. Casual gamers and hardcore gamers alike should enjoy the action, and for those really hardcore players, there's always the insanely difficult "perfect score" to achieve. Good luck! We at Gaijin Games hope you enjoy BIT.TRIP BEAT as much as we do.
