So, after developing Destroy All Cars and then Deathracers I was getting a bit bored of cars. So it makes a nice change to be moving onto bikes. Moto X Madness is a very calculated decision to make a generic engine that will be used again to make more games and more money. Deathracers served the same purpose. Having said that, it is also a game I've been wanting to make for ages. The genre is a popular one- and rightly so. When done properly they are really good fun. Needless to say, we are doing it properly!
Now, there are a lot of similar games out there already, so we have to work hard to make ours stand out from the crowd. After playing around with the physics for a couple of days, it was already becoming clear how we were going to do this. The physics model we have is lovely. The amount of control you have over the bike is very impressive. It's being coded by Yuriy Shevchenko, who coded Baby Vs Spiders. He's very good! As well as the bike, we're adding other physics objects to interact with. It's something fresh and it's no gimmick- it adds plenty to the gameplay.
One thing that worked really well in Deathracers was the different events. Having 4 different challenges on each track varies the gameplay and also gives the game longevity.
So, we'll have 4 types of challenge. Race, Backflip, Balloon and Technique. Race encourages the player to do the level as quickly as possible. Backflip challenges the player to do as many backflips as possible. Balloon challenges the player to explore the whole level popping balloons and Technique challenges the player to finish the level with no mistakes. The player will be able to just dip in and out of whatever challenges they want, so if they prefer racing, they can just race.
So, we spent the fisrt part of development getting the physics just right. I reckon we've cracked it now so I'm just adding assets. I have 3 tracks designed so far but I reckon they are too challenging to be the first three. This leaves me the enviable job of making two easy ones next. I'm giving the player options- if an obstacle is really hard, then failure to clear it will only lose them speed. No point torturing people. Obviously, if they want a gold medal in a challenge, they WILL have to do it properly.
We're fighting to keep the game accessible to everyone but also a real challenge to skilled gamers. That's the biggest challenge with designing the levels and creating the challenges.
If we can get the balance right then the game will be a cracker. As usual, we're optimistic we can pull it off. Currently I am re-designing the rider into something more memorable to allow more scope for sequels. Yeah, we think this one's gonna be huge! Check out the Work In Progress video- this shows how the physics is well and truly in place now. Just levels to design now. I love designing levels, especially for a game like this.