New firefighting Wii title (new info!)

[roland13x]

Hey guys,

Been a longtime CAG member, and I'd love to toss on an announcement here. I've been in the game industry for over 6 years now, first at Activision then onto a smaller studio, and me and a few guys decided 'why not try it ourselves?'

So we've started up a new studio called Epicenter Studios, and we've just gone public with our first title, which is a Wii exclusive game based on real-life firefighters. I'm personally very excited to be creating a non-violent action game, as I've done the blood and gore (300) and shot more Nazis than my grandfather did (Call of Duty series).

Anyway, our press release was just launched today, and we've made it to the front page of Gamasutra (http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=14419), which is really quite exciting.

Anyway, wanted to pass this info along to my fellow CAGs. Not sure why, cause you all will just wait for a few months and buy it once it hits $15. I know how this works :)

Thanks!
Bryan

[Scorch]

Sounds awesome.. you'll be giving us details and perhaps giving a few copies away in a contest here, right?:D

[botticus]

You know the trick by now. Release it at $40, sales will double if CAG is any indication.

Certainly seems worth keeping tabs on.

[roland13x]

Tell you guys what, once we're released, for sure I'll be holding a contest or two. Great idea!

Sadly, price point is, as always, up to the publisher. But I'm one of you guys, so I totally understand. However, we're going to make the gameplay worth your $50. Or $45 with the GGC. :)

[MarioColbert]

Congratulations on the press release.

Nice to see a developer on here, especially with an exclusive Wii title. How much can you tell us about Nintendo SDK and Nintendo licensing / publishing policies? I'm more than certain that most of it is "hush hush," but I can't help but ask.

In any case, looking forward to the game. Congratulations.

[roland13x]

Thanks for the congrats, we're pretty excited to finally be able to go public with our company and title. Still a long road ahead, that's for sure.

As far as Nintendo goes, I have to say they are great to work with. This is my first time working with them on the Wii, but in the past, they were so easy to work with on the GameCube. You are correct though, all the Nintendo SDK and policies are confidential.

[evilmax17]

I've always thought that there was great potential with firefighting games, and the Wii is a great opportunity to make it work.

Here's a question. In the past when you were working at big companies like Activision, how many hours a week did you usually work? What about now, with your own startup company?

Good luck! Can't wait for some vids.

[roland13x]

Thanks evilmax!

Good question as far as how many hours you end up working. It completely depends on the status of the project. For example, at the start of the game, it's usually a pretty standard 40 hour week, with a few fluctuations. But once you get near a milestone, it pretty much turns into "get it done" mode. And once you near release time, the days can become pretty long. You really have to love this to do it, for sure. Because in the end after all the office sleepovers and 7 day weeks, I'm always look forward to starting the next project.

With Epicenter, since we've been starting this from scratch, I've put a good amount of time into it. There are no "business hours" as phone calls or emails could come in at any time of the day. But again, it's been a fantastic experience, and getting this game out the door is going to be a ton of hard, but fun work.

[psunami]

I have to support a developer that tells me to use a GGC on a game. I got a good laugh out of that.

I wish you the best of luck with the game. Can't wait to see how it develops.

[dallow]

Good luck guys!
I'll give you my support and be sure to watch out for this game.

One word of advice?
Try to get the feeling of 'weight' right.
It should feel like a heavy hose and move accordingly.
No zip zap, water gun action.

Congrats!

[roland13x]

Hahaha....I've used more than my share of GGCs psunami.

Dallow, first of all, thanks for the good luck wishes. Much appreciated. And you know, one of the very first tasks we're working on is getting the tools to "feel" right. It's one of our top priorities (alongside the fire AI and effects). I fully, 100% agree, if the tools don't feel right, and a lot of that has to do with their weight, then we've failed. Red Steel is a good example of that I think, not that it's a terrible game, but it just didn't feel right.

One of the things we're working on is to allow the player to "level-up" as their career moves along, so that firehose might be a pain in the ass to handle at the start, but it'll feel different once you're more of a veteran. Work in progress of course, but that's the plan.

[PyroGamer]

Make it intense and cinematic, and I will come.

Good luck, hope it turns out fantastic.

[dallow]

Sounds good, make sure to add me to the 'special thanks' portion of the credits. Dallow, or Brian G. is fine.

[CHARYODA]

Good luck on the title

Just one request. Please have a hidden wii the fire out mode :P

Sorry I couldn't resist. I'll keep an eye out for this title as it sounds very original (the first thing that came to mind was sim copter and putting fires out in that).

[Kirra]

Cool, congrats on the front page! I'll be sure to keep an eye out for this title =)!

[help1]

You helped create 300 and CoD or just watched 300 and played CoD?

[PyroGamer]

You helped create 300 and CoD or just watched 300 and played CoD?
I was wondering that as well. The site says the company is made up of people who did CoD.

[roland13x]

You know, the sad thing is that I actually never thought about using your "wii" to put out the fires, but that's the 2nd or 3rd comment I've seen about Wiimote placement during gameplay. I think you're onto something.

To answer your questions, I was on the production team of nearly every console CoD game over at Activision. I then left Activision to go to Collision as the producer there to work on 300. I wanted to get out of the publisher side and see what the dev side was like, and obviously, I liked what I saw. Once 300 wrapped, me and my partner (who has actually worked on every single CoD game ever released, including mobile and some upcoming titles) started Epicenter.

Thanks for the encouragement guys. It's really appreciated. Of course, this is the easy part of the project, but it's this kind of support that'll make the grind a lot easier.

Wow, we just made it onto Kotaku. We even have our own "Epicenter Studios" tag. Now that is cool.

[Sofa King Kool]

That sounds awesome. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

[Dogpatch]

Good luck to you and the rest of your crew roland. That is an extremely cool idea you guys have there.

Sucks that 9 firefighters just died here in SC (Charleston.) Just to throw a bone out there, how about some way of honoring firefighters who have lost their lives? Just an idea that would be well respected I think.

[CouRageouS]

Just make a level where a PS3/Xbox overheats and starts a fire and I'll buy it for $50 on day one. ;)

[drfunk85]

Awesome. My dad's a firefighter, and I can't wait to see what a FF game on the Wii would play like.

One question I have, is how will the game progress. I assume there will be some sort of storyline, and is it going to be move up in ranks and achieve a certain position or will it be more along the lines of just completing X different fires/calls? The thing with firefighting is it doesn't really "end". In war games, you can win the war. In sports games, you win the game/championship, but there's always another call/shift in firefighting unless you retire. I think a sort of sim type game where you don't just fight fires/rescue people, but have to build/plan a fire department around a community and its' needs as the community changes/grows, and also actually do the responding to fires/calls would be a cool idea.

Also, standard questions: Online play planned? Multiplayer?


I understand if you can talk about some/any of this stuff, or just don't have it worked out, I'm just real interested, so any info about the game that you can give would be awesome.

Thanks, and Good luck!

[bmulligan]

FD18 on the PS2 was a big letdown. But thinking about Elebits, it seems like a no-brainer that a firefighting game would be a perfect game for the Wii. Good luck. I'll certainly be looking out for the release.

[roland13x]

You know, since starting work on this game, I've been doing a ton of research on firefighting and firefighters in general, so I've been actively searching out all the latest news. Seeing those reports of those SC firefighters as they were coming in was absolutely heartbreaking. I used to live in Pittsburgh during college, and I'll never forget how together that city got after 3 firefighters died while trying to save a kid. It was really special and very sad.

CouRageous, I think that was the funniest comment I've seen so far. That would be absolutely hilarious, and it's really not a bad idea at all.

drfunk85 - What city does your father serve in? And unfortunately, I can't really answer most of your questions, partially because we need to keep a lot of that info confidential, and partially because this is still a work in progress, and it's amazing how things can change on a day to day basis. Needless to say, I'm a huge gamer, when I'm not working I'm usually playing some game or other. We'll be making the right decisions when it comes down to it. I've seen too many people in this industry who aren't gamers, and it often shows in the final product.

bmulligan - yeah, I researched FD18 (bought it off ebay, was very much not a CAG price, that's for sure). I fully agree with you, it's a big letdown. The concept I think works, but the implementation lost my interest real fast. And it's funny that you brought up Elebits, as I'm a big fan of that title, and it's been a great reference for many reasons.

Thanks again guys!

[Vinny]

Neato... it's not too often we see a game based on more realistic heroes.

[Judhudson]

If one of your tasks is this:

http://www.warrenboroson.com/cat_tree1.jpg

Then sign me up for a copy! Oh, and I'll be a devoted fan if you make it a choice to either climb up there or shoot the cat down with the water from the hose.

Please think of the kitties.

http://www.pafire.org/Matt-Cat.jpg

-Jud

P.S. - This is a great idea, if done right, it'll be high on my list of games to get when they come out. Keep at it!

[jer7583]

Best wishes to a new developer. It must be tough for you little guys..

I don't know how much you deal with publishers, but maybe you could give us some insight as to why so few Wii titles are coming out at budget prices? It seems logical to follow the hardware's theory of lower price/higher sales in software, but that hasn't been the case. Especially being a new IP, a lower MSRP could help you get a foothold in a market that seems to only want games with a number of 3 or higher behind them.

[AmigoOne]

roland, have you ever played firefighter games before? I remmeber playing a firefighter arcade game, it was pretty fun stuff. There was a level where you had to save the mayor, if I recall.

[PyroGamer]

If kitten rescuing and waiting around all day at the station levels are included, I'm in xD

[roland13x]

Jud - you may be very pleasantly surprised.

Jer7583 - Thanks for the support, very much appreciated. You do bring up a very good question, but I think you have to look at the results. For example, I think Cooking Mama is the perfect example of a Wii title that in no way should be full priced at $50. I would like to buy it myself as I want to play the multiplayer with my girlfriend, but I can wait til the inevitable price drop. Now you take a look at the NPD sales numbers, in 6 weeks, it sold nearly 75,000 copies. Now that might not seem like a lot, but for a quirky title like that with a bare minimum production and marketing budget, that's a nice sum. And that's just in the US. I guarantee that this game is a huge money maker for Majesco. Would it have sold more at a lower cost? Probably, but enough to make up for the $10 or $20 difference? Apparently their marketing dept. doesn't think so.

What it comes down to is that the market will dictate the price of a game, or games in general, and right now, $50 is that price. Hell, with the increased price of 360/PS3 games, $50 feels like a somewhat bargain. That's pretty messed up, huh?

AmigoOne - Yeah, I've tried to get my hands on every firefighter game I could. I'd LOVE to find an arcade that still had a working copy of the Sega game (Burning Rangers)...anyone see one in the last 5 years?

[roland13x]

By the way, I think anyone with the handle of "PyroGamer" is pretty much our target audience :)

[soyverde]

If one of your tasks is this:

...

Then sign me up for a copy! Oh, and I'll be a devoted fan if you make it a choice to either climb up there or shoot the cat down with the water from the hose.

...

Please think of the kitties.
Two words: easter egg. :applause:

Excellent idea for a game roland, I look forward to supporting a small studio and a CAG to boot. Hope you guys find a decent publisher to work with. And regarding dallow's note about weight, I imagine it is pretty darn hard to simulate weight without making the controls feel sluggish and/or disconnected. Likewise any issues with forces acting on whatever you are controling by aiming (i.e. a hose pushing in another direction). Will definitely be looking forward to how this game works out. ;)

[roland13x]

Soyverde - Thanks for the support Soyverde! I certainly hope we find a good publisher to deal with as well. The responses we've had from them so far has been very encouraging. And you bring up another great point about the controls and feel, we certainly agree that this is one of the most important elements, and it's something we're already well under way on trying to solve.

Dogpatch - Sorry man, I meant to get back to you sooner. You mentioned giving a little something back to the firefighting community. Working on the CoD franchise, I always wanted to do whatever I could, even if it was a gesture, to respect the men who we were depicting. My grandfather fought in that war too! And without putting down Activision, I never felt that we did enough. Now that I get to call the shots, we've got a lot of great ideas with how to show our support to the firefighting community, and I'm sure that'll be something you hear about in the coming months. These men and women certainly deserve it.

[Link127]

excellent news roland! thanks for letting us all know about this game, i like many others in this thread will looking forward to this very much. it sounds like a day one pickup to me so far!

definitely keep us updated, and learn as much what not to do in a firefighting game by the PS2 game.

-Link127

[CocheseUGA]

Tagging this thread and adding my congratulations. Hope you get great reviews and many copies sold.

[jer7583]

Thanks for the response, and I do look forward to your game, even at $50. I hope you didn't think I was implying your product wasn't worth that. Spread the word, all you CAGs. We always complain about not getting original games on Wii, well here's one, with one of our own creating it!

[Dogpatch]

No problem roland.

The more I think about, the more interested I am. Love to see what you guys come up with.

[roland13x]

Link127 - Truer advice cannot be given. FD18 is such a good example of taking a good idea and making it as boring as possible. It's always nice to be able to look back at the problems with previous designs...it's an easy way of figuring out what not to do.

jer7583 - I didn't take it in that manner whatsoever, so no worries there. The fact of the matter is that we have a LOT of work to do in order to put a game out there that I'd feel comfortable charging $50 for. The whole team feels that way. We want to be proud of this thing, and we're working our asses off to make that happen.

Thanks for the support ChocheseUSA!

[racthamp]

Awesome idea.. and hope everything go well.. will be looking forward to it! FF game is awesome! :)

[neudog]

Congrats and good luck. The Wii is perfect for this type of game. Besides the obvious water hose you can use the Wiimote to hack/chop through doors, climb ladders, open hydrant valves, even communicate to AI fireman and so much more. I'm going to have to keep an eye out on this title.:D Also I think it would be sweet to see a CAG Community shout out in the credits.

[Ikohn4ever]

good luck, keep us all posted

[yukine]

Sounds great, can't wait to see your game come to fruition. I'll be picking this up on day one, there's nothing wrong with paying full price to support an independent developer especially if said developer is a fellow CAG.

You should PM Cheapy about getting on the CAGcast for an interview.

[roland13x]

Hey guys,

I've been a member of this site for quite some time, and I can honestly say that I have never felt the sense of community any stronger than since I started this thread. You guys have been very supportive, and I, well, the entire team very much appreciates it.

I've actually shown this thread to a few other friends in the industry who were not familiar with CAG, and they were impressed. My one good friend at Bungie said "Wow, a polite, literate forum about games", and he's right, this is a rarity among most Internet forums. You guys have been great to me, and I really appreciate your thoughts and concerns. I really want to involve the community as much as possible in the studio, so I hope we can continue having these conversations.

Having said that, I think I'm going to head off and get a few hours sleep. Tomorrow should be quite busy as our "coming out" gets spread along to hopefully people who can help make things happen.

Have a good night, and sincerely, thanks for the support!

[Ma12kez]

Awesome news. I've grown tired of all the ports the Wii has gotten lately. I second the idea of getting an interview with Cheapy and Wombat on the CAGcast. I think it'd be an interesting interview. Good luck.

[supershammy]

Roland, it is very admirable of you to show such respect to the gaming community by politely introducing your game to us not as a salesman, but as a fellow gamer and even as a friend. Your company's concept for this game shows an experience in gaming that has refined your tastes and proves that, like many fellow gamers, originality and attention to detail are things you personally now look for in a game. You also show you are savvy to what an intelligent gamer as a consumer thinks about when it comes to value in a game.

It is not often that I get the impression that a developer has the gaming experience I have, and I haven't even played that many games. I'm very excited for your game, and I know that your experience as a gamer is really going to push this game in the right direction. Thanks for the contact with CAG, we all appreciate it!

And since everyone is throwing in comments on what is important to them, I'm going to have to contribute. Easter eggs that are worth looking for or performing and silly cheats or secret modes that change the game are my personal favorite things. GTA:SA is a great example of this, with cheats that let you fly cars around and super punch people, along with easter eggs that were fun to get to and rewarding to see. Goofy stuff kicks ass and is usually what I end up pulling a game out for once I've beaten it many times.

Thanks for listening! Update us whenever you can, we all appreciate it!

[Scorch]

Can you tell us a little about the game? Is it just going to jump into third person segments? Are we going to get to drive the firetruck there? Maybe you can include a little mini-game of spades at the firehouse, the siren sounds and we have to flail the remote and nunchuck in order to get the hell outta there and race to the fire.. that would be cool. Little QTE events.. like as you're running to the truck, hit A to avoid a certain object (maybe a door opening in your path or something).

//edit: Then maybe as you're putting on the suit.. it says like "lift up on the remote to raise the suit", swing the remote to put the suit, lift the remote up to zip the suit up, make a circle with the remote to get the oxygen and stuff hooked up.. that would be awesome. I love intense/holycrap moments like that in games.

[drfunk85]

drfunk85 - What city does your father serve in? And unfortunately, I can't really answer most of your questions, partially because we need to keep a lot of that info confidential, and partially because this is still a work in progress, and it's amazing how things can change on a day to day basis. Needless to say, I'm a huge gamer, when I'm not working I'm usually playing some game or other. We'll be making the right decisions when it comes down to it. I've seen too many people in this industry who aren't gamers, and it often shows in the final product.

He's in a suburb of Chicago. I can be more specific if you would like to know via pm, but due to certain events I don't give away a ton of specific information in public forums. Anyway, he's been doing it for almost 30 years now. When he started we lived in a fairly small town that has grown a lot, and I've seen him go through a lot of different parts of the job. That's sort of why I think a sim type game would be kind of interesting.

Another thing I would suggest if you haven't already discovered it on your own - fire fighters actually probably don't fight fires that often, or at least the large fires you would typically see in video games. Theres a lot of paramedic type calls, as well as a lot of other duties in general. While fighting fires is definately the main part of the video game, it would be cool to keep in mind the other duties. Intertwining a sort of Trauma Center like part where you have to stabilize a person in the ambulance while getting to the hospital seems like it could be cool.

And definately, if you can, include multiplayer (online if possible) where you are all doing different things. One of the best things about being a firefighter, from what I have seen of my dad, is the bond and relationship you build with the other guys you risk your life/work with for years. Obviously a video game can't really simulate all that, but I guess my point is that working together with some buddies to fight a fire would be pretty neat.

[iazybandit]

He's in a suburb of Chicago. I can be more specific if you would like to know via pm, but due to certain events I don't give away a ton of specific information in public forums. Anyway, he's been doing it for almost 30 years now. When he started we lived in a fairly small town that has grown a lot, and I've seen him go through a lot of different parts of the job. That's sort of why I think a sim type game would be kind of interesting.

Another thing I would suggest if you haven't already discovered it on your own - fire fighters actually probably don't fight fires that often, or at least the large fires you would typically see in video games. Theres a lot of paramedic type calls, as well as a lot of other duties in general. While fighting fires is definately the main part of the video game, it would be cool to keep in mind the other duties. Intertwining a sort of Trauma Center like part where you have to stabilize a person in the ambulance while getting to the hospital seems like it could be cool.

And definately, if you can, include multiplayer (online if possible) where you are all doing different things. One of the best things about being a firefighter, from what I have seen of my dad, is the bond and relationship you build with the other guys you risk your life/work with for years. Obviously a video game can't really simulate all that, but I guess my point is that working together with some buddies to fight a fire would be pretty neat.
From press release

"Firefighting requires a lot more than spraying down fires," notes Epicenter CEO, Nathaniel McClure, "so we've included several game-integral puzzles to mirror the challenges and on-the-fly choices firefighters actually face in the midst of a blaze."

http://kotaku.com/gaming/backdraft%7C-the-game/real-heroes-engine-company-13-brings-firefighting-fun-to-wii-271156.php

BTW, congrats and keep up the good work, roland13x. I wouldnt mind reviewing the game for my site.

[lilboo]

Wow this game does sound really awesome! The concept has so much potential, and hopefully everything is done right :)

Will this be more of a serious game.. or more of an arcade/pure fun feel to it? If you make this a serious game about firefighters..and get it advertise correctly this game will SELL. Ever since 911, America has gone completely gay for firefighters and that's all you ever see & hear about anymore. :applause: So hopefully you can make a great game, and cash in on this ;) LOL

Oh and BTW, I haven't read any of page 3 yet---so I don't know if it's been said yet. Please, multiplayer mode. Co-Op? 2 players is nice..but..a 2, 3, and 4 player co-op game...would be awesome ;)

[Snake2715]

First I want to say congrats on this, and also thanks for coming here and posting the way you did. It definitely takes time and shows good faith. I think you will get more support from us at full price then not.

Also its really interesting to see you involved with this community and posting responses.

I would like to make a small suggestion for you beyond all the great ones above. I am 28 and a lot of my Friends have children at this point. One thing I noticed is young kids will watch the same cartoon over and over. Also if they can actually play a game, they will play it over and over regardless if it has any depth. With that being said.

I think it would be cool to have a level or two of very simplistic firefighting. Make it in a sub menu or something not actually part of the "real" game. I think it would and could serve multiple purposes. First kids love firefighters, they love the truck, and at fares/amusement parks they love the rides. If I knew going into the game that there was a mode I could put on where my young friends and family members could just put out fires (and understand it) I would be much more inclined to purchase it.

An example of this is with the latest Shrek release (wii). My cousin called me to say that his 4 year old daughter will not stop playing it... The reason is in the top corner it shows her what to do during the game so she understands what to do without her parents. She cant really pick up and play Wario Ware as she doesnt know how to read yet. With Shrek they can turn it on and pop that in and for a few hours she is entertained. Most adults may not have as much interest in the Shrek game. Thats where an inclusion of a simplistic firefighting could serve multiple audiences. The parents buy the game for themselves and keep it (instead of trading it in) for their children and the "young firefighter mode".

A few people will cringe at me for saying this but I think some of the broader audience of the Wii would appreciate a "child mode" like mentioned above. Again I think if its kept out of the normal game and put into a sub menu it would work to increase sales. Also if in a sub menu I think it would not slow down the more advanced players. Putting it as a beginning level would not work the same as the parents of the child would have to come out and start them over, as well as worry that the child may save over their saved games etc.


Just a small suggestion that no one has really implemented yet that I have seen.

[Corvin]

Roland, welcome. Your firefighting game is a great idea. One that is out of the box and could put all those Wii longevity naysayers in their place. It is ideas like these from designers like you that will give the wii legs like the DS. I applaud you and your team for trying something out of the ordinary. I'm looking forward to seeing it come to fruition. I also think that it is great that you are communicating with the fans on the forums. I love when I see a developer that does that over on the Xbox forums.

Snake - That's a good idea. I see no problem with it being a seperate mode as long as it doesn't interfere with the bulk of the game that is geared toward an older audience, if indeed it is. This would be perfect for the newfound Wii general audience.

I also have to agree with the poster above about missions outside of the "fire" realm. General FF training, learning to drive the truck, Traumas, ambulence runs to the hospital, rescuing animals out of trees, storm drains etc., car accident scenes, washing the trucks :lol:, installing car seats properly ... the possibilities are huge.

I especially like the idea of figuring out your suit and getting it on. At first it sounded silly, but let me expound on it a bit. Imagine one training mission dedicated to getting your suit on as fast as you can and your time is reflected in how fast you get to the fire. So essentially you would be able to replay this mission until you get 100% so that you get to the fires faster. So anything less, say 80% speed hurts your chances at rescuing someone or putting out a fire that got out of control because you don't know how to get dressed. :lol: You would be stuck at your percentage, hindering your ability during missions until you master the technique.

[roland13x]

Good morning guys,

Wow, lots of great, well thought-out responses since I last checked in. You guys wanna design the game for me? Sweet!

I hate to be a little elusive with my responses and answers, but since it is still so early in the process, I really can't talk about all that many specifics. One reason being is that it is still really early, and there are quite a few different ways specific elements could go depending on what we feel works and doesn't work. But the other more practical reason is that we don't want other devs to be able to take our ideas and poop out a cheap, no frills game in 6 months time, killing our chances. You'd be amazed how many vulture-thinking studios (and publishers) there are out there. I do promise though that once we get further along in our development that you'll hear about real specifics.

Having said that, I think I'm good to respond to a few of these posts. When we first sat down and discussed the scope and overall goals with this project, and looking at the Wii's demographics in general, we knew we wanted to try to make a game that everyone could enjoy. I think the Lego Star Wars games are a great example of that kind of mentality. One exec at a large publisher told us that this was one of the only games he's been pitched to that he could sit down with his 6 year old and both have a good time with it, and that was a great relief to us. I do think it's much easier said then done though to create a game that 6 year olds and 26 years olds will want to play, but that is the goal. Whether we do that through a separate game mode that might dumb down the controls and make the challenges easier or have the fire AI tick slower (kind of what Viva Pinata's simplified mode did) or just have separate "arena-like" areas that would allow people and kids to just hop into a "sandbox-like" building, it is something we're going to do. Of course, every feature added takes time, so we'll constantly be juggling the work vs. worth-it debate.

And quite a few of you bring up a point that nearly every publisher has also brought up, and that's with the scope of the game's activities. When people first hear of a firefighter game, the first image is a dude with a hose spraying a fire. But the reality of the profession is a lot broader than that, as many of you pointed out. Rescuing people, protecting property and the environment are generally the 3 tenants to firefighters. I can assure you that the player will be doing a very wide range of activities. Without going into specifics, putting out fires is going to be only one of a dozen+ things you'll be doing. CPR with the Wii-mote anyone?

I love this thread...it's a lot of fun to chat with you guys like this, and honestly, it's helped us justify a lot of the design that we were on the fence about. I know you guys are gamers, but I thought the majority would only be able to see what makes a good hardcore game. But it's now very clear to me that you guys can also see the broader picture.

[Cyb3-rr]

AmigoOne - Yeah, I've tried to get my hands on every firefighter game I could. I'd LOVE to find an arcade that still had a working copy of the Sega game (Burning Rangers)...anyone see one in the last 5 years?

Isn't Burning Rangers that weird action game on the Saturn? I think the arcade game is called Brave Firefighter, and I believe they still have a machine at the Gameworks here in Tempe, AZ. They don't change out the games often. :)

Is the core gameplay going to be much like that game? Will the fire damage be more realistic in that it spreads in an appropriate manner and does actual damage to the environment?

[masked lemon]

Jud - you may be very pleasantly surprised.

Jer7583 - Thanks for the support, very much appreciated. You do bring up a very good question, but I think you have to look at the results. For example, I think Cooking Mama is the perfect example of a Wii title that in no way should be full priced at $50. I would like to buy it myself as I want to play the multiplayer with my girlfriend, but I can wait til the inevitable price drop. Now you take a look at the NPD sales numbers, in 6 weeks, it sold nearly 75,000 copies. Now that might not seem like a lot, but for a quirky title like that with a bare minimum production and marketing budget, that's a nice sum. And that's just in the US. I guarantee that this game is a huge money maker for Majesco. Would it have sold more at a lower cost? Probably, but enough to make up for the $10 or $20 difference? Apparently their marketing dept. doesn't think so.

What it comes down to is that the market will dictate the price of a game, or games in general, and right now, $50 is that price. Hell, with the increased price of 360/PS3 games, $50 feels like a somewhat bargain. That's pretty messed up, huh?

AmigoOne - Yeah, I've tried to get my hands on every firefighter game I could. I'd LOVE to find an arcade that still had a working copy of the Sega game (Burning Rangers)...anyone see one in the last 5 years?


The Dave & Buster's in Pittsburgh, PA has it.

[psunami]

Roland,

I mentioned your game to a person that I work with that is a Volunteer firefighter for his home town and he was really excited about the concept. He mentioned how disappointed he was in the PS2 game, so he has some high hopes for this one.

Even I'm excited about playing through some of the scenarios that you're describing.

Rescuing kittens from a tree would rule... as long as you can use the big hose to get them out of there. hehe.

[DocRamon]

my older brother is a firefighter, and he just played my wii for the first time this week... he wants to get one for himself and his kids, and i'm sure he'd love a game like this...

so consider us both excited!

[duncecap]

This is so great, totally the type of thread that keeps me checking CAG. It's nice to see you engaging with everyone and I'm definitely already excited about the game.

What I think would be really fun is mini-games or things to do between missions like blood pressure test day, firefighters playing poker during dry spells, charity weenie roast, that sort of thing. Even if they're just cutscenes it could be entertaining. You could do so much that it's gotta be hard to narrow it down to the best stuff.

On top of how fun this looks, it will also be a benefit to gaming in general. A lot of the nanny state haters can't possibly say anything bad about a game where you fight fires and rescue kitties.

[drfunk85]

I wonder if I can get my dad to get me a big old fire hose so I can duct tape the Wiimote to it for this game. Throw on some old gear of his, it'd make the game amazing.

[roland13x]

Hey everyone!

I know it's been a long time since I've updated this thread, but it's amazing how long things take to move in this "fast moving" industry.

As it turns out, we're still shopping the firefighting game. We actually had a deal in place with a fairly large publisher. Had the contract in hand, working out all the little details. In the 11th hour, it turns out their financing fell through, so there goes the deal. Very, very crappy, but in the end, we might be better off, as there are about a half-dozen other publishers who are now interested.

However, in the meantime, one of my concepts just got the greenlight from another major publisher. We're going to be working on a WiiWare title, and our goal is to be ready for that platform's launch (which is still up in the air, though March 08 is the assumed date). I'm really excited about this one....I'll give you all the details once things get more finalized.

Which brings me to this....we're looking for a couple of really talented people to come aboard. More specifically, we'd like to bring on an experienced gameplay/tools programmer and an experienced, very well-rounded artist (who can do models/environments/characters/animations/particle and visual effects). When I say "experienced", I mean at least 2+ years in the industry and at least 2 shipped titles. These are lead-lite positions. Oh yeah, and the studio is in Santa Monica, so locals would be ideal.

So if any of you would like more info on these positions, or know someone who might, hit me up with a PM. Please, serious inquiries only. We're under the gun right now, and really need to ramp up as soon as possible.

As always, thanks everyone for your support!

[evilmax17]

I was just thinking about this thread the other day. Glad to hear an update, and hopefully everything works out with the Firefighting game!

Can't wait to hear more about the WiiWare title. Hopefully if you find some time (and aren't under an NDA to prevent it), you could give us some insight as to how WiiWare development differs from Wii development, if at all.

I always love to read behind the scenes stuff.

Good luck!

[roland13x]

Hey evilmax17,

Right now, there is a staggering amount of no-info on the WiiWare specs. There's just not too much to say right now, because they haven't been very public with info on the service. The only thing we know is the footprint size limits, which is pretty close to 50MB.

The lack of info makes me wonder if they'll hit their launch window.

[bigdaddy]

Very cool idea.

[The Crotch]

Man, how did I miss this thread? The idea for a firefighting Wii game is mentioned every once in a while, but I had no idea someone was actually doing it. Make it halfway decent and include co-op, and I'll be sure to buy it first possible opportunity.

Good luck on the WiiWare bit, too.

[yukine]

I forgot all about this thread, it feels like forever ago but it's only been a couple of months.

Glad to see things are still moving forward, perhaps slowly, but still moving. Good luck with your WiiWare title as well.

[Snake2715]

I like evilmax was literally just thinking about this thread this past weekend. Glad to hear its still out there and good luck.

[Corvin]

I like evilmax was literally just thinking about this thread this past weekend. Glad to hear its still out there and good luck.

:lol: Same here.

[supershammy]

I'm with the 'recently thinking of this thread' group. I'm excited to hear things are coming together, roland! I'm also happy to hear further support for WiiWare, especially from someone as passionate about games as you and your crew. Keep us posted man!