An Interview With Will Shen
We had the pleasure of interviewing Will Shen, the producer of System Rush Evolution , one of Nokia's most high profile next-gen launch titles.
How did you get into the games industry?
I was going to University when I got a summer job testing games for Midway Games in San Diego. After working 1 summer testing games, I was offered a job in Production and fell in love with making games. The rest, as they say, is history.
System Rush : Evolution caused quite a stir at e3. Tell us a little bit about the core gameplay of the game.
When designing the game, we wanted to ensure that we created content that was appropriate for a mobile device. Things such as screen size, user interface and mobile consumer needs were all taken into account during the design process. The end result is fast gameplay that can all be played with "one-thumb" that doesn't require hours of gameplay time. We also wanted to focus on allowing users to have short bursts of gameplay (while waiting for the bus, taxi, train, etc.), but also feature enough content to allow play for sustained periods of time.
The version of System Rush on N93 only features "chase" mode, where the player chases down and destroys 3 enemy "tracers" to complete the level. The full game, to be released next year, will feature "chase", "shoot" and "flight" modes. It's like having 3 games in 1!
Will this game have a soundtrack like the first System Rush, which I might add was amazing.
I'm glad that you liked the soundtrack to the original System Rush. We're very appreciative of all the positive feedback we've received about the soundtrack.
At this point, we're not too sure whether we'll do the same for System Rush: Evolution, but I'm sure our Marketing department has some cool tricks up their sleeve.
Will the game be bundled with the N93?
Yes, at this point, the expectation is that the game will be bundled with the N93 when launched.
Will SR:Evo only be playable on Nokia's N93?
No, there will be a "full" version of System Rush: Evolution that will be released sometime next year for our next generation of mobile games. The version on the N93 is only a 2 level playable demo.
Does this game have an online features?
The demo on the N93 does not have online features. However, the full version will feature some pretty interesting online play options.
The N-93 has a rather small d-pad, how did you optimize the control scheme for the phone?
As I mentioned earlier, we had these things in mind during the design of the game and we've designed the gameplay mechanics to work on the d-pad for most phones.
What graphics engine is the game using?
We're using Segundo3D, which is a proprietary engine developed by Ideaworks3D in London. Those guys have done some amazing titles for us in the past and their technical savvy is featured prominently through all their products, especially in System Rush: Evolution.
How long has the title been in development?
The title has been in development for about 6 months, but we've spent quite some time on working out the kinks in the design.
What N-Series phone do you like the most?
I like the N93 for all its cool features, but for day to day use, I prefer the N80.
What is your opinion on Nokia's Next-Gen offering and their place in the mobile gaming market?
The thing I've been most amazed about is Nokia's ability to quickly adjust our strategy to overcome any shortcomings. We learned a lot of lessons with the N-Gage (which I still think is an awesome device), and we've definitely applied this to our next generation strategy. The stuff that we're doing now is quite advanced compared with the rest of the mobile gaming market and I'm personally very happy and excited to be a part of it.
Have you seen the beta version of Nokia's Next-Gen Arena application...if so what do you think of it?
I assume that you're talking about the Play application? If so, I think that all the work that has been put into developing it has really paid off. The result is something that is very user friendly and will change the way people play and pay for games.
Our last question. Do you like Madonna? *reader request*
Ummmm... She's talented, but not really my cup of tea.
