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Krome Studios Talk About Ty
IGN recently sat down with Krome Studios John Passfield, leader designer on Ty the Tasmanian Tiger. Hear what he had to say on the platformer.
IGN: How long has Ty the Tasmanian Tiger been in development and how big is the development team?
John Passfield: We began developing Ty the Tasmanian Tiger in December 2000 with a core team of five people. It started out of a love of 3D platform games and quickly grew in size. The development team now sits at 40 people, plus a fifteen-person quality assurance team.
IGN: What is the story behind the game?
John: Ty is a Tasmanian Tiger, the last of his species, or so he thinks. In the game, Ty has a chance meeting with a mystical bunyip (Australian mythology) Elder who reveals that his family members are still alive, but trapped in an otherworldly dimension called the Dreamtime.
The key to freeing his family lies in the power of five mystic Talismans. However, an unscrupulous villain named Boss Cass is intent on getting them first so he can use their power for evil. So to save his family and the world Ty sets out to find the Talismans before Cass.
IGN: What abilities does Ty possess?
John: Ty has a number of cool abilities. He can tiptoe, walk, run, jump, bite, hang from ledges, swim, dive, ride an oversize bush pig, take possession of a giant Bunyip (imagine "The Hulk" during clobbering time) and even use a snowball cannon. But what really makes Ty special are his boomerangs. Each one is different and Ty can use them as either a weapon or a tool. They can also be used as makeshift wings allowing Ty to glide to out of the way places.
IGN: How many levels are in the game? What types of levels can players expect?
John: There are 16 large levels that are based on Australian environments. If you're a fan of the Crocodile Hunter then you'll recognize a lot of the scenery. Players can expect to visit sandy beaches, lush rainforests, the great Aussie Outback, snowy mountains and billabongs (these are rich with ponds and rivers). Each level is packed with lots native animals, heaps of plants, friends and enemies and lots of things to do.
IGN: What are some of the different goals and objectives in the game? Can you give us several examples?
John: The main goal is to find the Talismans so Ty can free his family. Ty's friend, the absent-minded inventor Julius, has built a special machine that can locate the Talismans. The machine is powered by Thunder Eggs, rare gems that are scattered around the land. To find enough Thunder Eggs Ty has to do a lot of different objectives, ranging from mini games, to boss battles to quests for his friends.
Here are a few examples.
Dennis the Tree Frog is a highly-strung, super nervous amphibian. Even a frog croak startles him! The local bully has him so scared that Ty has to lead Dennis home at night by lighting fire drums along a pathway. Ty has to keep an eye on Dennis while avoiding bats, giant cockroaches and Boss Cass' henchmen.
Another objective involves Lenny the Lyre Bird, a two-bit "car salesman" type who is intent on misleading Ty. Basically everything Lenny tells you is a lie, so Ty has to do the exact opposite in order to find his way to a hidden Thunder Egg.
While most of the objectives involve Ty using his boomerangs in some way, one of the mini-game objectives involves Ty taking control of a cannon to lob snowballs at an onslaught of Frill Lizards intent on causing mischief.
The other thing we have in the game is a lot of secrets! If there's an empty spot on the game world, then look carefully, chances are there's something hidden there.
IGN: Does Ty acquire any special abilities as players progress?
John: Ty starts with a standard Boomerang and earns the ability to use new rangs as the game progresses. There are more than enough different boomerangs to keep you occupied, including Elemental Rangs (earned by completing levels) and Techno Rangs (bought from Julius with Golden Cogs). Just a few of the rangs include the Flamerang which can melt ice and burn wood, the Frostyrang which freezes enemies, makes ice bridges and puts out fires, and the Zoomerang which gives Ty the ability to zoom in on faraway enemies to "take them out" from a safe distance. My personal favorite is the Kaboomerang, a special rang made from exploderium. This little baby explodes on impact and has a wicked shockwave that destroys everything in its path!
IGN: What are some of the technical feats in the game you're most proud of?
John: One of the things we're really proud of is the amazing living environments we've created. Our worlds are packed with wallabies, fish, butterflies, birds and lizards. There is an abundance grass and plants that part as Ty moves through them, and there are waterfalls and creeks that flow with realistic water. We also have real time lighting that affects Ty and changes the direction of his shadow, plus the world reflects in ice cubes and shiny surfaces. And of course there is the realistic weather that includes icy snow and tropical rain. All of this is done with the crispest anti-aliasing of any game out there and at a great frame rate!
I also love the animation system. Ty can tiptoe, throw a boomerang, start running, throw a second boomerang then do a dive into the river and still seamlessly catch the two rangs as he breaks the surface of the water. And all this is done with super smooth animation that looks seamless.
One of the other things I'm proud of is what I call "Emergent Game Play". We have set up a lot of objectives that can be solved in different ways depending on which rangs and power ups used. During focus testing it was great when players had "stumbled across" a new way to solve a problem. For example, in one level a Golden Cog is balanced on a rock in the middle of a lake. Ty can't reach it from within the water, so players could either set a raft afloat and use it to reach the rock, or build an ice bridge to the rock using the Frostyrang, or climb up on top of a nearby bridge and glide down to the rock.
IGN: What are the differences between the PS2 and GCN versions of the game?
John: No differences.
IGN: Is an Xbox version planned?
John: We haven't announced anything at this time, but stay tuned.
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