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Yo-Ho Kablammo is now available on Xbox LIVE Arcade, but not many know that it’s built using XNA Game Studio. We chat with Mark Brotherton, David Horton, and David Webb, about their game Yo-Ho Kablammo, and their experience using XNA Game Studio.
How many people are on your team?
There are three of us working on Yo-Ho Kablammo: Mark Brotherton, David Horton, and David Webb full-time, but we have had contributions along the way.
What got you guys started making games?
Mark Brotherton: I thought it would be more interesting than making databases.
David Horton: I thought it would be a good laugh, and always wanted to make my own games.
David Webb: I became obsessed with the Sega Mega Drive (aka- Genesis) about 15 years ago and have never looked back.
Can you walk us through a usual day?
DH: 9 a.m. – Mark gets into work.
10 a.m. – Dave and Dave stroll in, work begins.
Noon to 1 p.m.-ish – lunch (Call of Duty 4 and chips).
1 p.m. to 5 p.m. – Fix what we broke in the morning.
On Thursdays we have conference calls with the Xbox LIVE Arcade team to run through anything to do with Yo-Ho Kablammo that has come up, and occasionally to have a few matches against them.
What made you want to use XNA Game Studio to make your games?
DW: It let us concentrate on the gameplay side more.
MB: XNA Game Studio lets you do what you want to do with much less hassle.
DH: (It) just made life a little bit easier, especially when prototyping ideas.
Could you describe Yo-Ho Kablammo for anyone who hasn’t seen or played it yet?
DW: Yo-Ho Kablammo is a crazy pirate-infused multiplayer battle royale of explosions, cannons, treasure, and a monkey. It’s crazy!
Do you have a favorite of the games you’ve created? Which one and Why?
DW: I recently made Hexothermic for Xbox LIVE Indie Games, and I’m rather proud of that.
DH: Seeing as Yo-Ho Kablammo is the most complete game I’ve made so far, I’ll have to go with that, mainly because it has been a challenge, but it was well worth it.
MB: Yo-Ho Kablammo, it’s taken us a while, but I’ve learned a lot from it.
What games influenced or inspired you and your games?
DH: Party games such as Fusion Frenzy where mates get together and have a laugh. However, some people have said it reminds them of Overboard on the PS One.
Tell us more about what’s changed in Yo-Ho Kablammo since DreamBuildPlay?
MB: Networked multiplayer, massive graphics overhall, single player challenges, leaderboards, achievements, custom game rules, Xbox integration . . .
DW: Pretty much everything but the gameplay.
You’ve added achievements; can you tell us about some of them?
DH: We added a mix of single player, a few multiplayer ones and some skill ones. My personal favorite is "Ka-boom!", as you have to blow up a few ships using a barrel of TNT, so you get plenty of cool explosions.
MB: My favorite is "Ram, Ram, Ram the Boats," [because] it’s pretty difficult to achieve.
DW: "Cabin Boy" - it's the one for completing the tutorial, because I suck at this game.
You’ve made games for Xbox LIVE Arcade and Indie Games now; can you tell us about working with both?
DW: Arcade games can be played while not connected to Xbox LIVE, which presents a whole bunch of complications, and we have to comply to a far more rigorous checklist. Indie games really makes the process much, much easier.
MB: The process of localizing into eight other languages for arcade was interesting, but impressive.
When you made your Indie Game, Hexothermic, did you use Playtest? How did that go?
DW: I did and it rocked. Playtest helped me find three major bugs and [get] a couple of good suggestions on how to improve Hexothermic.
Have you playtested or reviewed other games?
DH: A few. Not lately, as [we have] too many other commitments.
DW: When I have time, I’ll sit down and run through a few games – I did quite a few in the early days.
What are some other Indie Games you’d recommend to people?
MB: Hexothermic – Dave W’s game and Awesome Tank.
DH: Miner Dig Deep, and yeah probably should say Hexothermic.
DW: Carneyvale Showtime is really impressive. Other titles should really look at this as a great example of user-friendlyness.
What games are you playing now (other than your games!)?
MB: Call of Duty 4, Empire Total War, Dawn of War 2.
DH: Gears of War 2, Puzzle Quest: Galactrix, Guitar Hero.
DW: Dead Space (everybody should play this game!), Guitar Hero:World Tour.
What other tools/programs do you use to help you make your games?
3DS Max, Photoshop, Microsoft Paint, PIX (for 360), Remote perfomance monitor, XACT, Visual Source Safe (made sure we didn’t lose any code).
Do you have any ideas, wishes, hopes, and/or dreams for anything XNA Creators Club Online could do or provide to be even better?
MB: Support the XMath.lib from the March 2009 DirectX SDK, Async Writing to Storage Device.
DW: Ability to read other game saves (episodic content support, etc).
DH: Leaderboards would be nice.
What’s next for you?
MB: Get a job.
DW: Me too, and make some more indie games.
DH: Me three.
DW: Oh, and also have a pirate party! Arrrgh . . .
If you'd like to check out Yo-Ho Kablammo or Hexothermic yourself, you can do that now on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace.
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