Scheduled for release sometime next February on the PlayStation Store, StarDrone is one of the few 3rd party games developed exclusively for the PlayStation Move. And it's quite an unique game as well, so unique indeed it totally deserved a spot in my "Ten PlayStation Move games to look forward to in 2011" article.
To learn more about it, I've got in touch with Ukraine developers at Orb Games and Beatshapers. Here is what I've found out.
Enjoy!
PS: Stay tuned for my StarDrone video analysis. ;)
Could you please offer an overview of your company?
Andriy Sharanevych: My name is Andriy Sharanevych. I am the founder of Orb Games Limited, creator of the original StarDrone PC game. My company develops and publishes cross-platform games and runs a flash games portal called TastyPlay.com, where people play hundreds of games just for free. TastyPlay promotes its own products as well as games by flash developers community in general, and we release a new free game every weekday!
Our focus is on creation of strong proprietary IPs by experimenting with flash games and then bringing them onto other platforms and markets. Since last year we’ve started to develop and publish our games on mobile platforms. The first title was Kamikaze Race for iPhone and iPod touch, a greatly improved and enhanced version of our hit flash game of the same name which was played online over 100 million times so far. After over a year in the wild, Kamikaze Race still remains among the most popular racing games on the AppStore. This October the game was also released for Android devices with cross-platform functionality, allowing players to compete with each other regardless of the platform their device runs on.
After Sony announced the PlayStation Move we’ve decided to team up with Beatshapers to bring StarDrone to PS3. We always thought the game is designed for consoles and that was a good chance to finally bring it out there. Alexey Menshikov is my old friend, so the decision to work with his team (who are proven experts with PlayStation family of consoles) was quite obvious.
That’s my part of the story. Alexey?
Alexey Menshikov: My name is Alexey Menshikov, I’m founder and CEO of Beatshapers Ltd. We are developing and publishing games digitally on consoles, mainly on PlayStation. Our business model is licensing interesting indie games and porting them to consoles. These games have great potential but authors will never bring them to the consoles audience for various reasons. In 2009-2010 we've published 4 PlayStation minis, games that run both on PS3 and PSP. They were BreakQuest, NormalTanks, Carnivores and Janes' Hotel. Carnivores: Dinosaur Hunter had the best minis launch for us in PlayStation Stores worldwide, so we will continue to update this franchise in future.
In addition, the recently announced Enigmo and 2 more minis games are coming out in 2011 along with StarDrone, our flagship game originally scheduled for 2010 release, but delayed a bit for some reasons.
Finally, we have big plans for PSP2 and PSN games supporting PlayStation Move and 3DTV, so stay tuned for more updates.
StarDrone was first released on PC about two years ago. How did you come to the decision to bring it to the PlayStation 3 just now?
Andriy Sharanevych: In StarDrone, the control scheme is quite unique. It’s not complex, just unique. It works great with the mouse. It also works great with a motion controller that allows you to quickly point to certain areas on the screen, like you do with a laser pointer.
When the original PC game was released, there was only the Nintendo Wii that had such controller. Unfortunately, the Wiimote controller is quite sluggish. Also, we were uncertain about the then-new WiiWare digital distribution channel and decided not to take a risk at that point.
Taking a look back, I’m confident the decision was right.
When the original PC game was released, there was only the Nintendo Wii that had such controller. Unfortunately, the Wiimote controller is quite sluggish. Also, we were uncertain about the then-new WiiWare digital distribution channel and decided not to take a risk at that point.
Taking a look back, I’m confident the decision was right.
Alexey Menshikov: From our perspective, we’ve had an early access to the PlayStation Move technology and were looking for the right IP to develop and publish with motion controller support. Suddenly I’ve recalled StarDrone, which is perfect fit for the motion controller technology, so we approached Andriy and it worked.
The game is 100% done and at final QA at Sony at this moment.
The game is 100% done and at final QA at Sony at this moment.
A PC demo of StarDrone is available online so anyone can check its unique gameplay, but would you please describe it to our readers?
Andriy Sharanevych: StarDrone is a multi-genre game. It’s like Sonic the Hedgehog meets Pinball, with puzzle and breakout elements, and a lot of frantic high-speed action. Plus it’s all controlled with a single button, albeit indirectly.
After you launch the drone, it flies through a level scattered with control beacons placed in key locations. When you press the button on your Move controller, the beacons are activated, and the drone is attracted to the selected beacon using a watered-down gravitational physics mechanic. You catch the drone by attracting it into orbit, then wait until its trajectory is lined up with where you want to send it, firing it away towards stars or objects.
After you launch the drone, it flies through a level scattered with control beacons placed in key locations. When you press the button on your Move controller, the beacons are activated, and the drone is attracted to the selected beacon using a watered-down gravitational physics mechanic. You catch the drone by attracting it into orbit, then wait until its trajectory is lined up with where you want to send it, firing it away towards stars or objects.
Missions vary from level to level, sometimes requiring you to light every single star on the level, gather gems, destroy all enemies or avoid being destroyed by them. Obstacles in the game can be as simple as the walls of the maze you bounce off of, or as deadly as a layer of spikes that destroy your drone on contact. Enemies in StarDrone range from stationary satellites to the moving variety, all of which can destroy you if you don't destroy them first.
Power-ups allow you to transform into a spiked wrecking ball, letting you rip through enemies and destructible objects like tissue paper. There's a bunch of other environmental elements as well, like turbo-booster lanes, pinball-style bumpers, rails that catch your drone and shoot it spiraling down the course, and more.
Half the fun of StarDrone is the speed factor; it’s a pure adrenaline rush when the background becomes almost a blur, knowing that just one slip up at that speed and you'll hit an obstacle or an enemy, destroying your drone.
In the PC version you use the mouse to control an on-screen cursor the shape of an arrow which points towards the control beacon closest to it. You then hold the left button to attach the Drone to the beacon via an energy beam and then orbit around it. It's a very clever control scheme. Is this how it works with the PlayStation Move as well? Did you make any changes?
Andriy Sharanevych: That’s right. With PlayStation Move it works pretty much the same. You use the motion controller to move the on-screen cursor, similarly to how you did in the PC version using your mouse. The difference here is that you are using the PlayStation Move much like a laser pointer. Imagine a beam projected from the glowing sphere at the top of the controller and pointing to the screen. But instead of a small bright spot on the screen, you see a cursor. When you move the controller the cursor follows it. It’s amazingly precise and responsive.
In addition, a vibration-based feedback makes players sense the events on the screen. When you are using power-ups, hitting different types of walls or taking damage, you literally feel it, since you are sort of holding the Drone with your hand. This makes the experience much richer and more intuitive than using the mouse.
There are options in the PC version which allow to change game speed and camera system (which can be either locked to the Drone or to the cursor). Are these options present in the PS3 version as well?
Andriy Sharanevych: You can change the game speed in PS3 version too. This is one of the crucial features of the game. Beginners will find it easier to get used with the game playing at lower speeds; while more experienced players can set the speed to the max striving for higher scores and gold medals. After all, the game is focused on replayability.
In other words, game speed works as a skill level or a game complexity setting. You can finish the whole game at the lowest speed. However, if you want to compete for medals or beat the worldwide leaderboards, you have to be fast!
Needless to say, it’s a lot more fun to play at high speed. It’s an adrenaline rush!
Assuming this is the first time you have worked with a motion controller device, how would you describe the process of making the PlayStation Move work with your game? Were the tools Sony provided enough to make it sing as you expected?
Alexey Menshikov: Its not really the first project. I've had some WiiJay experience (DJ with Wii remote) in the past but yes, in the beginning, there wasn't enough information (as it is usually the case when you are early adopter) so we "invented" our own system to utilize the motion control technology.
Initially, we didn’t plan to use PlayStation Eye camera and Move sphere tracking at all, and used only motion sensors, but Sony changed specifications, so using camera became a requirement and we had to change our tech. At the same time Sony released special libraries to help developers with all the possible ways to use the Move in different game genres (there are plenty of ways you couldn’t even imagine =)). So, all we had to do is experiment with various input methods and select the ones that best fit our game.
I understand there is a lot of math going on in the background to fix errors naturally generated by the internal Move sensors activity. Are you developing your own?
Alexey Menshikov: As I was saying, yes, in the beginning we had to manage all those signals from 6 Move sensors. The math behind it was relatively easy for us - I was running audio software company in the past (called delaydots.com, we created special sound design DSP plug-ins, sold the company in 2009) so this experience helped to develop the math behind it: an adaptive filtering method. We've ended up with a mix of our filtering system and Sony's pointing detection algorithm.
Another issue was with Move calibration for TV screen. Our first implementation was dependant on the distance between the Move controller and the camera: we had random controls loss when camera was too near or too far from the player. We had to consider these specific requirements and change our algorithms. Now its distance independent.
How does the glowing sphere come into play with regards to the way you keep track of the device? You don't simply rely on the internal sensors right?
Alexey Menshikov: The most accurate pointing method is actually a combination of all available sensors. We’re using everything that is available and have great results.
For pointing we utilize sphere tracking when sphere visibility to camera is perfect, but when you move the motion controller out of camera bounds, sphere tracking doesn't working properly so our system tries to approximate position using internal sensors. So when you are playing hard and suddenly step back to an area where camera can’t see the sphere, you don't feel terrible loss of control. This is basically how its works.
Experimenting with the games released thus far it seems like the magnetometer built inside the PlayStation Move hasn't been used yet. What about StarDrone?
Alexey Menshikov: We didn't use it either. Controls work perfectly without it =)
Alexey Menshikov: The PlayStation Move is greatest motion controller I’ve ever tried, its gives a great precision and is reliable.
Funny story: at GDC 2010, when Sony first showed the Move to public, I tried to play with it but the pointer had lag when moved across the screen, so I was joking that the input was too sluggish, but the guy at the booth told me that it was made so intentionally. He then changed filtering system and, voila, it became precise. That was my first great experience with Move.
Speaking about porting of mouse or touch based games - yes, this is definitely a solution but there are too many great ideas inspired by the Move. We definitely have ideas for more games.
You obviously had to use a new graphics engine for the PS3 version. Is it internally developed? What are the supported resolutions and frame rate?
Alexey Menshikov: Yes, we’ve used our internal technology. StarDrone is the first title powered by this engine and it looks really great and smooth. StarDrone native resolution is 720p and it’s running at 60fps. We’re planning to support and enhance this technology and use it for many more future titles.
Of course stereoscopic 3D support in a big plus to take into consideration. And of course it doesn't come for free. How does the graphics engine perform in 3D mode?
Alexey Menshikov: This is still an issue. We didn't have much experience with 3D, so we had to adapt our renderer for 3D output. Unfortunately, in the current version 3DTV support is not available. We will add via a patch as soon as we’re done with testing.
How much development time did it take to put this all together?
Alexey Menshikov: About 6 months + 1 month for the 3D/YouTube patch.
Is there any extra content or feature you've added specifically to the PS3 version?
Alexey Menshikov: The PS3 version has an updated menu design, we’ve added two new exclusive music tracks, 15 shiny trophies, global leaderboards, friends filter for leaderboards and a social feature - top 10 friends scores for every level so the player can see his position.
A patch is coming out later adding recording of gameplay videos and uploading them to YouTube (so that players will be able to share replays) plus 3DTV support. A level pack is planned for later this year, followed by a sequel, but it’s just too early to discuss this one yet.
A big thank you to Alexey Menshikov and Andriy Sharanevych for making this interview possible. And for bringing StarDrone to the PlayStation 3!
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