Developer Interview - Weapon of Choice

In this installment of Developer Profile series, Gamer Outfit sat down virtually with Nathan Fouts, the creative force behind Weapon of Choice, and asked a few questions.  Here they are along with the answers.  (Editor: Some of the conversation has been edited for clarity.)

GO: Tells us about yourself and your organization

After working for over a decade in the industry at places such as Insomniac Games and Running With Scissors, in 2007 my wife and I incorporated Mommy’s Best Games in California. For our first game, Weapon of Choice, I did the design, art, programming, and sound effects, and my wife acts as the producer and business manager. We outsourced the music, story writing, and some of the level design, enemy programming, and texture work. In October 2008 Weapon of Choice won an award in the Dream Build Play competition and on November 19th the game went on sale for 400 MS points.

GO: Tells us about Weapon of Choice

I’ve been playing run-n-gun games for years and years and I’ve tried to add lots of gameplay changes to appeal to older gamers. A lot of older gamers, myself included, don’t have tons of time to devote to games since we now have families and jobs. Weapon of Choice is filled to the brim with intense, unusual action, ready to be played short bursts.

The player takes control of the Solus Contingent which is tasked with stopping an unknown invading alien force. Each Solus Operative has their own weapon of choice with powerful primary attacks and strange secondary attacks, and the Operatives themselves each have unique abilities. Things turn strange quickly as the aliens themselves contact the Operatives and try to convince them to come over to their side!

From Death-Brushing which grants players a second chance just about any time they’re going to die to the Spiderpack which allows gamers the ability to climb all around the environment using huge mechanical claws, there are many new ideas we’ve infused in a genre long thought stale.

GO: What is the inspiration for Weapon of Choice?

When you write for a living people say ‘write about what you know’. I think that applies to game development. I grew up fighting invading alien hordes while saving the galaxy and knew that would be a great theme for our first game.

GO: How long did it take to make?

Around 365 mayfly lifespans (Editor: That's a year for us non-Entomology fanbois).

GO: Where did you spend your time the most and least (testing, design, etc)?

Texture work and programming took the most time. While animation was probably the most fun, I probably spent the least time proportionately doing it.

GO: What about the Community Games system do you like the most and the least?

The best thing about Community Games is that there are very few restrictions from Microsoft that would change the design of my games. It’s fantastic to have this opportunity to make a console game that so many people can play.

One of the few things I’d like to add to the system is the option for more price points and the ability to include Achievements that are registered with gamertags.

GO: What would you change or add now that it has been published?

I’d like to add hidden achievement-style pick-ups to the levels.

GO: Of what aspects of the game are you most proud?

The Death-Brushing gameplay came out really well, helps gamers all the time, and I see people really get excited and feel a rush when they manage to avoid death and get out of trouble in the game.

I struggled for a while with the idea of not adding traditional ‘continues’ to the game. But once I came up with the idea of rescuing new Operatives which act as new playable lives, I realized we could move beyond the ‘continue’ system into something new.

From a technical standpoint I’m very proud of all the animation supported and occurring everywhere in the game. Initially I tried to skimp on animation by doing some vertex-shifting to create an illusion of trees blowing in the breeze. It looked okay, but after I moved all animation, trees and grass included, to a full skeletal system the whole game world really came to life.

GO: Which games are you most interested in that other indies published?

I bought Word Soup and my wife and I both really enjoy it. Even though I enjoy Scrabble, I don’t consider myself a puzzle-gamer, but Word Soup can keep me playing.

GO: Now that you are done with the game, what's next?

While a new, secret game is already underway, we’re currently publishing a Weapon of Choice calendar in time for the holidays that contains newly rendered art of the giant aliens in the game. It’s available for sale now.

GO: Thank you for your time and sharing with the community!

That's it for the interview.  If you are a developer and are interested in sharing your story with Gamer Outfit and the community please write to techsup [at] gameroutfit.com.