Let Slip the Dogs of War: An Analysis and Interview With Juggernaut Games about Multiplayer MiniBots

In an age when developers can have nearly as much memory as they like, the art of fitting something into a tiny bit of space and having it deliver a continually challenging and unique gameplay experience is nearly lost.
Minibots is a masterpiece of microprogramming and an item that anyone who enjoys Home really needs to own. If you only spend $20 a year on Home, put half of it toward the Ultimate Minibots package.
–HearItWow

 

by Terra_Cide and NorseGamer, HSM Managing Editor and Editor-in-Chief

Sometimes it’s really, really hard to hold your fire.

HomeStation follows an interesting production ideology: don’t bother trying to make the first impression — go for the lasting impression. It’s a deliberate reaction to the internet mentality of rushing to be “first” with everything, as if that is somehow the brass ring of relevance.

Which means, of course, that you have to hold fire while the initial scramble takes place, even when you could shoot first. But if there’s one thing that our traffic numbers have consistently shown, it’s that after the initial round of copypasta and lighter fare, there are a whole lot of people who are curious to see what HSM thinks about the topic at hand. And so we hold our fire. And we wait.

And then we bring the boom.

There are times when it can be difficult to sit on a story. Just ask Juggernaut Games. The MiniBots Battlebox, which is easily one of the most ingenious active items ever created for Home, was originally supposed to be Juggernaut’s opening salvo into Home. As it turned out, the Cutteridge Estate ended up being Juggernaut’s debut. And yet this actually worked to their favor, as Cutteridge was perfectly timed to take advantage of the Halloween season, and it was (and is) such a unique estate that it ended up creating a tremendous amount of positive brand awareness for Juggernaut — which, undoubtedly, helped with visibility and sales for the MiniBots Battlebox.

And even then, when the Battlebox was released — as awesome and universally lauded as it was — one question inevitably arose: why isn’t there a multiplayer option?

And Juggernaut had to hold fire.

It had to be maddening. Although multiplayer MiniBots had been publicly disclosed some time ago (you can read HSM’s original interview with Juggernaut’s George Cochrane and Alec Carper, regarding the original MiniBots launch and the upcoming multiplayer variant, here), so many of the details had to be held back. If you go back and reread that interview today, however, it’s interesting to see just how much information was teased sub rosa, for anyone who cared to read between the lines.

But still: it can be really, really hard to sit on something you know is going to be awesome. In HSM’s case, we sometimes have to sit on developer stories for months — and we’re just the guys covering this stuff. For the developers themselves, it can be even more nerve-wracking, because this is how they make their living. And when you know you’ve got a hit concept on your hands, holding fire while Sony goes through all its requisite processes has got to be enough to drive someone to drink.

And now, finally…multiplayer MiniBots has arrived.

In many ways, its delay is once again an example of how Juggernaut, whether by design or accident, is blessed with some of the most fortuitous timing we’ve ever seen for a Home developer. Aside from the fact that the multiplayer variant of this game is being released a fiscal quarter after the Home consumer base has had a chance to get used to the game, multiplayer Battlebox is now being deployed after VEEMEE’s No Man’s Land, and in many ways is the perfect counterpoint to it. Both are third-person shooters, but they are wildly different gaming experiences: one is a very serious, graphically intense cover-based shooter with a polarizing freemium commerce model; the other is a free-roaming, whimsically-drawn shooter that quite literally gives away the house. And whichever ends up being the more successful commercial venture will likely end up being the template for future such games in Home.

Consider the stakes: although Novus Prime and Sodium2 have offered multiplayer gaming for a while now, it’s really only been in the last six months that we’ve seen multiplayer gaming explode into Home in a big way, each one offering a variation on the basic freemium formula that drives Home gaming. It’s ultimately a guessing game as to which is the best approach for the most number of people in Home, with each new experiment scrutinized and studied.

Multiplayer MiniBots does have one interesting ace up its sleeve, and it’s an emerging trend that nDreams and Hellfire Games are both cashing in on as well: the ability for the user to have some level of creative control over their experience. In this regard, Juggernaut’s ability for users to create their own battlefields hearkens back to the simple but insanely addictive fun of Lode Runner’s level editor.

We interviewed George Cochrane, Juggernaut’s Chief Crayon Obfuscator, about the multiplayer MiniBots experience and design, as well as Cutteridge, Steampunk, and the development of an internal currency system.

 

HSM: What made you decide to make the MiniBots Training Facility a free personal space, complete with game? Because it’s not only just the space people will be getting, but a set of MiniBot-scale furniture, as well as the capability to unlock/ be rewarded with free furniture items too.

GC: Our goal with the Training Facility is to get into as the hands of as many Home users as possible, and to let the game speak for itself. MiniBots offers a unique experience – allowing you to build any battlefield you can imagine using all the tools in your PlayStation Home inventory. The possibilities are limitless, really. One of the things we love about the Home community is their amazing creativity and we are really looking forward to seeing where people can take this. Our hope is that offering the space at an extremely low barrier of entry will allow almost all Home users to get involved in MiniBots to some degree.

Why did you decide to couple the purchasable weapon upgrades with corresponding hand items?

From our perspective, Home users are very interested in developing and expanding the worlds of their avatars. It seemed counter-intuitive to try and sell weapon upgrades and MiniBot decorations that do not have any utility outside the MiniBots game. Even if you love MiniBots, you are going to be spending a large majority of your time in Home in avatar form, and we wanted you to have something usable by your avatar. If you like to decorate your MiniBot as an evil bunny, you might feel similarly inclined when it comes to your avatar, so why not allow the player that option?

Let’s talk about the weekly item trials for Minibots. What made you decide to do this, and how will people be made aware of what items are available for trial?

We wanted players to get a chance to sample the gameplay with some of our premium weapons. We think unlocking the premium weapons adds an enormous amount of fun and excitement to the game. We felt the ability to experience the premium MiniBots content first-hand would be helpful to those deciding where and if to spend their money. The trial items will be displayed prominently within the MiniBots Armory so that you know exactly which item you can try for free that week. The Action District promotion will also feature a free item of the day!

Now the multiplayer game only allows for eight players at a time, yet private spaces allow for twelve people max in them. Was this a decision based upon memory restrictions?

That’s right, there’s a ton of network traffic flying around with MiniBots, so we decided to go with an eight player cap currently. However, multiple games (up to five at a time) can be running, so everyone in the space will be able to play MiniBots simultaneously.

You have also introduced an in-game currency – Juggernaut Coins – to the MiniBots game. How will players be able to earn these, and will acquiring enough coins to purchase an item require a lot of grinding?

The coins are only obtained by purchasing Juggernaut Coin bundles in the PlayStation Home store. The main reason for switching to the Juggernaut Coin based purchasing system is to allow users to gift items to their friends within the Training Facility. It also makes it easier for us to add content updates moving forward. We hope to periodically add in new content such as additional weapons, MiniBot decorations and Battlefield effects and moving to the coin system will allow us to get these updates released and into the hands of users a bit more expediently.

Will the items obtainable via Juggernaut Coins be exactly like the ones you can purchase with money, or will each commerce point have a few exclusive items to call their own?

All of our new Training Facility content is purchasable only through Juggernaut Coins. The Battlebox items will still be purchasable with money and can be used within the Training Facility. In all other regards, whether you purchase something with Juggernaut Coins or through a regular commerce point, they will be the same items.

There will be a variety of environmental controls that a player can customize their training facility with. Will all of these be purchasable, or bought with Juggernaut Coins? Will there be the possibility of unlockable environmental controls to be had while playing in-game?

The environmental controls are all completely free – the owner can customize the space in a variety of ways. If you choose the grass or swamp terrain there are purchasable furniture items which enhance the look of these terrains – you can add grass hills, trees, and cattails to your battlefield to give it an outdoorsy kind of feel. We also have a wooden fort pack which looks great on a grassy Training Facility! We’d like to add more furniture in the future that “coordinates” with the different terrain types as well. There are no unlockable environmental controls at this point, but I wouldn’t rule that out in the future. We’d love to introduce new terrains or sky settings if there’s demand!

What possible future upgrades to the MiniBots Training Facility has the team thought about making reality?

We are definitely interested in producing themed packs which might include new weapons, decorations, furniture and battlefield effects. We have some exciting ideas mapped out, but we want to hear what the Home community wants us to expand upon!

The MiniBots were the first thing you created for Home, correct? But instead it was the Cutteridge Estate that was first released. Were you surprised at how well-received it was?

That’s right, we had originally intended to release the Battlebox first, but due to delays, Cutteridge Estate came out first. We were really happy with Cutteridge and excited to get it out to Home – we were overwhelmed by the community response! Our goal was to produce a uniquely interactive personal space that was completely different from anything else that existed in Home at that time. I think we succeeded in doing that, and it definitely made a difference for the Home users.

You have gone back many times and tweaked the Cutteridge Estate, even including special places that only Minibots can go. Are there any other possible cross-universe elements in the works (meaning will there ever be Cutteridge Estate items available for purchase via Juggernaut Coins)?

We would like to expand the Juggernaut Coin system to include much of our content in the future. We probably won’t do another release that is 100% Juggernaut Coin content, but we’d like to have giftable items that are purchased by redeeming Juggernaut Coins in most of our major content releases.

Will we ever see an expansion of the implied storyline behind the Cutteridge Estate?

Absolutely! There’s a host of spirits trapped in Cutteridge, and they want to tell you their stories. Forcibly.

Typically, a developer makes their debut in Home by creating furniture or clothing items, but you came in swinging for the fences and made your debut with a very dynamic personal estate and later a highly customizable minigame. Why did you choose to go this route?

We definitely had something to prove as a new developer. Our goal was to get the attention of Home users and to let them know what we were about. Clothing and furniture are part of the core Home experience, but we wanted to present something that users perhaps hadn’t seen before, or even knew was possible in Home.

Recently, you’ve created steampunk-themed clothing and furniture items, which I can verify that the community has been clamoring for pretty much since the dawn of time. Why did you decide to introduce it now, and will it be expanded upon before you move onto the next adventure pack?

Our plan with the Adventure Packs is to provide a complete set of quality clothing, furniture and companions that are all themed together, all at a reasonable price. The Home community has indeed been asking for Steampunk items for approximately forever, so that was an easy first choice. Plus we love Steampunk too, so double-easy! We’d love to expand on this first pack while we also create new packs as well.

What themes are on your list for possible future adventure packs?

We recently had a Twitter contest to tweet @Juggernaut_News your idea for the next adventure pack, and we got a TON of great suggestions: safari, cyberpunk, pulp noir… mounties! The Home community is fantastically vocal about what they want to see in Home, and we want to hear it. It’s going to be hard to narrow it down to just one at this point. We may need to resort to arm-wrestling…. or competitive Munchkin – winner chooses the theme!

Looking back on your current body of work in Home, what would Juggernaut like to be known for?

I hope people will continue to think of us as a company who pushes boundaries and tries to bring creativity and innovation to everything they release. We try to focus on adding value to our content through interactive elements and attention to detail and we hope that Home users will appreciate the quality that we deliver in our products as a result of that focus.

 

HomeStation, in recent days, has written about the considerable difficulty a new developer can face by trying to break into the Home scene; most of the major players are already established, the marketplace is incredibly crowded, and with so much content coming out at a rapid pace, there’s a lot of competition for the consumer dollar. And yet when it comes to making a name for oneself in Home, Juggernaut is a great case study on how to do it: just roll in a grenade and come in firing. In a very short span of time, Juggernaut’s righteous meaty babyfist has gone from being the new kid in class to being one of Home’s top-tier development houses.

The time for holding fire has come to an end. Experience multiplayer MiniBots — and let the enfilade commence.

July 17th, 2012 by | 3 comments
Terra _Cide is the former Community Manager for Lockwood Publishing and Editor Emeritus for HomeStation Magazine.

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3 Responses to “Let Slip the Dogs of War: An Analysis and Interview With Juggernaut Games about Multiplayer MiniBots”

  1. HearItWow says:

    This is an excellent interview. Great to hear more about how multiplayer MiniBots will work, and I’m very glad to hear that a gifting feature has been included.

  2. Burbie52 says:

    Wow that is so awesome! I am glad to see someone besides Lockwood has finally taken to heart the fact that we love to gift our friends! I hope we see a trend here and all of the Devs do this eventually. I can’t wait for this to come out tomorrow, I will be in Home asap to get mine I will tell you that! Great interview and Juggernaut……YOU ROCK!!!

  3. Gideon says:

    Ok. Ok.. Im going to give this minibot thing another shot.

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