QJ Interview: Load Inc Speaks On Mad Tracks
Load Inc. is the best kind of developer, the kind who cares enough to make sure their product provides the best experience possible, even if it means delaying the title for a while to make absolutely sure it meets expectations. We managed to have a chat with VP Denis Bourdain about the company, the people and the game.
Read the entire interview after the jump!
Load Inc. is the best kind of developer, the kind who cares enough to make sure their product provides the best experience possible, even if it means delaying the title for a while to make absolutely sure it meets expectations. We managed to have a chat with VP Denis Bourdain about the company, the people and the game.
QJ: Can you tell us a little about the formation of Load Inc?
Denis: Load Inc. is basically a bunch of friends that worked in various game companies (developers, publishers) that woke up one day thinking they could do better. WeÂ’re still around three years later, for us thatÂ’s good news. We donÂ’t know yet if we did better, but our mothers think so (not sure of their impartiality). We started on the basic idea of making fun car games. We come from various playing backgrounds and the quirky car genre of ReVolt was bringing us together every time we started a LAN session. So making Mad Tracks was obvious. The first time we showed the game, we didnÂ’t even have a company and we took on our lunch money to get plane tickets to LA and show a pretty poor technical demo at E3 2004. The PC version has been sold in almost every country since then.
QJ: Where does the name Load Inc. come from?
Denis: From the sick mind of our VP Project Manager, Tom. It stands for “Legacy Of Artists and Developers Incorporated”. Funny to see the look on the face of the administration people when they have to write down our full name!!
QJ: How many people are currently working at Load Inc?
Denis: Right now weÂ’re 8. We figured it was much easier to move forward with a small team, even if you canÂ’t do as much. One good thing is that we still can have company meetings in a phone booth!
QJ: Where did the idea for your first game, Mad Tracks come from?
Denis: As I was saying, we were looking for a genre we all like. But we also tried to be reasonable in terms of business (that’s actually the only moment we’re reasonable). Cars are the excuse to sell 20% of every game on the planet. Fun is what 86.3% of people are looking for (non verified figure) – and you can never have too much fun. Cartoon / not so realistic environments are easier to make and we’re a little lazy. We liked the idea. It’s for all these reasons and more that we made a race / mini games / toy cars / arcade fun game.
QJ: Can you tell us a bit about the gameplay in Mad Tracks? What can potential purchasers expect?
Denis: Fun, fun, fun and some moderate insults. The gameplay is not very competitive, itÂ’s aimed at fun (did I mention the game was fun?). For instance, the player in last position has all the good pick ups and the leader has all the troubles. So that you can go from first to last in no time. At the end of the day, all you remember is that you had fun. For more competitive players (like our Technical Director) we made 43 leaderboards.
QJ: What are some of your favorite tracks in Mad Tracks, the one’s where you just let your imagination run wild?
Denis: My two very favorites are the races in the restaurant (a 3D version of our lunch place in Paris) and a mini game called “gone with the wind” because it’s quirky (a dart-like game on a mini golf course with a toy car – you have to see it I guess).
QJ: When did you finally make the decision to go ahead and delay the game to add Live multiplayer support, and what informed this decision?
Denis: Microsoft and us took the decision three days before the announcement. We were about 20 days from completion so it was a little heart breaking. What made us change plans were, for the most part, gamers. I have rarely seen more passionate community than on XBLA.
In addition, at Load Inc., everyone was secretly hoping that we could implement Live Multiplayer but kept quiet because it was a budget issue.
QJ: Do you know yet how many players you’ll be supporting over Live?
Denis: No. There is a debate inside Load Inc. (over technical hick ups) and one outside, in forums (over game play issues).
What I can tell you is that itÂ’s going to be at least 4 and at max 8. The main reason is that the game has to comply to a set or requirements from Microsoft and we have little input on this – especially on frame rate issues (you wouldnÂ’t like the game to lag – would you?). More news when we know more.
QJ: What sorts of guidelines and are there that need to be observed and adhered to when producing a title for Xbox Live Arcade?
Denis: The main thing is the 50Mb limit. That alone is a hard one.
Another thing is that it has to have a ‘teaser’ or limited demo mode and your 12 achievements are limited to 200 points.
Apart from that, XBLA games are treated like any other AAA on 360.
QJ: You’re a small studio by choice and have stated that you like working on casual arcade style games, do you think the Microsoft’s attempt to “democratise gaming” with the XNA Game Studio initiative will see more smaller developers working on the platform? What are your feelings on the initiative?
Denis: Anything that makes it easier to develop on a mainstream platform is a good move. Imagine if Sony had done that a few years back. They would be king of the hill instead of struggling on their upcoming console.
Power to the people.
QJ: Can you give us a hint at what you’ll be doing next?
Denis: A car game with fun in it. Too bad you donÂ’t have a booth next week in Leipzig. I have a very sexy demo on Xbox 360 to show. J
QJ: What are you guys playing around the office?
Denis: All of us play Mad Tracks – but that’s part of the job. Two are playing WoW (which I don’t favor due to obvious lack of sleep and silly office hours). One is playing Track Mania – like a maniac! The rest are multi genre, with a lot of XBLA games (UNO, Cloning Clyde, Zuma, Geo Wars). Personally, I switch between PGR3 and my fart box.
QJ: Will we get to play some of the Load Inc team members at their own game? What gamertags should we look for to add to our friends lists?
Denis: Yep. I think the first week will be my only shot at being on top of any leaderboards, so I wonÂ’t miss it. My GamerTag is DenisDenis.
QJ: Any last words for the fans?
Denis: As I always say, remember video games are only good if you can compare them with other great stuff in life. So do something else too! Exercise, socialize, read, argue, hike, bike, discover and think for yourself – you’re worth it! That’s how it should be.
Thanks for taking the time out to do the interview, we appreciate it!
Sounds good doesn’t it? Denis has definitely got us excited, and I’ll be sure to battle it out with you guys online once Mad Tracks finally hits XBLA! As usual we’re looking forward to hearing your comments and thoughts below.
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