*Sticky* Joe Danger Released

[galacticpastry]

First off - congrats on the release of your premiere title!!

My quick thoughts on the game -
So much fun!!! The challenges are challenging! The sandbox is intuitive! The snozzberries taste like snozzberries!
But honestly, I've had so much fun in my first few hours of gameplay.

My two cents for improvements - can you do a map list for multiplayer? Going back to the main menu after every race to get a different map gets a bit old. Also, is there a lap mode, where instead of racing just once through, we can do a few laps?

Overall, I'm glad I purchased this. Not only did I get my moneys worth for a great game, but I'm proud to sponsor Hello Games! You guys seem like a great bunch and everyone is waiting to see what you do next!

[Grant]

Thanks for all the kind words guys, hearing about people enjoying the game is totally awesome!

- Your just four lads who created this game right? Its very inspiring as im currently studying to be a Computer games designer/Artist at the moment and i love hearing things like this. Have you got any tips on how you got into this or how you got started?
CreativeRhino

I can have a stab at this :-)
First of, yeah there's four of us, we've been stuck in a room together for nearly two years now and have all gone a little strange!

Not that I'm an expert, but I think the best way of getting started is to just get involved as quickly as possible. Working on personal projects, working on mods for games, even just making LittleBigPlanet levels. I have been drawing forever but I started in games by making new levels and gfx for DOOM yearsss ago, this lead to me making new models for QUAKE and I've never really stopped :-D. I think all four of us kind of started that way, just playing around with existing stuff. I guess with tools like Unity and the Unreal Engine floating around it's the perfect time.

Hope that is useful :-D
-Grant

[CreativeRhino]

Thanks very much grant for getting back to me :)

I've been studying at since GCSE and i've just done a foundation arts degree at Sunderland Uni and in september i'm going to Teesside University to study computer games design/art.

I can't wait. I looked at a few of the concepts you should me there great. I'd love to see more. Im currently trying to build up a portfolio before september filling it with little projects of my own. The only problem i think i have is i work on a MAC :S is this bad for being a games artist? as i don't know where i can get things like unreal tourney editor and the stuff you talk about for MAC from?

Yeah i've created a lot a few levels on LBP, Im really well known on MODNATION RACERS for my designs and i doodle and draw most of the time. I just really hope i can get a job out of it in the end. It is a massive passion of mine so i will always push myself but its still a bit weary for me. :S

Anyway i'd love to see more of that concept work from Hello Games :) and i've been playing JOE DANGER all afternoon. I was a bit iffy about £10 but money well spent. I love it! its so fun :) One day i hope to set up a games design project and create something like this

CreativeRhino

[Grant]

My two cents for improvements - can you do a map list for multiplayer? Going back to the main menu after every race to get a different map gets a bit old. Also, is there a lap mode, where instead of racing just once through, we can do a few laps?

Thanks for taking the time to write! Also, well done on having an awesome nickname :-D
The way we tend to play Multiplayer, is to do 'Best of 10' or 'Best of Just One More Go' if Sean is playing. Thanks for the suggestions, I like the idea of a lap mode, that could be quite fun, casually lapping your friend while they curse would be funny :-D

i'm going to Teesside University to study computer games design/art.

I actually went to Teesside uni myself, many moons ago, had a great time. Hope you do too :-) I'm afraid I know absolutely nothing about Macs, I've never seen them used by games artists, but I'm sure some do. Glad to hear you're messing with Modnation racers, I've not had a go yet, seen some awesome stuff though!

Thanks guys
-Grant

[CreativeRhino]

I can't wait to go :) to Teesside.

Well you can put windows on a mac im sure if theres any programs i need for windows i can do that. But i already have Photoshop and Maya if thats whats used.

One more question, sorry for all of them. Im just so interested in this subject and its a great chance to talk to you guys.

1. What software did you use to create all of the work that has gone into Joe Danger? such as modelling programs and artist programs. Not bothered about knowing the code side of it.

Also can't wait to see more concept art :)

[silentsound2000]

What a GREAT game!
I had never heard of Joe Danger before the 'upcoming' announcement on the EU Playstation blog a short while ago.
Everything about this game is perfect. I know that some other users here are asking for custom music, online multi-player and more, but that detracts from the fun of the existing game itself.
At first I thought it was just another £10 PSN game that would last me a few hours and then get relegated down the list, but i was very wrong.
Joe Danger sums up everything that a PSN game should have; reasonable price, longevity and above all great fun!
Personally, I like the cheesy (no offence) 'cinema-foyer' music, especially in the pause menu, it just seems to fit the whole style.
The colours and style of the game are very cheery.
Online multi-player would be great, but at this price, I suspect it would be too expensive to develop.

I can see myself playing this game for a very loooong time, much like the other 'small' PSN games PAIN or Pixeljunk Monsters.

Congratulations to the four of you (and I suspect your long-suffering partners/families).
I don't suppose you're looking for investors?!?

[RoadHazard]

Great game, I'm having a lot of fun with it! Definitely worth the money, and I hope it's a big success for you guys!

However, there are a few things about the level editor that limit its usability:

1. There is no way to set mid-level checkpoints (unless I've somehow missed it). This becomes a problem when you make a long track with pits and traps along the way. Anyone who plays my level will have to start from the beginning if they die (and they will die, because I've designed the level to require some "platforming" skills), which makes me think not many will even bother to play through it to the end.

2. Some things which appear in the single player campaign are missing. Among other things, I would have liked the ability to place the D-A-N-G-E-R letters in my level, to make the level have as many goals as possible.

3. You can't set a time limit for the track (another way to easily add an extra goal to a level).

4. There are only 10 slots for levels. Why is this restriction there? I have a large HDD in my PS3, and I would like the ability to use as much of it as I like (though I don't expect each level to be very space consuming, since they probably only contain data about object placement and no actual objects).

5. Levels can't be named (nor have a creator assigned to them).

6. Is the setting where you decide whether the track is a single player event or a split screen track really necessary? Why can't one track be both? Seems simple enough to just disable the single player specific stuff if one chooses to play the track in VS mode.

7. Shared levels are handled in a (to me) strange way. When you get sent a level, you have to download it into one of your own level slots. There is no distinction made between levels you have created and levels that have been sent to you. Since levels have no names, and no creators, this makes it hard to keep track of things. I'd prefer a separate section for levels you have received (complete with level and creator names), and just like with your own levels I don't think there should be a limit to how many you can keep.

Wow, I sure had lots of complaints... But really, these are all just small things that I think limit the otherwise great potential of the level editor.

[Grant]

@Roadhazard
Thanks so much for taking the time to post and giving us your thoughts, really good to hear how people are finding using the editor!
It's really useful to get this kind of feedback, we genuiely appreciate it! A lot of your issues are things we're aware of and hope to improve upon soon. We're going to try and cram in as many improvements into future patches as we can :-)

Thanks again!
-Grant

[Grant]

1. What software did you use to create all of the work that has gone into Joe Danger? such as modelling programs and artist programs. Not bothered about knowing the code side of it.

I use Maya for all the 3D and Photoshop for all my 2D work. That's not my way of saying USE MAYA, it's just what I'm quickest with. I've used Max, Lightwave and XSI in the past, they're all the same really :-)

[RoadHazard]

@Roadhazard
Thanks so much for taking the time to post and giving us your thoughts, really good to hear how people are finding using the editor!
It's really useful to get this kind of feedback, we genuiely appreciate it! A lot of your issues are things we're aware of and hope to improve upon soon. We're going to try and cram in as many improvements into future patches as we can :-)

Thanks again!
-Grant

Thanks for replying, I look forward to seeing what improvements you will bring to the game!