Interviews

Futuridium EP Deluxe creators on how this Vita version is 'a massive upgrade... in every respect'

Plus, details on the Android version, PlayStation exclusivity, and world-exclusive screenshots

Futuridium EP Deluxe creators on how this Vita version is 'a massive upgrade... in every respect'

It's safe to say that we're quietly optimistic about MixedBag's Futuridium EP Deluxe, an expanded Vita version of the original.

At review, we called the first a "tasking and entertaining arcade blast" but criticised the "occasionally inaccurate controls".

I spoke with Mauro Fanelli and Andrea Gellato, co-founders of the studio behind the project, to get some more details on the improved controls, info on new features, and to discuss their inspirations for the project.

Pocket Gamer: For those not in the know, what is Futuridium EP Deluxe?

Mauro Fanelli (MF): Futuridium EP Deluxe is a fast-paced score-driven old-school shoot-'em-up with a puzzle game twist and a peculiar visual style. Oh, and an awesome soundtrack!

Can you explain a bit more about where the retro visual style comes from, and what inspired you to make the original Futuridium?

MF: Initially, we made Futuridium for a game development contest in Italy. We were working on our action-adventure forma.8 but we had some ideas about doing a low-poly 3D space shooter. The contest was the perfect excuse to give it a go.

We wanted to do an homage to one of our favourite C64 games, the awesome shoot-'em-up Uridium by Andrew Braybrook.

We loved the fast action. We loved the concept of flying on giant space dreadnoughts and taking them apart piece by piece. And we loved the fast-turn 180-degree game mechanic for going back and forth on the level.

We wanted to deliver this kind of action in full 3D, especially the turn-on-the-spot gameplay twist. We knew that nailing it would be extremely difficult - in 3D, you can't see what's behind you. But we put together the first prototype of the game in less than two days and... it worked really well.

Andrea Gellato (AG): Regarding the visual style, we loved the look of the first 3D flat shaded games: Virtua Racing, StarFox, classics like Midwinter on the Amiga, Silpheed on the Mega CD, just to name a few.

Regarding the colour palette, the idea was to mix the strong and primary colours of the sci-fi toys with which we used to play when we were kids.

On top of this and since the modern machines are really powerful, we added all kind of special effects: motion blur, glow, colour separation, and so on.

How does this Deluxe version of the game differ from the original?

AG: It's a massive upgrade... in every respect.

Basically, all the original game levels are now in a sub mode called Classic. Everything else is new. There's a full new main campaign, composed of 25 new levels that are longer, more complex, that introduce a lot of new gameplay mechanics, and that can be played in a slightly different way (since we give the player the ability to accelerate the ship at will).

There are other gameplay modes and extra levels that we don't want to reveal right now and spoil the surprise, like more unlockable extras and Easter eggs.

Also, the soundtrack will be greatly expanded: more than 15 music tracks for 1+ hour of music (compared to the 11 tracks in the original).

Since the game is very fast paced and very tough, I imagine getting the frame rate smooth and nailing the controls has been a top priority. Can you talk about how you've attempted to accomplish this?

MF: Having the game running at 60 frames per second was the #1 priority on the list. We got the game up and running on Vita in less than a week at a very good frame rate. But then we spent a lot of time optimising everything.

The Vita hardware is extremely powerful, so we are able to push more full-screen effects and have the game looking exactly how we want at the highest frame rate possible.

We are extremely proud of how Futuridium runs and looks on Vita, and the final version will have more punch than the game you can see in the trailer and in the screenshots.

For iOS, we've adapted the control system as best as we could for the touchscreen. Since the game was meant to be played on a PC with a controller, this wasn't easy to do. But we were happy with how it worked and, really, it was impossible to do better. Touchscreens are awesome for a lot of things, but they're less than ideal for a fast-paced game like Futuridium.

On Vita, everything was easier. The physical controls on the console are awesome, the buttons are perfect, and the real analogue sticks are by far the best on any mobile platform. The feeling is just right; it needed only some minor tweaks out of the box.

There's a heavy focus in the game on high scores. Can we expect online leaderboards or other forms of multiplayer in the final version of Futuridium EP Deluxe?

AG: Yes! There are a bunch of different online leaderboards in the game, so players can compete for the highest score in the various gameplay modes.

There are also a good number of trophies to unlock (some of which are extremely hard to get). The game is a single-player experience only, though - no online multiplayer for now.

You've released the various incarnations of Futuridium on PC, Mac, iOS, and - soon - Vita. Have you considered 3DS or Android, though?

MF: Futuridium EP Deluxe is a Vita exclusive, tailor-made for the PlayStation platform. We can't rule out an Android port of the original Futuridium EP, but the Deluxe version will be PlayStation only.

Peter Willington
Peter Willington
Die hard Suda 51 fan and professed Cherry Coke addict, freelancer Peter Willington was initially set for a career in showbiz, training for half a decade to walk the boards. Realising that there's no money in acting, he decided instead to make his fortune in writing about video games. Peter never learns from his mistakes.