EA Mobile opens the can on Worms 2010 for mobile

Those warlike Worms just seem to keep on wriggling, and the latest addition to the long-lived franchise just landed itself a very tasty Bronze Award here on Pocket Gamer.

So we decided to ask EA Mobile if it would open the can on the game's development, and find out what keeps those venerable invertebrates so fresh.

Developed at the gaming giant's Bucharest studio, producer Gabriel Stancu (pictured) took the bait.

Gabriel Stancu: We wanted to make this game because we love Worms. We grew up with it and Team17 were kind of like super hero developers back when most of us (the Worms Mobile team) joined the industry.

So, when we took on the global publishing rights for the Worms franchise on mobile from THQ Wireless and Team17, our mission was clear: to bring Worms into 2010 where we now have the tech and understanding to create a more adjustable AI, more types of gameplay, more detailed animations, more sounds and more of everything.

Our main goal, back when we kicked off development, was to bring the game back to its roots - a full classic Worms experience on mobile. No more of the “the essence of worms on your mobile”. As mentioned, we now have the tech to do that and Worms really deserves it.

Another goal for us was absolute freedom in how you play the game. We wanted to give players the feeling that they are back in the Worms world where they can tackle stuff at will. You can jump in the campaign and gather weapons, conquer islands and increase your arsenal or just fire up a custom game - it’s really up to what you want to do.

What we absolutely love, and this is where it gets personal, is the new set of weapons we bring to the game. You see, we wanted truly new weapons, not just space - themed versions of the classics.

While you will definitely find the classic bazooka, holy hand grenade, cluster grenad,e and jet pack we also have some new kickass weapons like The Ion Cannon, the Spartan Kick, The Brick, and many more that we hope fans will enjoy.

We also wanted a more accessible game. One of our most important goals was to bring the Worms phenomenon to more people.

Believe it or not, there are still people out there who have never played the game. For them we have prepared a campaign that grows in difficulty as you progress, a story driven tutorial, and three types of AI.

I think that out of the above, the most important for us is the “there is no right way on how to tackle the game” part. While we are aware that this is not something that you can figure at a first glimpse, you can explore the game at your own will, conquer the islands you want to conquer in the order you want to use.

If you are an experienced player you should have no trouble dashing to the end and unlocking the big guns. If you are a little shy you can take it one step at a time and build the whole arsenal.

This is something that we really wanted to have in the game as we felt previous mobile instalments were missing this freedom of gameplay - we believe it’s one of the key features of the franchise.

Last but not least, Worms is about humour, comedy, and the fun of blowing your opponents team to bits. Everything is over the top, starting with the story and continuing to the teams, the hats, the names and the game’s progression.

We really wanted to bring that back to mobile phones.
Artillery games have had something of a resurgence lately (much thanks to the iPhone, I suppose).

When I look at Worms, from the moment it was first booted on the PC and up to this very latest game I realise that this might just be the recipe for success - freeform gameplay that never grows old, humour and something that anyone can relate to: worms!

I also suspect Team17 of using subliminal messages in their previous games because there is no fanbase like their fanbase. Listening to fans and always delivering on their expectations is also one of the game’s strong points.

I’d have to say balancing the game. It would have been easy to get carried away by the freedom of play and add weapons that would totally break the gameplay unless tuned to perfection.

The Funnel People Team!

Other than that, I strongly believe in the classic Worms theme, its attention to detail, over the top humour, and gameplay - I’m really glad we had the opportunity to bring it back and I’m proud of the game we’ve delivered.

That’s a tricky one - we always say, ‘a game is complete only when there is nothing more to remove from it’. When you enjoy a game so much, it's hard not to get carried away, but it is our responsibility to make sure all the features add up to a complete whole that is relevant and makes sense within the storyline and gameplay.

We would have loved to have included even more game types but in the end decided on three new ones alongside the classic deathmatch: Instant Gib, God Mode, and Santa Mode, which are totally new to mobile and bring a big change in how you take on the game.

For me it’s Worms World Party. It’s got everything - great balance of weapons, wacky new ways to kill the enemy, an intuitive interface and great sound packs.

The mobile market is growing so fast with more and more powerful smartphones emerging. That’s definitely an area we’re looking at, but I can’t give away much more on that just yet.

We know that multiplayer is such a big part of the Worms world, so we did of course spend a lot of time looking at that. It turned out though that while people say it’s important to them, very few actually use it on mobile.

Let’s take Bluetooth multiplayer - the probability to be in the same room with someone who also owns the same game is just too small.

Online multiplayer poses a similar challenge - it’s an immense undertaking for a development team, given the large number of devices we have to cover. And with the exception of very few games, the servers for mobile are always empty.

Our team therefore focussed on what we believed would make a great Worms on mobile: a game with vibrant graphics, that would make you smile with depth of gameplay you can try against your friends in pass-to-play.

Dear Pocket Gamer readers: You guys rock. Whether you’re a big Worms fan or have never played the game before, I suggest you try it. I guarantee, it will bring a smile to your face.

Worms don’t really care about who you are, what your hardware is, what your favourite book is or who you voted for president.

The goal of the franchise for the past 16 years has been to provide big guns and lots of fun. Worms is a classic that hasn’t yet forgotten what games were made for: having innocent fun by blasting your friend’s team to bits.