chick chick BOOM - our first WiiWare game

[Denis]

Hi,

i am a member of the game development team tons of bits based in Germany and we recently finished our first WiiWare game chick chick BOOM. The game is at Nintendo for the final check now.

We want to use this thread for introducing the game and creating a platform where users can ask questions about the game. I will check the thread frequently and reply. I hope it will create interest to have a direct connection between developers and users.

Let's start with a general info and description about the game...

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Title: chick chick BOOM
Platform: WiiWare
Release Date Europe: 29th October 2010
Price Europe: 800 Nintendo Points
Release Date North America: hopefully 4th quarter 2010 - not final
Price North America: TBD
Official Website: http://www.chickchickboom.com




Description of Gameplay:

In chick chick BOOM two chick teams compete against each other in an arena. There are 5 chicks on each side. A round ends when one team loses all of its chicks.

Attack and defense are the core elements of the game.

The attacking team has the choice between 3 basic attacks (bomb, weight, plant), a lightning-attack (only available when a dark cloud appears) and a special attack which depends on the arena played (UFO in City, Sea Monster in Ship, Ghost in Haunted Wood).

Furthermore each attack can be powered up with 2 different upgrades (e.g. the highest upgrade for the weight generates a giant Sumo Chick, which will jump twice on the opponent's chicks).

In total there are 7 attack types, each having 2 upgrades, resulting in 21 different attacks.

Another core element of chick chick BOOM is the defense. You defend by drawing lines directly in the arena. It works intuitive and logical. For example, when a weight falls from the sky, you can draw a horizontal line above your chicks, this way the weight falls on the line and is blocked. Since the chicks collide with the line too, you can block them as well. For instance, you can draw a vertical line in the arena. This way you can keep your chicks away from dangerous areas. Moreover, the same line feature can also be used to sabotage the opponent’s defense by blocking his line with yours.

There are also additional features, like for example the Corncobman and the Piñata. Corncobman is a big corncob, passing by in the background. You can shoot his kernels off; your chicks will eat them and get healed. You can also shoot on the Piñata, which appears from time to time. If you can pull it on your side, you will get useful bonuses, e.g. line upgrades, chick upgrades and distortions of enemy attack interface.

All these features together, especially the permanently jumping chicks and freely drawn lines generate a dynamic game play, which is creating new situations and reactions over and over again.

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Features:

• Single- and Multiplayer: 1-4 (coop or against each other - in all variations, for example 2 vs 1)
• Offensive Moves: more than 20 entertaining attacks
• 3 Arenas: City, Ship and Haunted Wood
• 15 Teams: 5 available immediately and 10 others to unlock
• 3 Game Modes: Duel Mode, Time Mode, Pro Mode
• Tutorial
• Records: Your best scores will be saved… for you to beat


Ok, that's it for now! If you have any questions or comments just shoot away, I will be more than happy to answer them.

On the website available: videos, screenshots and more information!

[SKTTR]

I know this game!

1. Were you the creators of the orginal PC version?

2. What price do you think is best for this game?
What do you aim for?

3. How long have you been working on the game?

4. Any plans on where to release this game (Europe, North America, Japan)?

5. Does the game support Mii features (for save file avatars or highscores)?
What about different save files at all, are there any?
Can I see a picture of the highscore list?

6. How do we make progress in the game?
How do you unlock more teams?
Is one of the modes comparable to something like a mission mode or story mode?

[Denis]

Originally Posted by SKTTR

I know this game!

1. Were you the creators of the orginal PC version?

If you're refering to the Flash version, yes that was our work

Originally Posted by SKTTR

2. What price do you think is best for this game?
What do you aim for?

Nintendo will have the final word about the price, but we are aiming for something from 800-1000 Wii Points.

Originally Posted by SKTTR

3. How long have you been working on the game?

Reduced to the effective development time it took about 1 1/2 years.

Originally Posted by SKTTR

4. Any plans on where to release this game (Europe, North America, Japan)?

Yes, that's the plan: Europe, North America and Japan. For Europe it will be available also in German, French, Spanish and Italian.

Originally Posted by SKTTR

5. Does the game support Mii features (for save file avatars or highscores)?

No Mii support.

Originally Posted by SKTTR

What about different save files at all, are there any?

3 different save files.

Originally Posted by SKTTR

Can I see a picture of the highscore list?

There is a record screen where a few stats are saved. I will post a screenshot when i don't forget it...i am at home right now, so i can't upload anything

Originally Posted by SKTTR

6. How do we make progress in the game?

I am not sure if i understood this question right. If you're refering to some kind of game levels there are only the 3 arenas, but they are available from the beginning. The game is like a sports game, where you don't need levels. Just enter the arena alone or with your friends and battle it out!

Originally Posted by SKTTR

How do you unlock more teams?

There are 10 teams to unlock, for each team you need to complete a specific task. For example if you beat the Master chick of the Tutorial in the last lesson you will unlock the Master Chicks Team or when you knock out 3 chicks with one attack you can unlock another team etc.

Originally Posted by SKTTR

Is one of the modes comparable to something like a mission mode or story mode?

Hmmm...actually the Tutorial is a little bit like a story mode, as you have to beat a team after each lesson and prove that you learned well. But i think your question is heading for something else. We have the Pro Mode for instance, where the aim is to hold out as long as possible. The enemy team will be played by the AI. Knocked out chicks on the AI's side will be replaced by new ones. The longer you play the better the AI will act. When your 5 chicks are knocked out the match is over. At the end you will see how many chicks you knocked out. This will be saved in the records this way you can try to beat the record each round.

It is the most interesting mode for Single Player, but you can play Pro Mode with a friend in Coop as well

[sponge]

just wanted to say thanks for letting us know about your game, it looks very cool!

[pdRydia]

Originally Posted by Denis

Yes, that's the plan: Europe, North America and Japan. For Europe it will be available also in German, French, Spanish and Italian.

Will the North American version be available in Spanish or French?

[Denis]

Originally Posted by pdRydia

Will the North American version be available in Spanish or French?

Yes, the north american version will be available in english, spanish and french

[Kiwi the Tortoise]

Since there seems to be a strong focus on multiplayer, I would like to know if there are any plans for online play.

[Betagam7]

I would also just like to say how nice it is for a developer to be so polite and approachable.

Maybe we should make this the honourary GOTM at some point in the future: Online play might be fun

[pdRydia]

Originally Posted by Denis

Yes, the north american version will be available in english, spanish and french

Awesome!

Will language be an option that is selected from a menu in-game? Or will it auto-select based on hardware settings (e.g. the Wii's country setting)?

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Originally Posted by pdRydia

Awesome!

Will language be an option that is selected from a menu in-game? Or will it auto-select based on hardware settings (e.g. the Wii's country setting)?

I don't think it even could be the latter, at least in North America. How would it know which official language to automatically select?

[Denis]

Originally Posted by Kiwi the Tortoise

Since there seems to be a strong focus on multiplayer, I would like to know if there are any plans for online play.

There is no online play, since it is quite a bunch of extra work to implement this feature. For our first project it was too intricate. Multiplayer in chick chick BOOM comes into its own on one console anyway. You don't want to miss the reaction of your friend, when you just smashed his last 3 chicks with one fat Sumo chick

Originally Posted by Betagam7

I would also just like to say how nice it is for a developer to be so polite and approachable. Maybe we should make this the honourary GOTM at some point in the future: Online play might be fun

Thank you, but what is GOTM?

Originally Posted by pdRydia

Awesome! Will language be an option that is selected from a menu in-game? Or will it auto-select based on hardware settings (e.g. the Wii's country setting)?

It will be auto-select based on the language setting on your Wii. That answers the question of Jogurt the Yogurt, it's not the country setting!!!

[Betagam7]

Originally Posted by Denis

Thank you, but what is GOTM?

We have a monthly gaming club here, kind of like a book club where a member nominates a WW/VC game and we all spend the month playing it and discussing it.

Why not give VC-Forums a shout out in the credits of CCB and we'll promise to pick your game in a sort of immoral love-in!

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Originally Posted by Betagam7

Why not give VC-Forums a shout out in the credits of CCB and we'll promise to pick your game in a sort of immoral love-in!

Hahaha, dirty, dirty! Our little club is pretty good advertising through here and Backloggery and folks' blogs, though, especially for a service like WiiWare that gets no promotion otherwise.

[Denis]

Originally Posted by Betagam7

We have a monthly gaming club here, kind of like a book club where a member nominates a WW/VC game and we all spend the month playing it and discussing it.

Sounds interesting...we hope that someone will nominate chick chick BOOM then

Originally Posted by Betagam7

Why not give VC-Forums a shout out in the credits of CCB and we'll promise to pick your game in a sort of immoral love-in!

ooooohh...such a pity that we already sent the game to the final check, otherwise we OF COURSE would have added your forums to the credits

[Denis]

Yay!

We finally got the information out the release date and the price

Release Date Europe: 29th October 2010
Price Europe: 800 Nintendo Points
Release Date North America: hopefully 4th quarter 2010 - not final
Price North America: TBD

And we have another ingame video online showing the Ship arena:



The video is also available on the official website

[Betagam7]

Originally Posted by Denis

Sounds interesting...we hope that someone will nominate chick chick BOOM then

ooooohh...such a pity that we already sent the game to the final check, otherwise we OF COURSE would have added your forums to the credits

Maybe with the sequel?

[Denis]

News of chick chick BOOM!

There is a brand new Ingame Video: Arena Haunted Wood
YouTube - chick chick BOOM - Ingame Video: Arena Haunted Wood



Have fun and enjoy

[Denis]

chick chick BOOM!
Out now in Europe and Australia -> WiiShop // 800 Nintendo Points

[pdRydia]

I adore the art.

[Denis]

The great moment has come: our advent calendar Mission in Snowdriftland celebrates its comeback!!!



Chubby returns with Mission in Snowdriftland.
Look forward to an advent calendar with 24 levels of Jump n Fun.

On December 01 the adventure will start again

More details: http://www.tons-of-bits.com

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Originally Posted by Denis

Win one of 10 copies and personalised artwork!

Thanks for keeping us in the loop, Denis!

[Yossarian]

Just downloaded this and sent a copy to my sister.

Worked through the tutorials and had a go at the two player mode. It's really fun and has a surprising amount of strategy for such a simple idea. Love the Worms meets Okami gameplay and the way that the attacks / environments interact. Great stuff!

[Denis]

We are glad that you enjoy chick chick BOOM just as we do

And yes, one of it's strength is that it's very dynamic and players can't get away with simple play

[Denis]

Hi again!

2 weeks after the release of chick chick BOOM, we want to share some press feedback with you.

Currently there are 4 reviews/tests, in which chick chick BOOM received an average rating of 85%.



If you are interested and want to know more about chick chick BOOM, here is an overview of all reviews:

chick chick BOOM reviews


Have fun!

PS: If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to post them

[Yossarian]

PS: If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to post them

Is this game a likely candidate for the newly resurrected WiiWare demo scheme?

[Denis]

It might be a candidate, but nothing is sure for now...

[Denis]

Hi there,
we got news of chick chick BOOM.

Our chick chick BOOM Demo is now available on the Wii Shop Channel.

Furthermore you can watch the new chick chick BOOM Trailer to get in the right mood.



We hope you enjoy it.

[Kobayashi]

Originally Posted by Denis

Our chick chick BOOM Demo is now available on the Wii Shop Channel.

Good news!

[MerlinDrazziw]

Demo's are always good for some handson experience with a game. As for
chick chick BOOM, I've given the demo a try but it didn't persuade me to
get the full version. It's not the style of the game, but mainly the drawing
part. Drawing with the Wii mote isn't easy without a steady hand, imo. the
DS is more suited for games involving drawing.
Now there's an uDraw add-on for the Wii for drawing, is it possible to play
the game with this add-on? Not that it matters for me, I'm not getting the
uDraw add-on anyway, it's just curiosity.

[Denis]

Originally Posted by MerlinDrazziw

Demo's are always good for some handson experience with a game. As for
chick chick BOOM, I've given the demo a try but it didn't persuade me to
get the full version. It's not the style of the game, but mainly the drawing
part. Drawing with the Wii mote isn't easy without a steady hand, imo. the
DS is more suited for games involving drawing.
Now there's an uDraw add-on for the Wii for drawing, is it possible to play
the game with this add-on? Not that it matters for me, I'm not getting the
uDraw add-on anyway, it's just curiosity.

The drawing part is a matter of practice. After a while you will become better and better
I think the uDraw wouldn't work with chick chick BOOM, but it's a funny idea.

[hayes1516]

I just finished playing with the demo and this is now a definite buy. Its simple but addictive. Worth a look for anyone who enjoys strategy in their gaming.