2D Boy ‘honored’ by Peter Moore’s World of Goo ignorance
Filed under: News
Eurogamer posted its “Top 50 Games of 2008” list last week, and was immediately scolded by EA boss Peter Moore for daring to exclude FIFA 09. This story was picked up by numerous sites, but one detail that wasn’t so heavily reported were Moore’s views on the game that came tenth, World of Goo. Moore said he was “surprised to see [World of Goo] up so high,” despite … not having played it.
For their part, 2D Boy (former employees of EA, no less) described the remark as a “compliment,” and said they were “honored that World of Goo has crept this far into mainstream awareness.” The pair have also confessed to deriving a “sick pleasure” from an “industry bigwig’s indignant, self-righteous incredulity,” though we suspect tongues were firmly placed in cheeks at this stage.
Gallery: World of Goo
2D Boy ‘honored’ by Peter Moore’s World of Goo ignorance originally appeared on Nintendo Wii Fanboy on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 13:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Oz to soon be covered in goo
It’s no secret that we love World of Goo. The game is great and if you don’t like it, we don’t like you then we appreciate you giving the game the old college try. Now, 2D Boy’s most excellent title has been rated by the OFLC, meaning a down under release is closing in. With the news that Europe would be getting the game, we’re now happy to see just about every territory getting in the action.
Any of our Aussie readers looking forward to this one? You should be!
See also: Wii Fanboy interviews 2D Boy (World of Goo)
Gallery: World of Goo
[Via Go Nintendo]
Oz to soon be covered in goo originally appeared on Nintendo Wii Fanboy on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Wii Fanboy interviews 2D Boy (World of Goo)
Filed under: Interviews, WiiWare
After thoroughly enjoying 2D Boy’s World of Goo, we decided that just playing and loving the game was not enough. So, we shot some questions over to Ron Carmel and Kyle Gabler from the indie start-up. Imagine our surprise when they actually answered them all! So, head past the break and read our interview with these talented lads.
Gallery: World of Goo
How has the reception been so far for World of Goo? We loved it, but different strokes for different folks, and all of that …
Kyle: I’m just amazed people are playing our game at all, it’s surreal. One of our favorite things is getting thank you notes from gamers and parents and teachers and kids from all around the world. It makes me feel like Santa. And for the record, we have documented evidence that this video game has caused crying. Now we know, Electronic Arts. Now we know!
Can you see yourself making a sequel (or, better yet, bite-sized DLC add-on packs)? Or are you looking to move on to a different project next? What’s the next step for 2D Boy?
Ron: No! No sequel! The only sequel to meet the expectations created by the original is The Empire Strikes Back, and even then, it was just because George Lucas didn’t direct it. Also, we’ve eaten enough goo to last a life time and we’re ready to do something else.
Kyle: One thing we’re doing is offering support to make the whole game much more moddable. We’re constantly surprised at the ingenuity of some of the people on our forum. Currently there’s a level editor in progress, and another tool for editing parameters in the game, and a quickly growing open translation project to make the game work in as many languages as possible. (link)
There are subtle differences in the way a mouse works and how the Wiimote’s IR pointer can work. Which version do you prefer playing, PC or Wii?
Kyle: We intentionally kept the all versions of the game as identical as possible. When we first tried out the Wii verison, I think we were all dazzled by how well the Wiimote actually worked. We had all expected, like everyone, that the cursor would feel imprecise and floaty, but it was not the case at all. I try to love all versions equally, but my personal favorite is the Wii version, since it has multiplayer co-op, and I can play it on a big screen with big speakers. My cat also prefers the Wii version.
The PC was the lead platform for World of Goo, but would you consider making a WiiWare-exclusive title? Do you have any ideas that wouldn’t work as well on any other platform?
Ron: It’s a possibility. We’re not as concerned with exclusivity as we are with making sure we choose the right platform for the game. For World of Goo that was PC and Wii, for a different game it might be a different set of platforms.
World of Goo managed to be incredibly simple and incredibly complex at times. How do you know when you’ve hit that sweet spot? Was it something that just happened or were you shooting for that the entire time?
Kyle: I’m not very good at playing games, and I don’t have any patience for games that are overly complicated or that have lots of buttons, so we were very conscious about creating a game that was as simple as possible to start playing with. That’s why the whole game uses only one button. The physics is all very simple too. Luckily, when you put lots of simple things together, all with simple rules, you can create more complicated behavior in very clear ways. So for instance, (if anyone cares, and please, feel free to skip this part if you don’t care how the inside of the game works!), the equation governing the Goo Ball’s arms’ is just Hook’s Law. That’s the equation that says how springs work. It’s just F=kx. Or, the force (F) that the spring applies is proportional to the distance (x) that the spring is either compressed or stretched. That tells us how two balls should react when they are connected by a single arm. Then, we can add another ball, to create a triangle, with two more springs, and another, and another, and everything magically works, all using the very simple spring equation to create a more complicated structure, like a tower, or a bridge, and it will magically wobble, and suspend itself, or fall, all because the little pieces contained within it know what to do all by themselves.
If World of Goo becomes a big success on WiiWare, can you see it making its way to Xbox Live Arcade or PSN? How about a DS game?
Ron: XBLA and PSN will probably not happen, we just don’t think the controls would feel right. Mouse is great and so is the Wii remote. The DS would be a good platform for the game from a controls standpoint but the processor is not nearly strong enough for the physics simulation. We might be able to do a simplified version of the game, but we have no plans for that right now.
Do you have any sales data for the game yet? Do you know how many copies have been sold so far?
Ron: We do! The numbers on VGChartz are not too far off, you can go look that up if you want. The PC version is also doing pretty well. We’re planning to share some financial information in a talk we’re giving at the game developers’ conference this coming year.
Kyle: And I think the important thing is that we can finally confidently say that we are financially and emotionally healthier having done the indie thing for the last two years, than we would have been had we remained employed at a mysterious large company. I recommend this to everyone. Quit your jobs and make stuff!
Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions!
Want more World of Goo? Read our first interview with 2D Boy right here and be sure to read our review of the game, which includes a nice video walkthrough, right here. Keep up on the latest World of Goo info by clicking on the thumbnail you see on your left.Wii Fanboy interviews 2D Boy (World of Goo) originally appeared on Nintendo Wii Fanboy on Wed, 12 Nov 2008 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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World of Goo-d news for Europe
We love you, 2D Boy. Yes, you, Ron Carmel and Kyle Gabler. As if the brilliant, brilliant World of Goo wasn’t already enough to make us swoon, the hunky dreamy dynamic duo have done something that bigger companies should do more: they’ve actually listened to the people who buy their games.
Before today, World of Goo was all set to be a retail title in Europe, a decision that brought about a backlash, due to the added expense. Carmel heard the outcry, because he recently told Gamasutra: “We’ve caught some flak for [the decision]. Gamers were kind of annoyed. Apparently, we had no idea about this, but European gamers often feel like they’re getting screwed, because games arrive late and cost more.” Too true!
So now, World of Goo is coming to WiiWare in Europe also! A post on the 2D Boy blog reveals that it should be coming in December, and for probably the same price (1500 points, and worth every one). And what of the extra sixth chapter that Europe is getting as a consolation prize? We’re going to totally speculate that it will be made available as DLC, in which case North America could get the missing section after all. Everybody wins!
Gallery: World of Goo
World of Goo-d news for Europe originally appeared on Nintendo Wii Fanboy on Tue, 11 Nov 2008 20:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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World of Goo to hit WiiWare Oct. 13
Fans of all things gooey, know that 2D Boy’s very cool WiiWare title, World of Goo, is finally dated for WiiWare in North America. Arriving on October 13th, the game will be available for download on Wii. The only mystery remaining is just how much it will cost (although strong evidence points to a price greater than 1,000 Points). When we get word of that, we’ll pass it along.
See also: Wii Fanboy interviews World of Goo’s Ron Carmel
Gallery: World of Goo
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2D Boy discuss World of Goo pricing, dates, paranoia
Filed under: News, Interviews, WiiWare
World of Goo has been a squishy blip on our radar for ages now, but development will be wrapped up soon. WiiWare World got a chance to chat with 2D Boy duo Ron Carmel and Kyle Gabler, who revealed that development for the U.S. version will be complete in September, and that they’re hopeful the game will be released Stateside in late October. Oh, and it’ll cost more than 1,000 Wii Points. Wait, what?
So far, only Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King has dared to breach the 1,000 Wii Points mark, but Nintendo clearly thinks 2D Boy’s gooey, beautiful puzzler is worth the extra pointage. On the bright side, North Americans won’t be paying as much as Europe, where the game will be retail-only, cost €40 (£31), and has been delayed until Q1 2009. The European version will have a sixth chapter, however, one that takes place on the moon.
Amongst all the new details to digest (also worth mentioning: the two-player co-op mode now accomodates four players), Gabler seems like he’ll be relieved when the game is out of the door. “I like to hate the game as much as possible, and believe that it’s ugly, with horrible gameplay, and that nobody will like it,” he admitted. “If this were a human relationship, it would be very unhealthy, and World of Goo would cry a lot.” Man, that brings back memories.
Gallery: World of Goo
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Top 10 Best Selling Games
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