The physics-based title will arrive on the PlayStation 4

Mar 12, 2015 22:02 GMT  ·  By

This is an interview with Thomas Silloway, the project lead working on Rocket League, the title which is set to be launched on the PlayStation 4 later in the year.

Softpedia: How did the team come upon the idea that powered the original Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars and the new Rocket League?

Thomas Silloway: It was a complete but game-changing accident. The original Battle-Cars actually started out as a completely different type of car game altogether -- it was set in space, had more overt car destruction elements, etc. -- but one day, one of our level designers decided to drop a ball into one of the levels just for fun. As it turned out, it was A LOT of fun, and we liked it so much, we restructured the game to support the "soccer with cars" idea instead of our original one.

It was the right choice.

Softpedia: What is the single biggest innovation being introduced in Rocket League?

Thomas Silloway: We aren't trying to reinvent anything with Rocket League, honestly -- we're just trying to improve on the first game in every way we can. There's a lot more value in taking the features we know our players enjoyed and making them better. Our multiplayer servers are dedicated instead of peer to peer, we've added car customization and a season mode, and we've made the physics more realistic. It's one giant collection of improvements that we've gathered from our fans over the years, which has created a better version of what we did before.

Maybe our biggest innovation is that we recognized that we didn't really need to add anything particularly revolutionary in the first place. "Give the players what they want," that's our approach.

Softpedia: Is the experience focused on the single player or on the multiplayer modes?

Thomas Silloway: Rocket League was designed as a multiplayer game first. That's where most of our fans spent their time before, and that's where we think they plan on spending their time again. That said, we also recognized that one of the reasons the first game was so multiplayer heavy was because we didn't have that many single-player options. This time, we've added a full Season mode, a more helpful training section, and the ability to run practice drills; we wanted to give solo players more to toy around with.

Softpedia: Has player feedback played a role in the changes made for the new experience?

Thomas Silloway: Completely. Our mission statement from the beginning was to take all of the most common, most requested feedback from Battle-Cars and include as part of Rocket League. It's a very community-driven game and we're proud of that.

Softpedia: What are the highlights of the Season Mode?

Thomas Silloway: We haven't really announced those features yet as we're saving that for a separate announcement, but from a top-level, we wanted to make sure that we included the sorts of things that players would expect from any sports game's season mode -- Team rankings, customization, etc.

Softpedia: Can you talk about a few of the 100 customization options promised?

Thomas Silloway: The original game only allowed you to change your car's Skins, but this time around, we want you to have a lot more control over how your car looks in several different ways. Like the Season Mode, we're holding back on details at the moment, but we think players are going to be happy with the level of customization we're offering.

Softpedia: What does the move to the PlayStation 4 mean for the title?

Thomas Silloway: It means that a lot of our fans who started with us on PlayStation 3 will get the chance to continue on with us on the new system. It means that we have a lot more opportunities to explore different design choices with things like PlayStation Share, the Light Bar, and more. It also means that we're available to a much bigger audience than we were before. The PlayStation Network has changed a lot since the first game came out in 2008.

Softpedia: How was the working relationship with Sony?

Thomas Silloway: It's been great. They've been big supporters of the game for quite a while and have really helped us in a number of different ways -- be it technical, logistical, or even promotional (we've appeared at both GDC and the PlayStation Experience, which are opportunities most indie game developers would fight tooth and nail for).

Softpedia: Will the game get long-term support or DLC?

Thomas Silloway: We can't commit to long-term DLC yet, because it depends on what the audience wants and whether or not the demand is there. We DO know that we'll be releasing whatever maps we can't finish in time for release as free DLC in the immediate future, but additional things, like modes, add-ons, etc. are still things that need to be finalized. We have some ideas, but for now, finishing the game and making it as good as we possibly can is our focus.

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