Interview | Prismatic Games Talks Wii U RTS Hex Heroes

By Jorge Ba-oh 13.04.2014

Cubed3 caught up with Chris Jennewein and Mario Castañeda from Prismatic Games on the Wii U RTS, Hex Heroes.
 
Prismatic are currently raising funds for the RTS multiplayer project, which sees four players harvesting resoruces, battling and building, with a fifth player managing resources and commanding the campaign.
 
The studio is seeking $80,000 in funding to secure development of Hex Heroes.
 
Visit Hex Heroes on Kickstarter »

 

 
Cubed3: Please introduce the team working on Hex Heroes.
 
Chris Jennewein: Currently, Prismatic is Mario Castañeda and Chris Jennewein. If the Kickstarter succeeds, we'll be expanding our team to about 6 other members, and of course we're collaborating with Grant Kirkhope for the soundtrack.

Cubed3: What projects have the teamed been involved with before starting Hex Heroes?
 
Mario: I'm the artist for The Bridge and am also working on the art for a game called Tumblestone. Chris has worked on several different apps for iPhone/iPad, and various smaller game projects. Chris and I worked on a couple game projects that never saw the light of day, but Hex Heroes will be Prismatic's first title.

Image for Interview | Prismatic Games Talks Wii U RTS Hex Heroes


Cubed3: The concept sounds and looks interesting! Please explain the core idea behind Hex Heroes.
 
Chris: Hex Heroes began as a game jam game last year, but we've always wanted to use the Wii U GamePad in a way that facilitated asymmetric gameplay in an engaging way, not just as a mini game. So we're expanding on the asymmetric co-op gameplay that we got from Nintendo Land on Wii U, and even learning for the multiplayer aspects of games like Pikmin 3 and Zombie U.

Cubed3: The use of the GamePad as a central feature is great to have, how does the Wii U controller come into play?
 
Chris: The GamePad makes it possible for a real-time strategy game to be played on a console. Even though the Wii U has been out for a year and a half, there hasn't been much effort to make games from that genre. We're capitalizing on this gap and making it accessible to gamers of all ages and experience.

Image for Interview | Prismatic Games Talks Wii U RTS Hex Heroes


Cubed3: How would single player work? Would there be a central storyline/campaign feature?
 
Chris: Campaign mode would essentially be a collection of story driven missions based off the modes we have set in place. As the project grows and we're able to add more modes, the campaign mode grows as well. Regarding single player, the premise we're working with is that the GamePad still controls the classic RTS, but also fills the role of up to 2 players on the TV. They'll have to switch between their characters to manage everything at once - something very similar to Pikmin 3.

Cubed3: The art style looks fantastic, quite Square Enix in some ways. Can you explain the process in creating these characters and worlds?
 
Chris: We wanted to both pay homage to our love for miniatures and board games while at the same time developing a look and feel that would be easy to implement and polish. Take Stacking for example - there's nothing really to the models and their animations, but they still feel alive and it's beautiful to look at.

As we continue development and add new characters and environments, it will be important to maintain a cohesion of style. This is the role of the art director, which is Mario's position. We start with a lot of concept art before we begin modelling the characters and painting them, that way we know it'll work before we spend a lot of time later down the road.

Image for Interview | Prismatic Games Talks Wii U RTS Hex Heroes


Cubed3: What other games, films or animé have helped shape Hex Heroes?

Chris: Stacking and Tower Wars for visuals, Warcraft 2 and Age of Empires for gameplay.
And like we mentioned, we're playing all the games that utilize the Gamepad so we can improve and refine our controls.

Cubed3: Musically it's fantastic to hear Grant Kirkhope on board - how did the collaboration process come about?
 
Chris: Haha, it's not easy to approach a long-time hero of yours. You never know what kind of response you'll get, and you don't want to be crushed if it doesn't work out. But Grant was always our number one choice and we were willing to go to great lengths to bring him on board. We met in person at GDC and have been working on a great sound for the game's theme. We know fans of his will like it.

Image for Interview | Prismatic Games Talks Wii U RTS Hex Heroes


Cubed3: Cameo characters have been an interesting strategy, and great to see happen between indie studios. What made you open up the world of Hex Heroes for other franchises?
 
Mario: We started throwing around the idea of cameos simply because we love when other games do it. We later realized that it would really help us grow our fan base for Hex Heroes and help the game succeed on Kickstarter. We're also big fans of Super Smash Bros. and the way things are going, we're sort of turning Hex Heroes into an indie strategy Super Smash Bros.

Cubed3: Have there been any issues working with the Wii U hardware?
 
Mario: Not yet. Since we're working in Unity, it's fairly easy to translate what we do to the Wii U, as long as we're mindful of performance. We have an experienced team waiting to begin work, and even though this will also be their first Wii U title, we had a great experience working with Nintendo so far.

Image for Interview | Prismatic Games Talks Wii U RTS Hex Heroes


Cubed3: Would you consider portable platforms like Nintendo 3DS for a port or possible extra screen for multiplayer?
 
Mario: It's been talked about. Right now, Unity doesn't support the 3DS, but if it ever does, it's something we would easily consider. The way we're laying the foundation to the game makes it easy to scale to less powerful hardware.

Cubed3: Would you ever consider working alongside a major video game publisher?
 
Mario: If a publisher sees the potential that we see in this game, we would work with them. Publishers need to take more risks with developers, so we'd be open to working with any that agreed - so long as they don't demand a completely different direction for the game.

Image for Interview | Prismatic Games Talks Wii U RTS Hex Heroes


Cubed3: What hurdles have you had going at it as part of an independent team?
 
Mario: Our schedules were often spread thin with other commitments. In previous years, when we were students, we had larger ambitions and less skill. Now we've matured and have more experience to fall back on.

Cubed3: What are your thoughts on Nintendo's approach to indie developers in recent years?
 
Mario: Nintendo did developers a favour by making development more accessible through Unity. We look back on the Wii and saw there was some success with the Bit Trip series and World of Goo. We love that Nintendo's platforms are innovating because it brings innovative games that indies especially are taking advantage of.

Image for Interview | Prismatic Games Talks Wii U RTS Hex Heroes


Cubed3: If you could both work on any Nintendo franchise, what would it be any why?
 
Chris: I'd go for The Legend of Zelda! It was practically the first game I ever played on the NES when I was just a baby. I like where they're taking the series, but I have some suggestions for them, haha! Can't wait for Hyrule Warriors, it's great that they're opening the series up to another genre.

Mario: I wouldn't touch The Legend of Zelda! Too much pressure! Probably F-Zero, as I was a huge fan of the GameCube version. I know that's something fans are wanting, and I would love to develop a really skill-based, twitchy racer like F-Zero using Wii U's power to the fullest.

Cubed3: What are your plans for the future?
 
Chris: We have a couple projects on the drawing board that would take a little more funding and a lot more testing. For us, Hex Heroes is meant to be pure fun, but we eventually want to tackle something provocative on an emotional level. We're a diverse team, and not only do we want to share our stories through games, but the stories of others that are rarely represented in the game industry.

Image for Interview | Prismatic Games Talks Wii U RTS Hex Heroes


Cubed3: Lastly, any final words you'd like to give potential Kickstarter backers?
 
Chris: Yes. If you're a Wii U owner, you owe it to yourself to back Hex Heroes. We don't mean to sound arrogant, but this is the kind of game the Wii U was made for, and yet, bigger studios aren't taking up the mantle to create such experiences. We're honestly surprised that this idea hadn't been delivered on before, and so we're excited to break new ground on the console.
 

Visit Hex Heroes on Kickstarter »
 
Will you pledge support for Hex Heroes?

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