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C3 Exclusive Interview | CDV on Panzer DS and Nintendo Wii Support

on 06.10.2006 at 21:00 User Icon

Posted by Adam Riley (jesusraz) Number of Comments

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Mario Kroll, CDV
Interview by Adam Riley :: Thursday, 5th October, 2006

CDV is well-known for its wealth of PC games, such as Blitzkrieg, Cossacks and various Panzer titles. Now the team has widened its net to encapsulate Nintendo DS development, with Panzer Tactics DS due out in Q1 2007. Cubed3 decided to catch up with CDV's Mario Kroll to get the inside scoop on what we can expect...

Cubed3: Could you please tell us a little about your background and what games you previously worked on?

Mario Kroll: I started at CDV as an Associate Producer and PR Coordinator about two years ago. I now serve as Director of Marketing and Public Relations for North America. I previously was the founder of Wargamer.com, a large online website dedicated to covering military and strategy games and related content.

I have worked on and with all of the products CDV has published in the past two years, starting with Codename: Panzers, Phase One up to the upcoming Panzer Tactics DS and War Front: Turning Point. Rather than just a company spokesperson, I'm an avid gamer and am passionate about our games and, along with others on my team, provide a lot of suggestions and tweak ideas for the games we make.

The heavy lifting, of course, is all done by our excellent producers, designers and developers. In this case, the producer is CDV's veteran Guido Eickmayer; the developer is Vienna, Austria based Sproing. Matthias "Sidi" Siedlaczek, a seasoned gamer and researcher that formerly worked for Wings Simulations (the makers of Panzer Elite) helped polish the game as senior design consultant, while the lead designer is Sproing's Christoph Quas, a veteran gamer whose passion for both strategy games and Nintendo will be recognizable in the game.

C3: What was the reasoning behind choosing the Nintendo DS for Panzer Tactics?

MK: There are many reasons. But ultimately it comes down to accessibility and programmability. The Nintendo DS is the richest and most suitable of the handheld devices out there. The breadth of means for interacting with the Nintendo DS, including the touch screen and the dual screens simply make it an ideal platform for designing a compact but significant turn-based strategy game.

C3: A lot of effort seems to have gone into making your games as historically accurate as possible, are there actually war enthusiasts amongst the team or was it merely a process required for creating a realistic experience for the game?

MK: The whole team consists of folks that have played most of the old SSI titles and, as I said in the introduction, contributed to a number of key World War II products. We prefer our games historical. Plus, there is no other title on the Nintendo DS at present that sticks to history. We think that makes Panzer Tactics DS a unique offering.

C3: How many man hours went into researching all the various information sources to make your games as historically correct as it is? And how long has the game actually been in development?

MK: From design to current pre-alpha stage, the game has been in development for roughly one year. It's been a labour of love for the designer and the development team, so they want to make sure they get everything right, and include everything that's possible, or at least important, despite the constraints of the handheld.

C3: Were there any units you wished to include but have not made it into the final game? And have there been any other restrictions, be it from the hardware of in the form of time constraints?

MK: Originally there were more than 350 units on the drawing board. We reduced this to roughly 150 unique units for two primary reasons. The constraints of the Nintendo DS screen makes it very hard to differentiate that many different units visually. Further, and perhaps more importantly, since this game is to appeal to both the more serious war gamer and the casual gamer, such as Advance War DS fans, we needed to make sure each unit truly was noticeably different from the others.

For example, if we allowed the player to have both a Panzer IIIG and IIIH as unit choices, it would become much more difficult to clearly explain how they are different and then to abstract that into gameplay impacting results. Instead, we've devised each unit type, such as tanks, into three categories: light, medium and heavy. The three units available will be upgraded as in-game time advances, so early in the war you might have

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Simon_

Reply Quote #1

back on the internets :D

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aaaarrrghhh

too much text...

I'd rather get Advance wars if i was going to buy that type of game...

Most games are a waste of time.
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on 05.10.2006 at 16:12

The Croft

Reply Quote #2

Who the fuck are you when you take that mask away ?

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ZeroSimon said:
aaaarrrghhhtoo much text...Id rather get Advance wars if i was going to buy that type of game...

lazy sod

Nice interview adam Smilie

Mike Gee of iZINE said, "...The Verve, as he [Richard Ashcroft] promised, had become the greatest band in the world. Most of the critics agreed with him. Most paid due homage. The Verve were no longer the question mark or the clich?They were the statement and the definition."

on 05.10.2006 at 16:17

Reply Quote #3

Wishing for a new Rival Schools!

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Founder/Admin

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Excellent interview, some really detailed stuff! Smilie

jb(at)cubed3.com

on 05.10.2006 at 16:18

MGE

Reply Quote #4

is wanting you to keep an eye out for Legend of Kage 2

9534

C3 Mod

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This looks interesting and when I get my DS it'll be on my shopping list.

Matthew Evans [ Gastrian :: Writer :: Moderator :: King of Impartiality :: Lord of the 15min Thread ]

As the wind blows the sand to cover the camel's tracks so does time move to cover the Lord's.
Rejoice for the Lord will taketh his quarter and give much back to his followers.

on 05.10.2006 at 17:16

dojo

Reply Quote #5

Oh, hello C3!

4695

L96 Marth

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350 units? Smilie

twitter: @bensoutham

on 05.10.2006 at 21:04

Daniel Primed

Reply Quote #6

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A much better intreview than the previous two. I didn't think much of those. Smilie

This time around the interviewie seems to be more intrested in the gameplay and actually more into Nintendos consoles as well. I hadn't heard about this game before hand. Look forward to its release.

My Gaming blog - Building the Ultimate Gaming TV Channel

on 06.10.2006 at 12:54

jesusraz

Reply Quote #7

Prof. Layton 2 Hands-On & Another Code: R Review Now Live!

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News Editor

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The game has been pushed back until sometime in February 2007, unfortunately. But the delay is a positive one to make it more perfect.

I love how he hints at more DS games by telling us how the engine should be re-used. Lots more strategy games on DS would be great!

Cubed3 Senior Editor :: Lead Writer :: News & Interviews Editor

on 06.10.2006 at 20:39

Hmm

Reply Quote #8

L1 New Born

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So are we getting Panzer games on Wii then?

on 06.10.2006 at 21:58

tiamat1990

Reply Quote #9

About to board my plane. Merry Christmas everyone!

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L81 Chun-Li

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Online plan sounds good! That's exactly what Mario Kart DS needed!

on 07.10.2006 at 05:57

jesusraz

Reply Quote #10

Prof. Layton 2 Hands-On & Another Code: R Review Now Live!

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News Editor

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Indeed it does - this really sounds like such a fun title!

By the way, CDV has now sold the rights to the game and 10tacle are looking after its European release. Don't know if it's allowed to be 'officially' talked about, so I won't be doing a news story on it Smilie

Q1 2007 is the date, with a vague 'February' being rumoured...

Cubed3 Senior Editor :: Lead Writer :: News & Interviews Editor

on 15.10.2006 at 10:04

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