Back in June, Cubed3 was given the chance to try out a new puzzle game for Nintendo DS called Mays Mysteries: The Secret of Dragonville. This Professor Layton-esque title turned out to be quite an intriguing prospect, taking the standard adventure storyline and mixing in logic conundrums with a smattering of hidden object and rhythm puzzles, as well as several other styles of brain-teasers to give this a slightly different feel to Level-5s multi-million seller. Cubed3 recently got the chance to catch up with the developer, V5 Play, to discuss the project in more detail, as well as get confirmation on an impending sequel.
Adam Riley, Senior Editor at Cubed3: Can you also tell our readers a little about the team’s past development experience?
V5 Play: Weve never had an opportunity to try out game development. However, weve had a few home/business products sold in the US and Europe through various publishers. Thats mainly software related to graphic design, where we implemented techniques used in games (vector drawing, OpenGL, texture, graphic template design for various purposes, etc.). This experience helped us to get used to game development quickly and to develop this game without too much additional difficulty.
AR: Clearly there are strong parallels between Mays Mysteries and Professor Layton, but what other sources of inspiration did you draw from?
V5 Play: The puzzle adventure genre, even though it seems it has taken off in recent years, is really an evolution and a twist on the genres that have been here for over two decades. From very puzzle-oriented edutainment titles such as Castle of Dr. Brain, to classic point & click adventures and even visual novels, the core puzzle-solving and adventuring gameplay has always been there. Just as in any other genre, developers try to refresh and improve the genre. Level-5 did it with excellent cut-scenes. We also tried to freshen up the gameplay. Besides logic puzzles, in our game players will face hidden object and rhythmic games.
AR: What would say to those who think this is merely a Professor Layton clone?
V5 Play: Our game is, just like Professor Layton, intended mainly for casual players. I believe that that market looks upon a game from a different viewpoint to hard core players. Actually, I think casual players play games to have fun, not to beat scores, argue about clones, game history and things like that. So I believe the players we had in mind will not see our game as a competitor to Layton, but as another good puzzle adventure which they can have fun with. There are many examples that make me believe this: there are dozens of hidden object games, fashion games, cooking games, pet games, etc. I havent noticed any players complaining about that. In fact, I am sure theyre happy to have a large selection of games to have fun with. I think fans of Professor Layton will like our game, and that of course would be a big compliment to us.
AR: How long did the game take to create and how big was the team?
V5 Play: It took us a year and a half to develop the game, although a part of that time was spent on preparatory work. In total, 25 people participated in development.
AR: The official website calls the game Maystery, the UK release is May’s Mysteries: The Secret of Dragonville and the US name is May’s Mystery: The Forbidden Memories. Was it the development team’s idea to have different names for each territory, and how does the name ‘Maystery‘ fit in?
V5 Play: Our idea was to name the game after the main character (the girl named May Stery). It is supposed to be wordplay: May Stery = Mystery. However, the publisher in each territory asked to change it, as they saw the players wouldnt understand our idea *smiles* I think they were right. Anyway, titles chosen for different territories include the main characters name May. Im happy with the games name in each territory.
AR: Why did you choose to include hidden object and rhythm puzzles instead of all logic style ones?
V5 Play: Hidden object and rhythm games are also very popular in DS games. We wanted to freshen up the gameplay with genres people like to play. However, the game lets the player to go to the Inventory at any point and play a few of their favourite puzzles and tasks. That way, they gain points that let them skip a task in the main part of the game. So, for example, if a player doesnt like hidden objects, all he needs to do is go to inventory and play a few puzzle games that let him skip a hidden object game. Its the same with rhythm games.
AR: What other styles of puzzle can players expect?
V5 Play: There are 277 puzzles split into 14 genres like Write Answer, Check Answer, Colour Area, Connect the Dots, Crossing, Draw Lines, Hidden Picture, Matches, Pouring, Placement, Sliding, etc. Puzzle fans will have a huge selection at their disposal.
AR: Did you ever consider including a Wi-Fi download option for extra puzzles?
V5 Play: Yes, we thought about it, but we simply didnt have enough space on the cartridge. We could go for a larger cartridge, but that would increase the games price significantly, so we opted for no Wi-Fi download variant.
AR: Looking back at the game now, what are some of the most positive aspects of the game, and those that caused the most hassle during development?
V5 Play: Most of the problems were related to the parts that we had to outsource (games story, a part of cut-scenes, etc.), while we most enjoyed the parts done in-house. Fortunately for us, 90% of the game was done in-house.
AR: Were there many things you would have liked to change, or extra ideas you wanted to include if you had more time?
V5 Play: Game development is an expensive and risky discipline. You have to look out for many things and make a lot of compromises during development, if you want your investment to pay out. Simply put, of course we had a lot of different ideas, but we didnt have enough money to implement them *smiles* I hope good sales of the games first chapter will let us implement all our unrealised ideas in the second. With the right budget, everything is possible.
AR: Are you already planning a sequel, and if so, will it remain on DS or be on 3DS instead?
V5 Play: We are already planning a sequel, and our publishers are determined that we should start it as soon as possible. As I mentioned before, a scope for the sequel will depend on how well the game is accepted. As for 3DS vs. DS, thats a good question. As you probably know, 3DS sales havent gone quite as expected, so week-by-week we can watch the DS console outselling 3DS (in the US and PAL markets). Of course, I dont doubt that 3DS will be a significant success, but the question is how long it would take to get there. Another important question for us would be how interested our target group (casual players) is in 3DS technology. Anyway, I dont think its smart to neglect 150 million DS players, whose numbers grow daily. We will develop a sequel for DS, and for 3DS Im afraid wed have to wait and see how things would develop in that direction.
AR: What are your thoughts on 3DS development in general? Do you have plenty of ideas for taking full advantage of the 3D hardware?
V5 Play: 3DS is an excellent and innovative platform. Unlike DS, it lets developers think less about hardware limitations, and focus more on implementing their ideas. Another good thing is that there are already engines enabling relatively easy development on that console. Wed be really happy if we could engage in game development for that console without thinking. But, once more, we have to wait and see how the situation develops.
AR: Also, after seeing Nintendo’s Wii U at E3, what do you think of the system and its unique tablet controller?
V5 Play: I am not sure how significant my thinking would be regarding this console, but I personally look forward to any technology that brings innovation. I hope Nintendo will soon release full specifications for this console, so everybody could get to know it better.
AR: What other games can people expect from V5? Is the puzzle/adventure genre your forte or will we being seeing a variety of different styles in the future?
V5 Play: Since were fans of puzzle games, this time weve done what we like. At the moment, were porting the game to PC/iPhone/iPad and it should be ready in a couple of months. Parallel to that, were getting ready for development of the new Mays Mysteries sequel for DS. As we already have too much work, I am not sure well be able to think about parallel development of another game in near future. Anyway, what we can promise to players is that well do our best to make each new project better than the previous one and we will take into account their objections, as many as possible, to improve the quality of our products.
