Sim games certainly aren't anything new. Hell, games that let you make your own theme park, and then manage every tiny detail of said park have even been around for decades. If that's the case, then what's so special about the upcoming Thrillville? Weve got the inside word straight from the developers and producers on why you're going to plop down on the couch and become the next roller coaster tycoon.
Every week until the game ships (that'd be November 21), we're delivering a
David Braben, Chairman of Frontier Developments and Executive Producer on Thrillville
My role as executive producer means that I have an overview of the game as it's being developed. It's up to me to ensure that it stays true to the original vision - to make sure it works well overall.
The idea for Thrillville came from a general feeling we had something more to offer over and above the strategy/simulation games of the past. Why should the "computer people" get all the fun? Playing mini-golf,
So, you've been given the job of making the latest and greatest theme-park game. The objective: create an authentic theme-park experience in a box. Where do you start?
Jonny Watts, Senior Producer at Frontier Developments
Well, a good place might be to go to a few real theme parks and see how "the competition" does it! We've made quite a few games set in theme parks over the last few years now and although it really helps that we're nuts about roller coasters and theme parks in general,
Developer Frontier has had experience creating other theme park-based games for the PC, such as RollerCoaster Tycoon 3. But Thrillville is different - it's been designed from the ground up for consoles and handhelds, including PS2, Xbox and PSP. With that comes a bevy of challenges - the most significant of those
You know that saying about the customer always being right? Yeah, that's true only so long as the customer continues to spend lots of lots of money. And if the average tourist family wants to funnel half their annual salary into your custom-built theme park, who are you to tell them they're wrong?
But Thrillville lets you do more than just overcharge your visitors for cheap t-shirts, styrofoam stuffed animals and grease-brick pizzas. As our fourth of six developer diaries explains, you can
It's rarely admitted, but people love throwing up. Think about it: why else would everyone on the planet have a throwing up story? You've got one. We've got several. It's one of life's gross little mysteries.
In fact, the only thing people love more than throwing up is almost throwing up, but not quite. Which is where amusement park rides come in. This week, we'll hear from one of the minds in charge of bringing you to the edge without pushing you
Last week, we heard from Producer Shara Miller from LucasArts. This week, we'll be hearing the cotton candy-laced words of Senior Producer Jonny Watts, about how it feels to see someone play the game you've created - and how it makes you feel when they don't play it the way you intended.
Jonny Watts, Senior Producer at Frontier Developments
Weaving all of the elements of Thrillville together into one cohesive experience has at times been one of the most nerve-wracking processes in developing
Producer Shara Miller already has her hands in some of the biggest franchises you love - Mercenaries and Star Wars Battlefront II should get a million or so gamer's hearts pumping. Now she's handling Thrillville, a video theme park that enables you to build whatever attractions you like - and then ride the crap out of them. Miller chimes in for part one of our six-part series, which should shed a little more light on why this isn't another wannabe simulator.
Shara Miller - Producer
So far,
