DoubleDutch Games’ Casper van Est on SpeedRunner HD & Indie Games Summer Uprising
The list of Indie Games Summer Uprising titles was released earlier this week. Among those titles is SpeedRunner HD, a revelation that pleased the game’s developer, DoubleDutch Games.
Those that have followed DoubleDutch Games know that the upcoming Xbox LIVE Indie Games title doesn’t mark SpeedRunner’s debut, but is more of an update of the original SpeedRunner Flash game. The original SpeedRunner is about a speedster superhero looking to save the city from a mad bomber. The object of the game is to sprint across levels as fast as possible before that level’s bomb goes off, using superhuman speed, platforming, wall climbing, and a grappling hook. Story elements play out between each level in the form of cel-shaded comic strips.
SpeedRunner HD will add to the original Flash game, with the biggest addition being a multiplayer mode for up to four players. Multiplayer has four SpeedRunners attempt to run through a level so fast that the other three players get knocked off-screen to their deaths.
With Indie Games Summer Uprising nearly upon us, I was able to talk to Casper van Est of the Netherlands-based DoubleDutch Games on SpeedRunner HD, the studio’s formation, and their future plans.
IGC: DoubleDutch Games is relatively new to the indie gaming scene. Tell us a little bit about yourselves and what brought you all together.
Casper van Est: We’re an up-and-coming game development duo from the Netherlands. I met Gert-Jan while working at Coded Illusions, a Dutch game development company that went bankrupt at the beginning of the financial crisis a few years ago. After that, we worked for the Delft University of Technology, developing serious games (using the Unreal 3 Engine). We were always more passionate about entertainment games than serious games, so that’s why we decided to give this Indie thing a try. We contacted a few of our friends/former co-workers and Gerrit Willemse, Jonathan vd Wijngaarden and Frank Post were kind enough to help us out, and thus became SpeedRunner!
IGC: SpeedRunner started off as a free-to-play Flash game. What made you decide to bring it to the Xbox 360?
CvE: We planned to release SpeedRunner on both platforms right from the start. As we see it, the problem that a lot of quality XBLIG tiltles are having is lack of promotion. The XBLIG marketplace is quite saturated and it’s tough to get noticed. Therefore, we felt something special was needed to stand out. I’ve released a few games on the Internet before, and it’s a really good place to get a lot of viewers. For instance, the Flash version of Speedrunner was played well over 3 million times during the first month after its release. Now, we just hope that a small fraction of those players liked the game enough to give it a try on the Xbox 360 as well.
IGC: SpeedRunner plays out like a cel-shaded comic strip. Where did the idea for the character and the story come from?
CvE: Well, we were sitting in a pub, discussing the game’s design. We actually didn’t have an office or whatever (as a matter of fact, we still don’t), so we had to meet up in bars and pubs. We were talking with our artist, Gerrit Willemse, and discovered that although we had defined a goal in the game (to run as fast as possible from point A to point B), we actually didn’t have any motivation yet, as to why the character would be running from point A to point B. At first we had a vague idea of it being some sort of race, or futuristic sport or something, but then Gerrit came up with the idea of a bomb that had to be dismantled in time, which happened to fit perfectly with the gameplay. From there on, the whole story kind of wrote itself, with a mad bomber and a superhero-like SpeedRunner.
IGC: Multiplayer looks to be about competitive racing and leaving opponents in the dust. Was this always the intent for multiplayer and how did this idea come about?
CvE: We wanted the multiplayer mode of SpeedRunner HD to really be something special. After all, it’s the main thing that seperates the XBLIG game from the Flash game. So after we finished the Flash game, we focused entirely on creating a really fun multiplayer mode. My personal opinion on multiplayer is that it’s more fun to play locally (with a couple of friends) than online, thinking back to the days when I used to play Halo: Combat Evolved splitscreen with my friends. So we started developing a few prototypes, tested them and finally settled on a Micro Machines-style mode where the goal is to out-run your opponents so they fall off the screen. This type of gameplay is really fun, but is something you rarely see on the Xbox anymore, or on any other platform for that matter.
IGC: SpeedRunner HD was selected to be a part of Indie Games Summer Upising. How does it feel to be among those games selected?
CvE: Yeah it feels great! We were really happy with all the positive feedback we received from the other developers as well, so we hope we can make them proud at the end of August. The 8 titles that have been picked so far really show off the diversity that XBLIG has to offer. We’ve got 2D games, 3D games, action games, RPG’s, fighting games and even a Train Simulator!
IGC: Indie developers often have a difficult time creating awareness for their games and making enough of a profit to continue making new games. How important are promotions such as Indie Games Summer Uprising, in terms of helping smaller developers meet those goals?
CvE: The promotion is already doing wonderful things, both for Speedrunner HD as well as for the whole XBLIG community. The amount of attention we’re receiving from gaming sites is something I don’t think we could have established on our own, so we’re really happy we can be a part of it. We were originally hoping that the Flash game would create this kind of awareness, but it seems like this promotion is doing far better things!
IGC: Your mission has been to create small, high-quality games, while remaining profitable enough to continue doing so. Has it been difficult to reconcile these two ideas or have you found it to be easier than expected?
CvE: It’s been going really well so far, but I have to admit that we’ve been quite lucky. We were lucky enough to have the Summer Uprising (as well as Microsoft’s Dream.Build.Play competition) almost exactly timed to coincide with our planned release date. The Flash game performed above our own expectations as well, so everything is going really well so far, and we made a few bucks off of that version to continue development and boost our morale. That being said, we haven’t exactly reached our break-even point, so we’re not celebrating quite yet.
IGC: Coming off SpeedRunner and SpeedRunner HD, is there any advice you can offer aspiring game developers that might be looking to start development on their first game?
CvE: I think the best thing one can do is just to go and make games. Preferably small ones. I’ve started out creating a few Flash games that were actually quite horrible, but definitely taught me a lot about game development, marketing, player feedback and whatnot. Then, after you’ve gotten some experience you can try your hand at a larger game. Game development, and especially game design, is incredibly difficult and takes a lifetime to master. So don’t expect to be making ground-breaking games on your first try. Be patient, work hard and you’ll be rewarded accordingly. With that said, now is definitely a good time to be an aspiring game developer. It’s so much easier now (as opposed to a few years ago) for someone to create a game and actually get it released to a large audience, whether it’s in the browser, on the phone or even on a console such as the Xbox.
IGC: What’s in the future for DoubleDutch Games?
CvE: Well, we’re currently finishing up SpeedRunner HD for release on XBLIG. After that, we might be doing a PC port of the game, and after that, who knows? Maybe a sequel if the game proves to be successful. I still have a lot of ideas and things I wanted to have in this game that unfortunately didn’t make the cut, so I would definitely be up for it. On the other hand, I’ve got a ton of ideas for other games as well, so…either way, we’re definitely here to stay!
IGC: Thank you, Casper van Est, for talking to us about SpeedRunner!
As a part of Indie Games Summer Uprising, look for SpeedRunner HD to be released on Xbox LIVE Indie Games towards the end of August. Those that want their SpeedRunner fix now can go to the official SpeedRunner website and play the original Flash game there. Indie Games Channel will continue to follow the progress of DoubleDutch Games, as well as the other developers selected to be a part of Indie Games Summer Uprising.
