Well, Best game I’ve ever worked on. About 3 months ago I finally got off a failing team and on to a new project. This new project is a PSP game and I can honestly say it’s probably the best game I’ve ever worked on. That is not to say it’s the best most fun company I’ve ever been at but as for the game I’m pretty stoked.
First off it’s super original. New idea, new style. It’s also super simple to control, only 3 buttons no pad. It’s super cute and it’s actually fun. The designers laugh and giggle as they build and test their levels and we still have quite few features to go until we get the true feel which we are sure will make it even more endearing.
Even cooler, it could be argued to be specifically designed for PSP. While it would be possible to implement on nearly any system when you see the way you control it it just works best with the PSP layout with the screen between your hands. Sorry I can’t be more specific, you’ll have to wait and see.
It’s also a small team and a short project, 3 month pre-production, 4 months production. 7-10 people total on the team. So it’s easy to feel like part of the team and have a stake in the project. It’s sad though, we could have shipped this title for PSP launch or shortly there after but it took nearly a year to get it approved. Early last summer a simple prototype was created by one programmer after a game designer had the inspiration. Then it was several months of trying to get a producer interested and convincing the company to fund it. To us game players from the initial quick prototype it was obviously a great idea but the people above never have any imagination so they require more convincing than a prototype.
Of course there’s no guarntee it will be a hit and I’m sure that’s a big concern by marketing being that it’s an original idea it might be a hard sell. You can’t say “Better than Halo!” if it’s not an FPS or “Better than GT4!” if it’s not a racing game. I’m hoping marketing will be able to give it the support it needs. Being that it’s cute and easy it could also be a casual gamer’s game as well. We’ll have to do our best to make sure it doesn’t get lost among PS3/360 hype over the next 9 months.
Anyway, it should be announced in a month or two so keep your eyes out for a new original PSP game from Sony Japan.
Can’t wait to play your new game!! I’m sure its gonna rock!! 頑張ってね！！
I am SO glad to hear this! There is nothing better than being with an awesome team working on something you’re really stoked for. I haven’t enjoyed working on anything as much as my last game at my last company…and that game sucked!
Hey Mr. Gregg, thats awesome..the new psp game..sounds really cool…my grandmom gave me this website (your mom by the way) sounds really cool.
later
Charlotte
can’t wait to try it out!!
I can’t wait to see it. Though it sounds like it belongs on the GBA or DS rather than PSP.
The 2 most innovative / simple / fun games I have ever played are Parappa the Rapper and Vib Ribbon. The first had a decent following in the US, and the second didn’t even make the shelves. Good luck!
Gregg, can you provide any advice on becoming a PSP developer? I have filled out the forms on the Sony PlayStation developer’s site but I never receive any responses. You wouldn’t happen to know where and who to call at SCEA to apply for this sort of thing would you? I get the impression that not just anybody can become a PSP developer and that you pretty much have to be an established company. Is this true?
mrsunshine: yes it’s true. They won’t answer to individuals.
mrsunshine: I’m not sure if we’re “allowed” to talk about this business here, but you can create your own PSP applications. You can grab the psptoolchain (for Linux/cygwin) and start programming your own homebrew app. It’s not the actual devkit (it’s all legal, don’t worry) so it’s a bit more difficult to work with. Just keep in mind that running homebrew apps will void your warranty.
More information (in the form of an excellent beginner’s tutorial) here:
http://pspupdates.qj.net/lesson01.htm
Enjoy, and good luck
I’m pretty sure you work on LocoRoco