I'm interviewing the senior designer of Maximo...

[Dire 51]

... and once again, I ask for some help with questions. God, I must be having a tremendous amount of writer's block these days... all I could come up with so far were three questions!

So, if anyone has any questions they'd like to ask about Maximo, post 'em here.

[maxlords]

I find that the difficulty of Maximo is fairly high for an all ages platformer. My wife, for example, loves watching it, but won't pick it up and try it due to the precision required for the game. Was this a design decision or did it just work out that way?

Also, what made them use the cruel koins save? Having to buy your saves in a "pick up and play" action game is pretty harsh :)

Finally, was the conversion from 2D to 3D as daunting to do as it seems? Especially with a beloved franchise like Ghosts and Goblins? Although Maximo isn't an official sequel, everyone considers it one.

That's all I can come up with off the top of my head :)

[Kid Fenris]

Since Maximo was effectively a Ghouls n' Ghosts title, you could ask him what other Capcom properties he'd like to turn 3-D. How about a fully polygonal Strider, or that much-wanted Bionic Commando follow-up?

You might also ask what he thinks of the next-generation versions of other old-school titles, like Shinobi and Rygar.

[michael]

Why did the game suck so much ass?

[IGotTheDot]

You could ask him what process he or she goes about designing a game. What things got cut? What things where added during development because it seemed cool? How long did they get to flesh out the design before production started? How long did production last? How many pizzas did they eat during crunch?

Good luck. Sounds like to could get some good information.

[Captain Wrong]

I'd really like to know if he's caught any flack for making Maximo so old school type unappoligetically hard kind of game. (Personally I'm all for it, but even reading questions in this thread show others feel differently.) Was it difficult to get the game out as it was being "old school" when the trend seems to hold gamers hands and make games easy as possible?

Does he feel there is a difference in gamers of today vs. gamers of the time when the original Ghouls and Ghosts came out? Are gamers today less up to a challenge than gamers then?

(Basically I'm curious about stuff along the old school vs. new line because Maximo is the frist 3D game I've played that had that old school 2D feel and difficluty to it.)

I know the media fawned over this game, but how did it sell? Was he dissapointed or suprized by the public's reaction to the game?


I am fully aware these questions are biased. Hopefully you can make them less so.

[Dire 51]

Thanks guys! These are great questions, and I'll be sending them off shortly. Gotta pass on yours though, Michael... it doesn't really fit the tone of the rest of the interview.

I'll probably be doing a little mixing around with the qs to make it seem like one big long interview, but you'll all be credited when the complete interview is posted on the site.

Thanks again everyone!

[Tempest]

Did everyone think Maximo was hard? I thought it was challenging but not too difficult (I beat it within a week). I loved death, he was so cool.

I want to know if a sequel is planned and if it's coming out in the US.

Tempest

[digitalpress]

I think you should try to case aspersions on his sexuality. Think about the publicity you'd get if you "outed" him! Yeah it's a longshot but hey, no risk, no reward.

1. What's with the guy in the underwear? Do you like guys in underwear?

2. That's a really long shaft he's got there. The sword I mean. Did you think I meant something else?

3. Maximo is kind of a "suave" name, isn't it? Do you think he enjoys bubble baths and lounging naked on fur carpets? Because those are suave things to do.

You get it - now go expose him!

[kainemaxwell]

What made you want to update the Ghouls & Ghosts series in 3-D rather than 2-D?

[IGotTheDot]

Most publishers won't put out a 2-D game and there is a chance Sony won't approve a 2-D game. Unless it's a great fighting game, there is a good chance it won't see the light of day (then along comes the new Contra to confuse everyone.)

[Dire 51]

Tempest - The possibility of a sequel was one of the first things I asked about.

Kaine - I found the answer to that in an interview he had with EGM. Apparently the project was already in progress when they suddenly switched gears and decided on a G'NG followup rather than a more serious game like they were initially planning.

dp - LOL

[Raedon]

why does Maximo play more like a Crash then say a Mario.. why was the linear one foot forward 3d platformer used instead of the free-roaming model?

[Dire 51]

A question was asked along those lines, if I remember correctly.