Interview: Creat Studios
After a busy period of announcements and game reveals, we sit down with Scott Hyman, Director of Business Development at Creat Studios, to discuss all the activity that’s taking place behind closed doors. With new titles spewing out of every conceivable orifice, we get the low-down from Creat’s experienced honcho.
You’ve made a number of announcements recently, what can we expect to see from you in the coming months?
As we’ve announced, we have a number of projects on the way. Smash Cars will be available in July for PSN. Mushroom Wars and Digger follow later this summer. Alien Havoc is being completed as a downloadable for DSi. There are a number of other titles on the way, but we can’t say just yet.
Which project are you most excited about?
I have to choose? That’s tough. While Mushroom Wars is a very different and innovative game for us, and Digger and Alien Havoc warm my retro-game-lovin’ heart, I just can’t get enough of Smash Cars. It’s such a blast, and the multiplayer is very cool!
Why have you decided to bring titles such as Mushroom Wars, Digger and Smash Cars to the PSN exclusively, and do you expect them to appear on the 360’s Live Arcade at any point?
There’s plenty in consideration now regarding other platforms, but we’re very committed to PlayStation Network. Sony has been an exceptional partner, and we’re excited to be part of PSN’s growth.
Will we see handheld versions of any of these titles in the near future?
Always a possibility, of course.
Has the revealing of Sony’s motion controller or Microsoft’s Project Natal shaped your ideas for any new titles?
Oh yeah. Our designers are buzzing about the new controls, and we’re tossing ideas back and forth in both our American and Russian offices.
Which of these do you think stole the show at E3?
I think Project Natal made people take notice, given that the player holds no actual controller. But the jury is still out for all three new motion control announcements. We’re looking forward to getting our hands on all of them and seeing what ideas spring our designers’ inspired minds.
Any other announcements you were particularly excited about?
New Metroid… very cool! Didn’t see that one coming. All the titles on PSN and XBLA got my attention. It’s great to see the downloadable game truly coming of age. Creat is very committed to the downloadable space, and we’re honored to be part of the excitement.
Previously you held the rights to release games based on popular television shows such as Biker Mice from Mars and American Chopper. Will we see any additions to these series, and are you looking at producing any more tv-game crossovers?
There’s always ideas and discussions in the works, but nothing I can discuss right now.
If you could work on producing a game for any television license, what would it be?
Oh, you’re asking for trouble with this one. There’s far too much to choose from. But I would love to bring a high-end, Peter Chung-directed Aeon Flux game to life with the craziest control scheme of all time. But, that’s just me.
You’ve recently announced that Alien Havoc is coming to DSiWare- is this the first of many for Creat Studios?
Quite possibly. Given our focus on downloadable titles and our experience with the DS, we are eager to see how DSiWare is received.
What will Alien Havoc bring to the table, and how much will it cost?
It’s old-school, NES style, retro-gaming fun! Help your bug-eyed space alien kidnap cows while evading the angry farmers. We don’t know the exact price just yet.
Do you think the DSiWare service is as important as the PlayStation Store or Live Arcade?
Tough to say right now, but I do believe it has that kind of potential. Same for PSP Go. The downloadable arena is quickly becoming more and more comfortable to consumers.
We’re currently playing through the Magic Ball DLC, should we be expecting more any time soon?
If the demand is there, and it looks like it is, don’t be shocked when we announce more DLC for one of our most popular games down the line.
This strikes us as a game that is born to make a handheld appearance- especially on the DS or iPhone with their touch screen capabilities- is this something you’ve considered?
Every possibility is being discussed, so stay tuned for future announcements.
Are we going to see any full games on the current hardware from you anytime soon?
Yes, we’re hoping to bring this about soon. We hope to be making some announcements in the very near future.
Have you got any last thoughts for our readers?
Other than how I like the Red Sox’s and Patriots’ chances this year? Above all else, I want to thank all the gamers out there for their support. 2009 has been a great year for Creat Studios, and that’s only because of the great response from our customers and their incredible feedback. We love to play games, we love to make games, and we couldn’t do it without all of you. So… thank you!
A huge thank you to Scott for chatting to us, and to Michael Robinson for setting the interview up. Check back here soon for some Creat-based reviews, as we begin to tackle the might of their 2009 catalogue.
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