France-based Cyanide Studio has been keeping busy with a number of recently released games, including the Game of Thrones RPG title that launched in May. Last week, the developer released DungeonBowl, a variation of their Blood Bowl fantasy-themed sports game franchise, where players battle it out underground instead of in a stadium. You can purchase and download the full game right now at the game"s official web site.
We got a chance to ask some questions to Cyanide about not only Dungeonbowl but also an upcoming new version of Blood Bowl. Our questions were answered by the company"s Antoine Villepreux, Dungeonbowl"s Production Director and Project Manager, and Pierre-Marie Charavel who is the Project Manager and Lead Programmer of the game.
First, how did the idea for Dungeonbowl come about?
Antoine: Since we started working on Blood Bowl (and even before), we have always been talking about the different existing adaptations of this boardgame: streetbowl, icebowl, bridgebowl, beachbowl, and of course Dungeonbowl. Because it"s fun. And in the case where we would have the opportunity to develop one of those, it seemed obvious that it had to be Dungeonbowl: it"s the most complete, the one that has been designed by GamesWorkshop, and the one that offers the more gameplay additions.
Certainly the setting is somewhat different than Blood Bowl. What do you think placing the game in a dungeon setting will bring to the franchise ?
Antoine: Fun! How about building your own dungeons, placing traps and teleporters, spend hours decorating it ? How about pushing an opponent into lava? To push another one on a teleporter in the hope that it will fail? Walls, traps, teleporter and chest are fun!
What are the teams and creatures like in the game?
Pierre-Marie Charavel: We are using teams from the Blood Bowl game so players will quickly feel at home if they played it. Unfortunately we don"t have any creature lurking in the dungeon but this is something that we would love to add in the future if we have the opportunity to do so.
What are some of the other differences between Dungeonbowl and Blood Bowl?
Pierre-Marie Charavel: As Antoine said, Dungeonbowl introduces new gameplay components such as Teleporters, Chests, Traps, etc. It"s the biggest difference as it adds a new "layer" to Blood Bowl. Then we have the User Interface: we wanted a smooth and clean experience so it feels very different from Blood Bowl. The multiplayer component is also limited: players can"t engage in leagues yet and are restricted to Matchmaking and Challenges only.
Cyanide first announced this game only a few months ago. Was this a fairly quick turn around time from start to completion?
Pierre-Marie Charavel: Development started mid 2011 and with the experience we gained working on Blood Bowl we knew right from the start how to quickly get the features in. The game was "almost" done when it was announced.
How does the dungeon editor in the game work?
Pierre-Marie Charavel: It"s really easy to build a dungeon. You pick elements from the asset list and simply paint on the grid with the mouse left button and you can remove elements with the mouse right button. It"s straightforward and the interface is simple. All of our dungeons were designed with the in-game editor, it really shows how far one can go. Once the dungeon is done one can directly share it to the community using the built-in dungeon browser.
If the PC version is successful, will we see Dungeonbowl on other platforms?
Pierre-Marie Charavel: That"s something we might discuss if the game is successful and the opportunity comes up.
You are also working on a new edition of Blood Bowl. What will this new version have?
Pierre-Marie Charavel: The new edition will add three teams (Chaos Dwarf, Underworld and the new Khorne Daemons), one stadium set in Lustria and one solo mode where you have to fight your way through the World
Will we see new extensions to the Blood Bowl series every year, like we see in other sports games?
Pierre-Marie Charavel: We had the opportunity to add more content to Blood Bowl and it happened to be each year but it"s not something we are aiming for.
Finally, is there anything else you wish to say about Dungeonbowl and Blood Bowl in general?
Pierre-Marie Charavel: We hope players will have fun playing Dungeonbowl and that the game will spark their interest for the Blood Bowl universe!