SolidSnakex
Member
CVG: How would you describe Mercury?
Archer Maclean: It's brilliant. Buy it. Seriously though, it's completely abstract and yet very physical, and it's obvious what's going on in the gameworld. When I set out to design the game I listed ten or fifteen things I wanted to do based on frustrations from other games. It had to be very simple with simple controls that anyone could understand instantly without having to read a manual. I wanted it to use colours, shapes, sounds and symbols so that everything was very obvious and very universal. I wanted it to appeal to a wide audience of both males and females. I wanted to make it extendable, so that we could do downloadable and uploadable content or sequels with the view to giving players a map editor. But most of all, I didn't want it to have anything to do with snooker or pool!
You seem loathe to categorise it within a particular genre.
It does seem to hark back to an earlier age of gaming with that quick-fire puzzle style...
Archer Maclean: Yeah, I'm a big believer in being able to play for thirty seconds, save, and turn it off, then come back later. I love games that are easy to learn but hard to master, and Mercury is really simple but to really conquer it you'll have to work very hard. I think we've got the balance just right. Plus it suits the hardware. It's not trying to be Doom 3, which really needs to be played on a monster PC with a big set of headphones and a killer graphics card. It's simple, instant, addictive fun that takes advantage of PSP's big screen and offers gamers something truly different.
What has your experience of developing for the PSP been like?
Archer Maclean: It's been very exciting. It's a lot easier to use than people might have anticipated. Some of the past Japanese consoles were unbelievably complicated, with weird design quirks and bottlenecks to cut manufacturing costs, but we were all surprised at how powerful the PSP is. I can't even think of any down points.
That's interesting, because there have been so many negative comments about the system doing the rounds...
Archer Maclean: A lot of that has just been rumour-mongers spreading malicious stuff. The whole battery life thing that everyone made such a big deal about is a good example. In our tests we've been able to play Ridge Racers on full brightness for about four and a quarter hours, and that game's got a lot of UMD spinning. I expected it to keel over in two because of all the gossip on the internet, but I'm really impressed with it. Plus the PSP has clever power saving features like the screen - and eventually the system - turning off if you leave it idle without losing your position in the game. Considering how big and how bright the screen is, and how much power the machine has, it's much better than I expected. Still, the programmers here have done a lot of things to maximise battery life like ensuring the UMD's not spinning every two seconds. It's just common sense. And anyway, you could always build a solar panel for it... Oops!
You've talked about how Mercury is perfect for PSP. Go on then - why?
Archer Maclean: It's perfect because you can pick it up, literally, in seconds. Then you can dip in and dip out whenever you've got a spare second. You don't need to worry about where you are in the game or what you were doing.
Then there's the wi-fi stuff. It's great that you can be sitting on the train playing against someone sitting opposite you so easily, and the multiplayer side of Mercury is seriously addicitive. We've introduced this whole new concept of racing competitively across the level. You'll find yourself doing things you never did in the single player game, like deliberately sacrificing some of your blob just to catch up with your opponent.
You've also built a tilt sensor to go with the game. How has Sony reacted to that and do they want to brand it?
Archer Maclean: Yes, they really like it, but it's too early to say how they're going to market it. The PSP - and Mercury - aren't even available over here yet so there's no protocol for releasing a new peripheral. However, they're as keen as we are to resolve the issue. The most important thing is to get the tilt sensor out with the game as quickly as possible. It's as simple as that.
Do you foresee connectivity between the PS2 version of Mercury and the PSP?
Archer Maclean: Yes, that's definitely something that's on the cards.
Mercury team:

Game pics:






http://www.computerandvideogames.com/news/news_story.phpid=113810
One of my most anticiapted launch titles.