Home
  Message Board
  Atari Systems
  Game Scores
  Video Reviews
  Bonus Material
  Join TAT!
  Contact

Username:
Password:
 

Chewin' the fat with Force Design! - The Atari Times

Chewin' the fat with Force Design!


Use the Force Jagfan!
by Chris Donaldson

July 26, 2001
After Battlesphere and Songbird's recent games, the future of the Atari Jaguar is very uncertain. There are few developers left, and none who have released any sort of commercial game in the past (except Songbird, but Carl has not yet announced any new games in the works). It seems to be anyone's guess exactly who will finish their games. One of the better guesses would be Terance Williams of FORCE Design. Terance has shown that he has the talent to program some nice looking games for the Jaguar, but has yet to complete any of his games. I wanted to ask Terance a few questions about what games he has in the works, and when we might be able to get our hands on them.

Mighty Frog: Let me start off by asking what have you been doing lately?
The Graphics Man: Well, I have been busy coding in a few things into LFJ since I got back from JagFest 2K1.

LFJ stands for Legion Force Jidai, a 2D side-scrolling shooter you're programming for the Jaguar, right?
Yes, that's correct!

There's not too much information on your web page about your progress in coding this game... how much do you have done?
LFJ is in it's early development stage right now, so it is not even close to completion as CRAZE and GORF Pluz are. At the moment, I'm working on the the first stage of the game.

What type of features will LFJ feature? Such as- will it be 2 player, will there be unlimitted continues, how many stages, different weapons, etc?
Well, it will feature the following: in-game cinemas with voices, Mad Bosses, 5 stages, 1 or 2 players, 5 different weapons, Metal Slugish Graphics, rockin' soundtrack and gameplay. And 5 credits only for a player to continue with.

At the rate you're working on it now, when do you think it'll be close to completion?
LOL, Let FD get CRAZE and Gp finished first then I will tell you next year.

Alright, let's talk about those two games then... first of all, about Gorf Pluz. Gp was originally supposed to be a part of Gorf 2,000, which would have been similar to the other 2K series' on the Jaguar. It was supposed to have a classic mode, you were doing the plus mode, and Krunch was doing the 2000 mode. Since then I read in an issue of JEO the Krunch is no longer working on the 2000 mode. Is this true? Will Gp be released on it's own?
Well, I'll let Steven answer that first part of the question. But Gp is aWeSoMe enough to hold a cart on it's own if it comes down to that! Hahaha... believe me bro, there won't be a 2D shooter like it on the Jaguar, and FD will complete it!

How close is GP to being completed? How soon do you think it could be released?
Here's a hint for ya, I won't be coding on it anymore before the end of the year! And that goes for CRAZE too.

Sounds sweet, could you give us an overview of CRAZE? I know nothing about this game.
Just think of Berzerk, that's all I will say about that game.

Which game will be released first? Or will both come out at the same time?
I don't know which one will be release first; I'll just be happy when they are released for anyone with a Jaguar to enjoy.

That brings up the issue of how you'll be releasing your games? Will you be using the CD bypass (now called JagFreeCD - Ed) technology that Songbird is putting in Protector SE and release your games on CD? Or will they be carts?
Carl will be happy to hear, CRAZE will be CD for sure. So you fools have another reason to buy the Protector SE. Gp is another story...

Gorf PluzHey I was going to buy it anyway, I love Protector! Will Gp be on cart? Aren't there legal issues involved with using the name "Gorf", and especially if you put a classic mode in?
It's GORF pluz Earth GOD's Troopers, not GORF! GpEGT will most likely be on cart.

What exactly does the name mean? What are Earth GOD's Troopers?
First, the Earth part of the title means Earth. Second, the GOD's part of the title reflects that each trooper rules it's realm, which is in this case Earth, Wind, Space! Last, the Troopers part of the title comes from the three different troopers you choose from.

Wow, that's deep :). I'm really looking forward to GpEGT. In the video of CRAZE, the graphics are black and white... I know the game is supposed to have an old-school feel, which is cool, but will it be that old school?
Nope... it looks nothing like that, hahaha... That's a video clip from Colecovision Frenzy, LOL! CRAZE will rock!

Hmmm I'll take your word for it! Now that JUGS is out and more Jag owners have access to online games, will you release demos of either game before they come out?
Why? The only people that's gonna play the games before they come out are the beta testers.

Well some gamers would like to give the games a try before putting the money down to purchase them. How much will your games cost?
I'll make some video tape those people, hehehe... I never gave prices for the games that much thought. I'll think about prices after FD complete them.

Who's doing the soundtracks for GpEGT and CRAZE?
GpEGT has no music at the moment. CRAZE MUSIC CREDITS: WES POWELL, ROCKY ROCKEFELLER

So CRAZE will have a techno style soundtrack? What sort of music would you like for GpEGT? Do you have any possibilities for musicians?
CRAZE will feature a techno style soundtrack. GpEGT will not have techno tracks, that's for sure. I have no musician in mind at this time, but I'm open to music artists sending me samples of their work!

Good luck with that. So to wrap everything up, we can expect CRAZE and GpEGT to be released before the end of 2001, and then in 2002 FORCE Design will focus on finishing Legion Force Jidai?
Release dates are N/A, but look forward to the games soon enough! And yes, my focus is LFJ in 2002!

Sounds great Terance, I can't wait to get my hands on all three games. Any last words?
I will be looking for voice actors for Gp and LFJ soon! Thank you for the interview, Mighty Frog! I'd like to give shout outs to Scott W. and StevenS.! We rule! Terance Williams (The Graphics Man)

For updates on FORCE Design's games, head on over to:
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Dungeon/5437/ 


Reader Comments for Chewin' the fat with Force Design!

Add Comment
Name:
Subject:
Comment:
Check:
What is the greatest video game company of all time? (Hint: Atari.)