Read about the development of MotoHeroz coming to WiiWare on 9/15!
All questions have been generously fielded by Antti Ilvessuo, Creative Director of RedLynx.
NintendoGal.com: How does MotoHeroz differentiate itself from Trials HD?
Antti Ilvessuo: Good question. They are both similar in that they are physics-based and time-based racing games. But where Trials HD really focuses on challenging obstacle courses in dark warehouses, where you struggle over and over to shave off a few seconds to get a Platinum medal, MotoHeroz has a much more wide-open, colorful, and friendly feel to it and different game modes.
The most Trials-like element is probably the Online Runs, where every day you can go online and compete in a daily challenge, either against your friends in a Buddy League or on the global Leaderboards. But that’s only one part of the game. MotoHeroz has a local multiplayer Party Rally and a deep, rich single player Story Adventure that ties the wacky single player experience together.
NG: Are the physics in the game based on your experiences from Trials HD?
AI: Definitely, we take everything we have learned about physics-based gameplay and apply it to all our projects where appropriate. That said, MotoHeroz doesn’t use the Trials engine – it’s a completely original game.
But the key principle is the same – by having realistic physics interactions with everything on a 2D driving line, you end up with a lot of unpredictable, fun results, which means no matter how many times you go through the same level, things aren’t likely to turn out exactly the same. This is especially true in Party Rally, when you have up to four cars and four players bounding around like cats in a pillowcase!
At the same time, you are forced to learn how to drive, it is a skill you develop. There’s no luck, no randomness, no pre-scripted “okay, we’re going to let you pass this track now” stuff. It’s not an easy game; it respects the player and doesn’t treat him or her like a hopeless, casual amateur who can barely manage a virtual cabbage farm.
NG: How important was it for the team to make this 60 FPS?
AI: Extremely important, that was one of the first things we put in the design document. Since we’re doing a 2D driving line with 2D objects on a parallaxing background, anything else would really be unacceptable to us. It would be kind of shameful, and the other developers would laugh at us and we would have to start wearing green caps, fake beards, and eyeglasses. That would be awful!
NG: Did it take long to settle on the particular art style used?
AI: It came together pretty fast over the first couple of months. Our concept artists Juhana Myllys and Ville Kinnunen were the primary drivers of the art style.
He just sat down and started drawing these melon-headed racecar drivers in wild clothes that look like a cross between racing suits and 70s leisure suits. From there it took off into U.D.O.s (Unidentified Driving Objects) and Monkeys in go-carts!
NG: How long did this take to complete and was that the normal pace for RedLynx?
AI: It took about eighteen months for a team of about eight guys and gals, although different people came and went on the project as different phases were completed, that’s pretty normal for any project really.
It wasn’t quite as big a project as our Trials games, but it’s comparable to some of our largest mobile game releases, like DrawRace 2 for iPhone and iPad or Pathway to Glory and Reset Generation for Nokia’s N-Gage. Don’t laugh! Side-talking is still considered pretty cool in Finland.
NG: What were a few challenges in developing the game? Any challenges specifically related to the WiiWare platform?
AI: That seems to be a common question, but if you start out with the WiiWare destination in mind, you’re not trying to force something larger into a smaller box. So if you know something can only be a certain size in megabytes, and a certain screen resolution, you just plan accordingly. You don’t try to cram a novel into a sonnet. Remember Master of Orion? It fit on some floppy disks. So it’s all about fitting the platform.
NG: Did the WiiWare destination influence the design in any way?
AI: Oh absolutely. Apart from the technical specs described above, knowing that the game was going to a Nintendo console for a Nintendo audience really mattered a lot and influenced the design.
When you think of classic videogames, Sega or Nintendo, you think of bright colors, fast-moving, fun gameplay, a couple people in a living room having fun. So that is what we were going for: fun, challenging, play with friends, keep things moving, fast, bright and cheerful.
At the same time, it’s not really a retro-gaming tribute or anything like that; we take advantage of all the current innovations on the Wii and the WiiWare service – online Leaderboards, motion control, digital downloads, and a YouTube video. Your game has to have YouTube videos, or it’s not cool. 
NG: Why bring this to WiiWare and not another service?
AI: It was part of our overall strategy of diversifying the games we offer across the digital download consoles and mobile phones. As a small, independent developer things like Xbox LIVE Arcade, the iTunes App Store, PSN, and WiiWare are great for us. We can reach gamers directly, without going through the retail process.
So after the success of Trials HD and our earlier iPhone games, we wanted to get on more of these platforms. But we also believe in making the right games for the right services, so we built MotoHeroz from scratch with the WiiWare in mind. Not that it wouldn’t work on other platforms, but that was the inspiration.
NG: About the music: Was Petri Alanko kept in mind to score the game or did that sort of just happen?
AI: After working so hard on Alan Wake and its dark scenes and sad tunes, he just showed up in our office one day. He said “Antti, I want to make some fun, light, happy videogame tunes!” Maybe he had a sixth sense that MotoHeroz was being developed and it would be the perfect fit for him!
NG: Was it enjoyable working on the WiiWare platform?
AI: It was definitely a lot of fun. In fact, maybe it was too fun – as part of the development process, the guys were having daily tournaments in the Party Rally mode, pretty early on in the prototype process too.
These daily tournaments grew into a weekly championship, complete with trophies, bragging matches, and hours and hours of productivity disappearing into that Wii devkit!
But it’s all good – if you aren’t having fun with your own game, why are you making it?
NG: Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions!
AI: No problem, thank you for your interest in MotoHeroz! Let everyone know that on September 15th, in all regions, MotoHeroz is yours to play and try!
Great questions and answers! Everyone who owns a Wii needs to do themselves a favor and pick up this game. Redlynx is an amazing developer, and their whole crew engages their community. If you have problems, they answer them. If you have suggestions, they actually read them and (if possible) implement them. These are guys who really understand that their fans are important.
Nice work with MotoHeroz!