Deca Sports Interview and Exclusive New Screens
By Louis Bedigian

“That was our design goal, to ensure we capture all sorts of flavor in the sporting world.”

When sports games come to mind, it usually leads to thoughts of basketball, soccer, or one of the other nationally (or internationally) successful sports. Gamers love kart racing, as evidenced by the success of Mario Kart, but rarely do we think of it as a sport. Same with archery. Figure skating, on the other hand, isn’t exactly the kind of game you’d see a big, burley BioShock fan watching on a Sunday afternoon. (Not with the windows wide open, at least.)

The one thing these sports have in common is that each speaks to a specific audience. It was that ideal that made them the perfect candidate for Hudson Entertainment’s Deca Sports. “Yes they are vastly different sports,” said John Lee, Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “That was our design goal, to ensure we capture all sorts of flavor in the sporting world. Every sport uses the Wii remote in a unique yet intuitive way.

“In Kart Racing you are tilting the Wii remote as you would a steering wheel. Curling has you pushing the stone forward and sweeping as you would on the actual ice. And in archery you are pulling the Wii remote back as you would a bow’s string. We wanted anyone to be able to pick up the game and play immediately. We spent a great deal of time play testing the controls to make them feel just right. So the average users can just pick up the game and know what to do. That being said, there are advanced strategies for controls as well for the more seasoned sports gamer. I think you’ll love how the game feels.”

The full list of sports includes: Badminton, Beach Volleyball, Supercross, Snowboard Cross, Archery, Figure Skating, Basketball, Soccer, Kart Racing, and Curling.

Kart Racing was a surprising choice considering the rest of the sports in the game. What features will it offer, how many courses, vehicle types, etc.?

John Lee: We decided on Kart Racing because it’s the type of racing game that’s more accessible to all gamers. We all have this image that Kart Racing involves banana peels and bombs, but it’s actually a pretty intense sport to watch in real life! In our game, Kart Racing offers three different courses, and you can choice from three different types of vehicles. As in every sport in Deca Sports, the player and team you choose to play on determines your attributes. Once placed on a Kart Racing course their attributes determine how fast/slow/nimble etc they perform.

How did you narrow the playing field in deciding which sports to include and which to exclude?

JL: Lots of real-world showdowns among the development staff! A game of HORSE, stepping into the boxing ring, thumb wrestling. After all that, the winners got to pick their favorite sports. Basically, we wanted to do a great compilation package, a mix of sports that would appeal to everyone. So what we have here are 5 Summer Olympic, 3 Winter Olympic, and 2 X Game-Type events. We also wanted to showcase some sports that don’t typically get the spotlight, but we discovered to be a great deal of fun. There were tons of sports we had to ultimately cut, but we loved the concept of Deca Sports – 10 Sports In One. So we believe ongoing we’ll introduce 10 new sports each time. I’m sure some of the sports that didn’t make it in this time, will get their chance to shine in a sequel.

Will there be any mini-games relating to the Deca Sports, or any that are different but have been added as a bonus?

JL: You could call them mini-games, though the Deca Challenge is really designed for gamers who want to refine their skills in each sport. These challenges actually show gamers how to pull off some of the more advanced control techniques in the game. So while you can easily pick up the game and play, mastering the Deca Challenges will ensure you can pull off some really precise shots, tricks, and moves that will impress everyone. For instance, in Badminton you can actually place your shots in one of 9 quadrants. You can do drop shots, and power smashes. Set up a cross court move, and then do a drop shot to make the opponent scramble. If you master the Deca Challenge for Badminton, you can pull all these moves off with ease.

Like Wii Sports, I'm guessing that Deca Sports will be more of a multiplayer game. Will there be a single-player component, and if so, what will it be like?

JL: Hudson has pretty much become known as the king of party games, and that is really a driving factor in how we design games. We love creating that social atmosphere when it comes to playing games. That being said, yes, Deca Sports does also offer a very robust single-player experience as well. There are a total of four single-player modes that are available in the game, just in case your friends are mad at you and don’t want to play with you!

Will the Nunchuck be used in the game?

JL: Yes it will. We determined that a few sports actually played much better with the Nunchuck. Currently we plan to have three of the 10 Sports available that will use the extra peripheral. Basketball, Soccer, and Figure Skating.

Some games have been successful in bringing realistic, motion-based gameplay to the Wii – most, however, have not worked too well. Did you feel this way going into the development of Deca Sports, and if so, what was done to combat this?

JL: I think there’s a misconception that just because you push for realistic controls, that it equates to fun. For Hudson, we always start off with the design philosophy of making the game fun first. In fact, we spend a great deal of time playing with the controls and trying different ways of playing. Which wasn’t easy because we, in essence, have 10 unique games to hone and perfect. That emphasis on pick-up-and-play controls should really be the driving force behind all game development. We’re also one of the few companies that create games exclusively for the Wii from the ground up, so our games tend to feel more natural on the system. Sometimes, just porting a game over just doesn’t feel like it works.

Where do you think game technology is headed next? We have the Wii remote, nunchuck, and soon, the Balance Board and Wii Wheel. Could all of these be combined in one game for use at the same time!?

JL: Wow, that almost seems like torture! If you are going to do all that at once, you might as well go outside and play in the real world! That being said, we at Hudson love playing with new technologies. We are a developer-focused company, and we tend to let our design team come up with new ideas based on new technologies. We’re probably one of the few companies that even have an R&D department that makes gadgets, middleware, and new tools. It’s probably why we love working on the Wii and DS so much. These systems really did bring about new ways of playing games, and that opened up a whole new world of ideas for us. So while I can’t predict where game technology is going next, I will say that Hudson loves being on the cutting edge of that stuff, and you can be sure we’ll try new ways of bring fun to our fans.

Thank you for your time.

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