Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia Q&A

Killing zombies has always been fun, and a recent resurgence of undead-slaying games has proven that this is still clearly the case. In May, SouthPeak Interactive will be releasing its take on the genre, with the frantic action game Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia.

To get the background behind the game, we took some time out with Jeremy Stieglitz, president of developer Artificial Studios and the project lead on Monster Madness.

GameSpot UK: In Monster Madness, you play as a bunch of college kids caught in the midst of a zombie attack. Can we take that to mean that it's been inspired by classic zombie movies?

Jeremy Stieglitz: The four playable characters are actually high school students aged 16 to 17, but yes, the inspiration is pretty direct. We're poking a bit of fun at those classic horror movie clichés, as well as taking inspiration from comics and old-school games in a similar vein. It's all done with great affection, and our tongues firmly planted in our cheeks. However, it's important to point out that Monster Madness isn't just about fighting generic zombies! There's an army of over 70 different monsters to defeat, and each enemy type has its own specific attacks and strategies.

GSUK: The zombie genre seems to have had a resurgence of late. How will Monster Madness differentiate itself from Dead Rising and Stubbs the Zombie?

JS: With Monster Madness, the primary concern is bringing the "good old days" of intense co-op arcade action to modern hardware, rather than making a game specifically for the zombie genre. Our approach relates Monster Madness to classics like Gauntlet, Smash TV, and I guess Power Stone. That's our real difference: Monster Madness is a mix of various features from a bunch of old-school titles, with a host of new stuff added.

Some of those are design ideas; others are the cool results of using the tools and hardware we have. Our philosophy is to create old-school fun with cutting-edge technologies, such as the brilliant Unreal Engine 3 and Ageia's PhysX SDK. Using those together to make an all-action arcade title is a blast; combined, they give us a technological sandbox. We then add in our influences to give Monster Madness its structure.

As for other zombie games...I don't think Monster Madness really sits in the zombie game genre, as the undead element is more a part of the setting for the action. As much as we love zombies and horror characters, they're not as integral to the design are they are to Dead Rising and Stubbs, not the least because there's so much more than just zombies in our game. Monster Madness is much more about running about, having a bucket load of fun as you unleash massive firepower on a massive army of monsters!

GSUK: Top-down action games aren't particularly popular right now. Why did you decide to present the game in this way?

JS: We wanted to show next-generation players a different perspective that breaks up the monotony of the games that are popular today. It can't all be first-person shooters, racing games, and third-person titles with the same old camera angles!

I'm only joking, though. Monster Madness is making several conscious nods to the old school, so the top-down presentation fits with that approach. It also keeps the action tight and prevents players from getting too far apart from each other when in co-op.

GSUK: Monster Madness supports up to four people cooperatively. How will this have an effect on the game's storyline?

JS: In basic terms, the more players there are, the more monsters will spawn, so the madness gets madder! The bosses will also adjust their tactics to take on a team of players. It does also affect subtle parts of the story, as the in-game character dialogue trees will differ depending on which characters are actually in play. And those characters will also be the ones shown during the in-game cinematics. Friends can drop in at any time to help too!

GSUK: Will the cooperative modes be playable online too?

JS: Four-player cooperative and competitive multiplayer is available online, but a crucial difference is that online competitive multiplayer will support up to 16 players, rather than just four. It's going to be an unprecedented arena for mayhem. When playing in those "Battle Field" levels, the perspective drops back to a "chase camera" style for more traditional shooter action. GSUK: The game's versus mode has been compared to Power Stone. Is that something you were hoping to achieve?

JS: Well, Power Stone is one of our inspirations, as I mentioned before. Pretty much everyone agrees what a great central concept it had and how great the mayhem it generated was. We can only hope to reach that level of acclaim, but we're quietly confident that when players get their hands on our crazy weapons and get the run of the traps-filled multiplayer level layouts, they'll see that the comparison is a respectful and valid one.

GSUK: The combat mixes melee and weapon attacks. What sort of moves and weapons can we look forward to unleashing on the zombie masses?

JS: Characters have their own specialized melee attacks and certain kinds of weapon that they are most skilled with; they can find one of these "signature" weapons on every level in the game, to gradually build up a melee arsenal. Every chapter in the game also has a powerful monster form that players can transform into, including vampires, demons, zombies, and others. You get to use the powers of your enemies and more! There's also a range of "weapon parts" that can be picked up around the levels, as part of the game's exploration aspect.

These parts can be combined to make special weapons, and then you can upgrade their capabilities. There are 15 of these core weapons, including a fairly straightforward rocket launcher, a flamethrower, a cell phone-based Taser with a chain-lightning effect, a glue gun that stops enemies in their tracks, a CD launcher that works like a circular sawblade cannon, a cluster grenade launcher, and even a fully working railgun that can shoot through walls. Each of these special weapons has its own set of abilities and tactical applications. It's really all about player choice, although you will have to work to get the weapons that are really cool.

GSUK: Will you be able to use any vehicles or machinery in the game?

JS: Of course! We have included six vehicles. These include expected vehicles like a buggy, an ATV, and a hovercraft, but also some off-the-wall things like a flying UFO and a mech suit. There are also some context-sensitive vehicles, like boats to traverse watery areas. The vehicles also come in different sizes, allowing one to four players to hop on board, sharing duties between driving and shooting. The vehicles can provide an awesome tactical advantage when used in teams, and there are also mountable turrets you can use for base defense. These all come into play during the cooperative campaign as well; there are levels devoted to each vehicle, and by the end you'll have to master them all in the ultimate vehicular escape sequence!

GSUK: The game is presented in a comic book style. Have you gone into depth to fill out the game's backstory?

JS: We've actually produced a printed comic book that tells you more about Zack, Carrie, Andy, and Jennifer before the events in the game. Plus the game's full-motion video sequences are done in a hand-drawn comic book style. Comics are a big influence for us, so we worked on a unique style to support the action and tell the story.

GSUK: Can fans expect a demo before or around the game's release?

JS: We are working on getting a demo onto Xbox Live very, very soon. The demo will contain the first cooperative level in the game, as well as a Versus level (which can be played online or offline) and a 16-player online level. There's quite a lot of gameplay in the demo, since we wanted to show off a good sampling of the many game modes.

GSUK: How about downloadable content? Are there any plans to release new levels or characters?

JS: We can't wait to add some downloadable content, and we've got plans for more multiplayer levels, character costumes (in addition to the 16 that are available in the core game), and a few other game-enhancing surprises, which we'll distribute through Xbox Live. In fact, a new multiplayer level should be available on Xbox Live Marketplace upon release of the game; we're planning to have a good time keeping the game fresh well after its initial release.

GSUK: Thanks for your time.