GoNintendo interview - Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots

Our friends at THQ offered up a chance to talk to Robert Blackadder, project director at Blue Tongue Studios, which is working on Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots for the Wii. Being a big cartoon fan, and a long-time Nickelodeon viewer, I couldn’t turn down the opportunity.

You should definitely check the interview out. There might actually be some things that interest you. For example, did you know that classic Nicktoon characters like Stimpy from “Ren and Stimpy” and Rocko from “Rocko’s Modern Life” are in the game?

A huge thanks to Paula from THQ and Mr. Blackadder for making this interview possible!

The following interview was a question/answer session conducted via email.

1. What is the basic story in Nicktoons: Attack of Toybots?

RB: Professor Calamitous is on a quest to be declared the Biggest Genius in a reality game show and creates an army of evil toys based on the Nicktoons heroes, launching them on a multi-dimensional invasion. Only SpongeBob and his Nicktoons pals can defeat their duplicates and foil the Professor’s plan for fame and fabulous prizes.

2. What Nickelodeon characters can we expect in the game?

RB: You can expect to see more characters in this Nicktoons title than ever before, including: SpongeBob SquarePants, Patrick, Tak, Jimmy Neutron, Timmy Turner, Danny Phantom, Samantha Mason, Rocko, Stimpy, Gir, and Jenny XJ9.

3. Are character abilities based on their cartoon traits?

RB: The animation team spent a lot of time researching each character ensuring their personality was captured in every action they perform. In addition, we have some really cool ‘Hero Zones’ that showcase the powers of SpongeBob, Tak and Danny Phantom.

4. How do you go about deciding what moves will work for each character?

RB: For the Toybots, we placed the characters in a fast paced platform game, so the focus isn’t on combat moves. With that said, we worked hard to ensure all of the attacks reflect the personality of the character.

5. Is this a game solely for people that watch the Nickelodeon cartoons?

RB: Not at all. Blue Tongue is dedicated to making great games. With Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots, we wanted to develop a platform game that every fan of the genre would find challenging and enjoyable.

6. What are you doing to make the experience enjoyable for everyone?

RB: We spent a lot of time developing a game that fans of all the Nickelodeon shows will enjoy while playing as their favorite character and added funny cut-scenes and one-liners throughout the game. Our focus was to make a great platform game without compromising the game experience for any age group.

7. Will the voice actors from the various cartoons be reprising their roles for the game?

RB: We used original voice talent for the game as often as possible. It’s important to the fans that we use the original voice-overs in the game to maintain the brand’s authenticity.

8. What type of game is Nicktoons: Attack of Toybots at its heart?

RB: Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots is a full on action platform game with fast paced jumping, ducking, rolling, bouncing, fighting and sliding. There are also the Mech levels in which the heroes blast their giant evil toy duplicates. These are all brand-new features for this year’s Nicktoons title.

9. Is it hard adapting so many licensed characters into one property, or is it made easier because of the wide range of characters/locations to work with?

RB: No doubt that it is challenging to meld the various shows into one storyline and visual look. The Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots story made it easier because most of the action takes place in an insane evil toy factory run by Professor Calamitous. Since the evil toy factory is our creation, we developed the look for those levels, making the process easier.

10. How will the Wii’s unique control scheme be taken advantage of?

RB: In Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots, we made use of the Wii Remote to:

- create an interactive experience in the Mech combat levels, using it to aim

- shoot at targets while navigating through each level.

11. What are you hoping players take away from the game?

RB: I hope players have a great time playing the game. Younger players will be able to build their gaming skills on this title and older players will find it to be a fun challenge. If you are a Nicktoon fan, you will have a blast playing your favorite characters. If not, you will have fun with a challenging platform game, and I bet you end up liking the characters too.