| It’s Not Just Freestyle Jet Skiing – It’s Wave Rally! Are You Ready for This? by The Badger If Whether you’re a Jet Ski enthusiast, or a You may know Jet Ski, but are you ready to 1. The GZWave Engine has helped give Wave Rally an incredibly realistic and detailed look. What aspects of this process are you most proud of or feel are most impressive? Was there anything surprisingly difficult to capture when translating reality to virtual-ity? We have put in many efforts into creating the most beautiful and realistic waves ever seen on any video game. The GZWave engine has enabled us to create real-time reflection, real-time refraction and realistic water physics. Our water technology is the best one there is on the market. Producing water effects has been very difficult in video games but since the arrival of the PlayStation 2, we have been able to do a lot more to improve the looks and the physics of water. As the hardware gets more advanced, we look forward to creating the ultimate water technology. 2. How did you approach the research of freestyle jet skiing for Wave Rally? What kinds of experiences did you feel helped you or influenced you most when creating the game mechanics and physics of the tricks? We had a professional Jet Ski rider as our consultant in making the game. Also, we watched dozens of freestyle videotapes and we even went to the beach to try out the watercraft. Since the development team had to continue with the development of the game, they were restricted from pulling the risky tricks like barrel rolls and Super Monkeys.
With the advancement of the hardware, it has become easier to recreate realistic watercraft graphics and actions. However, we realized that making the physics of the watercraft as real as possible did not necessarily guarantee a fun playing experience. At the end of the day, real watercraft racing is different from playing a watercraft game on a console. We just found a good balance between the two to maximize the true fun nature of personal watercraft racing, in this case JET SKI racing. 4. Can you tell us a little about the various game modes available for Wave Rally? How will the goals vary from mode to mode? We have 5 different game modes: Arcade, Championship, Time Trial, 2 Player VS and Freestyle. In Arcade and Championship, you will be competing against seven other riders. Arcade mode will provide a good challenge for new players while Championship mode will test veterans with a circuit featuring twice as many courses. During each race, players will need to judge the proper timing to corner buoys and find the shortest path possible to become number one. In Time Trial, players will be racing against time. Records can be set for each course here. In 2 Player Mode, we give players the opportunity to go head to head with their friends, and even taunt them by pulling off some cool moves. In Freestyle mode, players will be able to really show off what they’ve got. The freestyle moves are based on extreme tricks and the replay mode is just awesome. It is so real that you will wet your pants.
5. What kinds of obstacles will jet-skiers face in Wave Rally? Will obstacles remain true to life, or will there be some surprises that real-life jet-skiers may not have to face? Will the courses follow a similar realism? The obstacles include boats, floating timber and ice, wooden stakes, and of course the other riders trying to knock you off your watercraft. We included extreme courses like the inside of an underground Japanese Cave. Not only will players have to deal with the other competitors, they will also have to be able to avoid the stalagmites and stalactites that the changing tide reveals. 6. How did the idea of Wave Rally come about? Had you worked on other titles of the same genre in the past? If so, what did Wave Rally do to “shake-up” any what previous experiences might have taught you? If not, what did Wave Rally add to your game work repertoire? The watercraft-racing genre hasn’t had a standout title since Wave Race first came out on the N64 a few years ago. Similar titles are currently being released, but we are confident that Wave Rally will be the one to take the water-racing genre to the next generation.
7. What kinds of characters will gamers choose from? Will you also be able to choose from various models of Kawasaki jet-skis? Are they any other customizable items to make each experience more unique? There will be 8 “human” riders from across the world, but we will have some secret characters as well. There are also two types of Kawasaki JET SKIs: the Kawasaki 750 SXi Pro, which is a stand-up watercraft and the Kawasaki Ultra 150, which is a sit-down model. They both have different physics and can be customized for speed, handling, etc. 8. What kinds of information/samples/props did Kawasaki and Jet Pilot provide to help bring realism to Wave Rally? How did they work with the development team to more easily integrate their worlds in the world of Wave Rally? With the tremendous help from Kawasaki UK and Jet Pilot, we were able to further enhance the realism of the game. They have given us advice and information to recreate their product digitally. The helmets are ARAI helmets and ARAI even made a WAVE RALLY helmet just for us!! There is only one of this in the UNIVERSE!
9. Dodging obstacles, taking ramps to perform gravity defying tricks, jumping the biggest waves around. There are some of the most alluring, and perilous, prospects of the freestyle Jet-Ski world. How much of a beating will characters be able to take at the hands of Mother Nature and other dangers, and how will your longevity be measured? Players will be able to customize the stats of their vehicles. One such stat is the “Grip” rating, which determines how much punishment the players can take before being tossed out of their machines. Players will have to discover for themselves the ideal balance of stats to adjust. Some courses with many obstacles will benefit from a high “Grip” rating, while others with longer straight-aways (like the Venice Canals) will benefit with a higher “Engine” top speed. 10. How challenging was it to create a game that would not only appeal to experienced jet-ski fanatics to virtual thrill seekers? Are there any control/configuration options to contour to various skill levels, or does the game start more pick-up-and-play with increasing difficulty as you We give gamers a choice of control configurations that best suit their game. Difficulty ramps up considerably depending on the weather and wave activity levels of each course. As mentioned before, it was difficult to find the fine line between an arcade and simulation game. Our goal is to maximize the racing spirit and the adrenaline rush that you get from racing digitally on a console. By accomplishing this, the balance of the game naturally became right for experienced riders as well as virtual thrill seekers. The game brings out the realism of watercraft racing yet also incorporates the fun elements of an arcade game. 11. Any word on future projects, both set-in-stone and in your “wish-list”? Is there anything that you did with Wave Rally that has whetted your taste for future adventures? Some things are best kept secret but I can tell you one thing. WATER!! The Badger would like to thank the |
