Interview: James Montagna Talks About His Wii U Exclusive Dodge Club Party - Article
by Tyler Treese , posted on 19 April 2016 / 4,692 Views
James Montagna continues to have a busy 2016. Earlier this year he released Sour Buddies for mobile, and is now back with another unique title for Nintendo Wii U. Called Dodge Club Party, this multiplayer-centric title looks to build upon the most popular mini-game in his previous Wii U release, Dot Arcade.
To find out more about this recently released Nintendo Wii U exclusive, I spoke with developer James Montagna.
Tyler Treese: Last year you released a collection of mini-games on Wii U called Dot Arcade. One of the highlights was Dodge Club, a simplistic fast paced action game where the goal is to not get touched by other objects. Now you're releasing Dodge Club Party, how does it build upon the original game, and what can gamers expect from the multiplayer-centric gameplay?
James Montagna: When Dot Arcade was released on the Nintendo eShop last year, it was apparent that Dodge Club was a common favorite among the set of games. I'd like to say this prompted development of a multiplayer game, but the truth is Dodge Club Party was in the works long before that release. What began in 2011 as an installation to tour around different venues, Dodge Club Party takes the simple intensity of the basic game, and adds the magic element of friends — suddenly, you're bumping into your friends, yelling at each other, and competing or strategizing together… depending on how you like the play!
TT: Once again, you're releasing one of your projects on Wii U. Do you feel like Dot Arcade has given you a good feel for how the game will do commercially, and how does Dodge Club Party take advantage of the system's unique features?
JM: More than anything, Dot Arcade gave insight. It was valuable to experience the process of independently releasing on a Nintendo platform. That really helped Dodge Club Party development run smoothly! And if a quirky experience like Dot Arcade could perform well, it felt like a good sign to keep it going.
To make Dodge Club Party special for Wii U, we've included a mode called 5P PANIC. In it, the player with the Wii U GamePad becomes the enemy fireball that everyone has to dodge! It's a riot to see how this mode suddenly builds camaraderie between the players, all trying to take down the player "with the power", so to speak. It is, in my opinion, the most thrilling way to enjoy the game.
TT: Like Sour Buddies, Dodge Club Party is a game that has been an idea of yours for quite some time as Dodge Club was originally released in 2007 as part of the gamma256 festival by Kokoromi. When did you decide that it would be fun to add multiplayer to the experience, and how has the game changed over the years?
JM: Indeed, the whole reason Dodge Club exists in the first place is due to Kokoromi's 2007 festival that challenged entrants to create a game with unusual pixel resolutions… so Dodge Club is almost 10 years old! As for how the experience has evolved in this time… 2011, I had the opportunity to exhibit a game at a local night club, so that's specifically why I created the multiplayer version; Dodge Club Party. The game then toured around at festivals and other venues until 2014, which was the only way one could play it. 2015, an LED style version of Dodge Club appeared in Dot Arcade. Finally, 2016 brings us Dodge Club Party in a way everyone can now enjoy, on Wii U, along with its mobile game companion, Dodge Club Pocket. It's a storied history for such a simple concept!
TT: You've also released a companion app for the game on iOS and Android called Dodge Club Pocket. Despite being free, it features 60 mini-games that are designed within the Dodge Club framework. How did you come up with the idea of fleshing out the single-player experience, and what kind of twists can players expect from it?
JM: Dodge Club Pocket is actually the most robust Dodge Club experience of all, despite the impression that it might be a smaller game. The idea was to first release a free game to familiarize people with the concept before releasing its multiplayer little-sister of a game on Wii U, Dodge Club Party. It also has worked as a unique method to promote that game to a wide audience!
Personally, I realized there's a lot fun that can be had in a 16x16 pixel space, and wanted an avenue to explore what kinds of crazy places we could take the basic concept. I won't give away too many of the twists in Dodge Club Pocket here. But my favorite is a set of "Arcade Game" challenges that turn Dodge Club into a space shooter, a Pac-Man game, and a hop-and-bop platformer!
TT: Was there ever any consideration of bringing the Dodge Club Pocket content to Wii U, or do you feel like it's much better off on mobile?
JM: Dodge Club Party is intentionally presented as authentic as possible to the installation experience, so the crazy remixed Dodge Club game style feels best presented separately. I also like the idea of having a more personal version of the game to play, right in your pocket. That being said, I would love to bring Dodge Club Pocket to Nintendo 3DS. Perhaps I'll have news on that someday! Feel free to follow me on Twitter and I'll keep everyone posted.
TT: Since this is a multiplayer game you've shown the game off at several parties in the past. Did the positive reaction from these events encourage you to bring the game to Wii U, and how glad are you that more people can experience Dodge Club Party? I know you've spoken about your hesitancy to release this to the public before.
JM: It's certainly satisfying to visit events where your game is being exhibited, just to see players cheering and laughing over it. I think the extreme simplicity of the Dodge Club concept opens it up to anyone just tuning in and be able to root for players.… and it's a great feeling! In fact, it's one that had players often asking me where they could get the game for themselves. So I thought for a while about how to make that happen, yet questioned if the game has the same impact in a living room setting as opposed to an enormous projector installation. I also wondered if people would "get it", and see the appeal without the right context. For that reason, I almost didn't release Dodge Club Party at all.
In the end, I decided not to get caught up in opinions or doubt — it's more important people have a chance to perhaps capture some of the joy the game has brought to its public displays.
TT: There's a video floating around online from one of the aforementioned events where you were showing off the game. In the video, which somehow has not gone viral yet, a very angry lady goes on an amazing rant about gaming. Have you ever experienced anything else that crazy when showing off one of your games, and do you think she'll be downloading Dodge Club Pocket?
JM: Oh my God. I'm not sure what possibly tops that occurrence! I think she was upset that we are just a bunch of rowdy kids, and she couldn't understand what was going on. Admittedly, I was being a smart ass, but also did genuinely not want her to feel excluded. One of her many amazing quotes made it in Dodge Club Pocket as a small Easter egg, but perhaps she'll sadly never know. Apparently she is doing well though — a friend recently spotted her at our local liquor store.
TT: Despite the game world consisting of just pixels, there is some gorgeous promotional art out there for Dodge Club Party. Do you feel like one of the advantages to having a simple style is that players can interpret the on-screen gameplay in such different ways?
JM: Absolutely. When I grew up playing NES games, despite the low fidelity of the visuals on screen, I would picture entire worlds and scenarios in my head. Using imagination in this way can be even more immersive than anything else. I could almost feel the heat of the explosion, as Bill Rizer jumped off a crumbling bridge in Contra. In past interviews, I've spoken a bit on how games that rely on player imagination is kind of a lost art. With Dodge Club, players can rationalize the action on screen how they choose. If I had to sum it up, it's like richness of reading a book versus watching a movie. The external Dodge Club art exists to help facilitate imagination, not dissimilar from the sole visual provided by the cover of a novel.
I've had the utmost honor of working on a number of games with my friend Lindsay Collins, and she's one of my favorite artists. And the charm and personality she's brought to the Dodge Club Party characters is my absolute favorite of her work so far. It motivated me to work harder on making this game happen. It even inspired me to imagine the universe deeper, so I put in extra care to write profiles for each character in the eManual of the game as a result. We even have a set of digital trading cards to collect based on the characters, just because!
TT: Tell us why gamers should pay the $1.99 cover charge to go to the Dodge Club Party!
JM: Together, myself, artist Lindsay Collins, musician Tommy Pedrini, and programmer George Mathews, have worked hard to lovingly craft this experience for everyone. The goal was to create something simple that would brighten up gatherings between friends with a game to idly and casually play… as well as to incite competition, laughter, and most of all fun. Make no mistake, this is an absurdly simple game! But with a crowd of friends and a Wii U on hand, just turn it on and give it a try to see how a simple game can suddenly transform the mood around you. That's the party vibe that Dodge Club Party is all about!
Dodge Club Party can be found on Twitter over at @DodgeClubParty, while James Montagna can be found at @JamesPopStar. More information about the game can be found on its official website, and on the Nintendo store. Dodge Club Pocket can be downloaded for free on Apple's store.
