An interview with the designers of Super Meat Boy

Another interview!  More Wiiware.  This time we get some answers from Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes about their upcoming Wiiware game, Super Meat Boy.  This time I didn’t have to wait a bunch of months to release it.

BA: Was it easier to develop Super Meat Boy compared to the original because the basics of the game have already been addressed in the Flash version?

Tommy: Yes.

BA:  Why buy Super Meat Boy when the flash version is free?

Edmund: Because they aren’t the same game at all.  Super Meat Boy is a totally new game that’s based off the flash version, but nothing from the flash version is being used in the console version.

That isn’t to say if you liked the flash game you wont like the console version, if you liked the flash version of meat boy even a tiny bit, you’re going to cream in your pants over super meat boy, I mean we put the word “super” at the start of the title… fuck, I’d want to throw down cash for that reason alone.

BA: Was it hard developing for both Wiiware and a PC version?  Which version is the definitive?  Will there be any real differences between the two?

Edmund: The definitive edition will be the version that costs the most….

The only real difference between the PC and Wii version will probably be an exclusive unlockable character.  There’s a chance the PC version will come out without an ESRB rating as well, if that means anything to anyone.  Honestly its too early to tell at this point.

BA:  How will the PC version be distributed?

Edmund: The goal is Steam and our personal site in both physical and digital forms.  The physical version will be sold like my collection CD and include special bonus content like concept art, development videos and other lame content that people pack into special edition games.

BA: Will there be DLC?

Edmund: Does Wiiware do DLC?  If it means more money and actually adds to the game then yes we will do it.

BA: Can you give an explanation of the controls?

Tommy: Well to move Meat Boy, you will have to rapidly flail your arms in the direction in which you want to make meat boy run.  To make Meat Boy jump, you have to get the Wii Fit balance board and stand on it, like a stair master.  Then to respawn after dying in a level, the player must connect a second Wii Remote and juggle it successfully 14 consecutive times.  We really want the game to be a challenge.  Also there are standard NES controls.

BA:  Nintendo stated that they may support Flash soon.  Do you think this will help you and the people you work with?

Edmund: No.  Flash sucks for making games, it’s just an easy and effective way to prototype ideas and get your games out to the masses.  If I had the ability to do so I’d only make games in C.

Tommy: Here are my thoughts on Flash: Imagine if some kid was playing in the garage and his friend accidentally hit the garage door opener and the door came down and pinched his head not enough to kill him but to just mess him up a bit.

Then imagine if that kid one day in his adorable fighting spirit decided to make his very own game scripting language and IDE.  I hope Nintendo supports Flash in the capacity of “use it to make animations” not “use it to make games”.  Seriously, think of how many good flash games are out there, then think of how many bad flash games there are.  Making the platform open to everyone isn’t necessarily a good thing (see iTunes AppStore).

BA:  So what really happened with Aether?  It was personal favorite of mine and I would have loved a Wiiware version.

Edmund: I want to do Aether with Tyler, he was the original programmer of the flash version and I think it’s only fair to let him make the console version with me when the time comes.  He’s currently in school but is learning fast and should be able to take a crack at Aether for Wiiware sometime next year.

Aether is also a personal favorite of mine as well, so heres hoping meat boy makes enough money to support its development! BUY MY GAMES!

If you didn’t have enough meat in your system check back on the site later.  We’re not done featuring this WiiWare game.