{"id":2173,"date":"2014-08-13T10:33:03","date_gmt":"2014-08-13T08:33:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thegamebakers.com\/?p=2173"},"modified":"2014-09-26T18:48:11","modified_gmt":"2014-09-26T16:48:11","slug":"squids_origins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thegamebakers.com\/squids_origins\/","title":{"rendered":"Squids origins and design"},"content":{"rendered":"

SQUIDS<\/em> was our first game as The Game Bakers, and since its initial release on iOS in 2011, it has lived a good life. It was ported to other platforms (Android and Windows Phone, PC, Mac), had a critically-acclaimed sequel (SQUIDS Wild West<\/em>, 87% average on Metacritic), and was recently released on Wii U and 3DS in the form of SQUIDS Odyssey<\/em>, which compiles the first two SQUIDS<\/em> games with a new chapter and a lot of bonus content.<\/p>\n

\"Squids<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve already discussed the business and financial side of the game<\/a> in a previous article, and in another one, the fact that the game was developed \u00ab in the clouds \u00bb<\/a> with team members all over the world. Now that SQUIDS Odyssey<\/em> is generating new interest in the franchise, I want to delve into why and how we made some our design decisions, when we first conceived SQUIDS<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Like most ideas at The Game Bakers, SQUIDS<\/em> was born at the diner table. The Game Baker\u2019s co-founder Audrey Leprince and I were discussing our mutual passion for octopus, squid and calamari, and what incredible creatures they are. (Not only because they\u2019re tasty!) After a few glasses of wine, we started having fun with the idea of a game called \u00ab Assassin\u2019s Squid \u00bb. It was a good pun but normally this wouldn\u2019t have been a conversation I\u2019d still be thinking about the next morning. This time, though, the idea stuck in my head for a reason I couldn\u2019t identify at the time.<\/p>\n

I had been trying to come up with a new game idea for a while. I knew what game mechanics I wanted to have, but I hadn\u2019t found the framework for them. I knew it would be a tactical game with \u201cteam management\u201d and at least one real time action challenge, like aiming.<\/p>\n

We often pitch Squids as \u00ab Final Fantasy Tactics meets Angry Birds \u00bb, because it\u2019s easier for people to understand, but the true initial references for Squids are Shining Force<\/a> and Cannon Fodder<\/a>: Shining Force for its great character design and T-RPG mechanics, and Cannon Fodder for the team-based tactical action.<\/p>\n

\"Squids<\/p>\n

I already knew how I wanted the game to work on a tactical standpoint, but I wasn\u2019t happy with controls like \u201ctap to move\u201d. I wanted the game to work with a gamepad (I already had a console version in mind), but most of all, I wanted great touch controls. Touch devices require controls to be designed for them, with gestures in mind. With tactile devices you slide, you swipe, you pinch, you spread\u2026 all these interactions are what make touch devices interesting. Buttons are great on a controller, but not on a screen.<\/p>\n

Therefore, with my tactical game in mind, I wasn\u2019t happy with my \u00ab tap to move \u00bb controls. That\u2019s why the Squid shape stuck in my mind: they have tentacles.<\/p>\n

\"Pull<\/p>\n

Pulling tentacles, aiming, throwing, managing strengths, bounces\u2026 Squids brought with them a whole world of game mechanics to add on to a rather niche genre, the T-RPG. With SQUIDS<\/em>, we were deliberately aiming for a casual game\u2014deeper than Doodle Jump, but not as complex as Final Fantasy Tactics. Linking the shape of the character to the controls is the greatest way to achieve accessibility, and it worked: even kids immediately understood how to play.<\/p>\n

From there, I knew I had the pillars of the game (as you can see in this slide from the original creative overview presentation):
\n\"pillars\"<\/p>\n