Digital Continue co-founder Joseph Tringali talks to FreeGameTips about his development philosophy, which is reflected in his latest title.
A video game is generally a collective work, a product that is born from the talent of its different creators and that combines various artistic disciplines. In larger developments, where hundreds and hundreds of people work, maintaining a unified vision is no easy task. But regardless of the size of the studies, development philosophy forms a kind of DNA that can identify developers. In this creative genome, the Digital Continue studio stands out for offering players tools to create and experiment. Its latest title, SuperMash, fuses genres into one video game that creates other video games.
Joseph Tringali, co-founder of Digital Continue and director of SuperMash, is no stranger to the industry. He worked a couple of years at an editor, but decided to go ahead and create his own studio, 5th Cell, with which he launched Scribblenauts, a quirky pop-up puzzle video game that went on sale on Nintendo DS. The move from 5th Cell to Digital Continue has not broken that will to design innovative products. Now that it launches on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch – it was already available on PC – Tringalli hopes that the concept will spread among users: "I hope that with its release on consoles, people will understand it better," he declares in an interview with FreeGameTips.
Photo: Digital Continue
Innovation and the emerging factor
According to the creative, what they did with 5th Cell was "something very new", because at that time (back in the middle of the two thousand), "there were not many original games." That innovative facet, which has been transferred to his current studio, was born in the heat of the platform. "The Nintendo DS played an important role," he says. By using the stylus, the player was able to "create, touch and paint". So for Tringali it was "one of the smartest consoles" ever created. "Currently, looking at the future of PC and mobile, the emerging is crucial."
Digital Continue draws on the emerging in its video games. In JumpStream, its competitive platforms, the audience builds the levels in real time. Judging from the product's features, one might think that SuperMash is influenced by it, but the reality may be just the opposite: “SuperMash was in development before JumpStream was even a concept. If anything, JumpStream may have gotten some SuperMash inspiration, "reveals Tringali. "I'd say it's more like the DNA of the study. We are very interested in the emerging or unknown gameplay; in players capable of manipulating and choosing what they can create or how it can be done ”.
The most innovative factor of the new Digital Continue is the possibility of merging genres to create something unique. “The space occupied by games is very crowded, so you must have something attractive as a concept. And if it doesn't interest you, it probably won't be interesting to the players. " The idea for SuperMash came after the fall of 5th Cell. “I was reflecting and asking myself a lot of questions about the industry and whether or not to stay in it; also about what it means to make video games ”. After his introspective thinking sessions, he came up with "the folly of designing games with people." According to the developer, the result "sometimes mimics what it is to try different things in design and in balance", the uncertainty that accompanies the creative to discover if his idea has crystallized in the final product.
There is an element of unpredictability in SuperMash. “I am not sitting behind the curtain designing a world, but we put a few pieces and the game chooses them. Maybe with many years and thousands and thousands of dollars you could create an AI that designs wonderful and beautiful games, but this one is simpler. Basically, it takes a few properties and brings them together. The results are sometimes very rare, other times very easy and other times very challenging. " Stresses that sometimes unique experiences arise. This is so for its procedural element.
To share is to live
Another aspect of the video game is its social component. What is the use of creating something if the rest cannot enjoy it. "Part of the fun is discovering these mixes," he says. The developer acknowledges that some users feel that the titles born from the merger are impossible to complete. At the same time, it is that challenge that can encourage sharing and challenge others to play. “What you can do is share it with friends or streamers, challenge them. And then when the person passes it on, I think it's a satisfying time. Being able to share and talk about it is very interesting. "
The criticism, however, was not particularly benevolent when the game came out on PC in December 2019. Tringali points to different reasons. “There were more bugs and bugs, it was less polished than we would have liked. We analyzed and fixed many of these problems, we made things clearer. " He recognizes communication errors that were reflected in the lack of clarity of his message. Still, the study seeks to expand the title with more content. "We're going to add two new genres, but that will come out sometime this year, so it won't be at (console) release. We plan to continue supporting it. This is not a new SuperMash, but a more polished version for a larger audience. I hope people can understand it better. "
Epic Games Store: the advantages of the agreement
Like other studios, Digital Continue was attracted by the conditions offered by the Epic Games Store when launching the platform's video games. Beyond the more equitable sharing of revenue, Tringali stresses that the platform could have prevented launching on consoles. “They have been very generous with their financial support, we are very grateful. They could have even prevented us from launching it on console. There are a lot of things they were entitled to do, but they decided not to take the plunge. This is difficult for people to see. "
The launch of SuperMash on PS4, Xbox and Nintendo Switch has not been delayed by the coronavirus and is now available in digital format. That does not mean that Digital Continue has not had to face problems. "It has slowed things down a bit and a couple of employees got COVID-19," he says. "When you work remotely, communication takes more effort and things slow down." Still, it is not a completely new situation for the developer: “We have people working at home from time to time, so it is not something completely new. I'm personally looking forward to going back, but we'll see when it happens. ”
