ilomilo

Our friends at the superb gamingblog GalaxyNextDoor asked me a few questions about ilomilo.

Brazilian videogameblog multitap interviewed me the other day.
If you can read portuguese Click here for to read the interview!

Even if you can’t read it, you should head over anyway as there are some new screenshots there.

Want to read the interview in english?
Why, here it is then:

Where did the inspiration for ilomilo and its art style came from?
Inspiration comes from a lot of places. It can be from everyday things
but I’m also inspired by artists such as Hundertwasser and Klimt.
There’s a lot of inspiration drawn from the world of animation. For
example i’m a big fan of hedgehog in the fog, cheburashka and russian
winnie the pooh.

What does “ilo” and “milo” mean? What are they?
ilo and milo are names, and ilo and milo are whatever you want them to
be. I like to think of them as represantions of two peoples minds.

What’s the main objective on every level? Is there an “end spot” to reach?
The main goal is to unite ilo and milo wherever possible on the level.
There’s no “end spot”.
There’s also other stuff to do on the levels, such as collecting stuff
to unlock secret things and stories.

Is there any difference in gameplay between ilo and milo?
They play exactly the same.

How many levels there will be in the game?
About fifty, including the super hardcore bonus levels that features a
lot of fun stuff that we haven’t shown yet!

Is there some kind of plot, story mode? What is it about?
There is a story yes. In fact there are several stories told in
different ways, on different consciousness levels.
But we would like the players to find out for themselves when playing
the game.

In the last trailer for ilomilo, you show some kind of 8-bit ilomilo.
Is that just a minigame, or maybe a standalone title (for XBLA)?
You’re talking about ILOMILO SHUFFLE!
It’s a minigame that you find somewhere within the main game. It’s more
of an action oriented game than the main game. It also has it’s own
leaderboard!

The game seems too cute, at the same time complex for little kids. Who
are you aiming to?
Everyone that likes fun experiences. To get through the main story is
probably not too complex for not so experienced players. But if you want
to unlock everything, play all the bonus levels and such you have to be
pretty clever. So there’s hopefully something in ilomilo for players of
all skill levels.

Certainly this is not the first new IP Southend is creating and
developing, but you have been more famous with remakes like Lode Runner,
R-Type Dimensions and Tecmo Bowl Throwback. What are the difference
between working in a new IP and a licensed game?
There’s a lot of differences. The bigges one is that there is of course
greater freedom when working with your own IP. Since we’re creating this
world by ourselves we set the rules on what is fitting in the universe
and stuff like that.

Most games from Southend Interactive are for Xbox LIVE Arcade. Another
one is being developed for Windows Phone. What about making or porting
games for iPhone or PSN (at least a PSP Minis)? Maybe WiiWare?
Tecmo Bowl was actually released for PSN, so we have experiences from
other consoles. There’s nothing specific going on for the platforms you
mention, but surely it would be fun to work with either some day.

Any news about the release date for ilomilo, or how much it will cost?
Releasing this year, that’s all I can say! We’re hoping to be able to
offer it at an affordable price point, but in the end it’s all up to the
publisher.

Besides the new trailer unveiled a few days before, I haven’t heard
from ilomilo or Southend Interactive at E3. Maybe you will show ilomilo
(and other games?) at gamescom?
There’s no specific plans at this moment, but ilomilo might be shown on
some upcoming events this summer and fall. We’ll have to wait and see.