ilomilo might still be in development, but the high-score rivalry in ilomilo Shuffle is already ongoing. Not so long ago our office high-score was beaten by tester KCShuffle, but after an heroic effort by our ninja-programmer Jensen the high score was reconquered and our honor restored…well, until next time someone manages to get a better score.
You can beat our high-score, but we will always do our best to beat you back! 
Australian newspaper “The Age” wrote an article about the importance of distinctive visual design in modern games, and ilomilo was brought up as an example. The Age asked Simon for some comments on the subject.
For today’s blogpost we have invited a special guest. Meet Sebastian, a gentleman with “a certain sense for style and fashion” who stars in ilomilo where he gives helpful hints to ilo and milo when he isn’t posing in front of the bathroom mirror or invent new words.
Hello Sebastian, glad to have you here with us. Why don’t you tell us a little about yourself?
Sebastian: Salutations! Who is this marvelous gentleman with an incredible sense for fashion that stands before you? Why it’s Sebastian of course! Listen well to my words and you will go far!
Right…is it true that you live inside a box, or rather a number of boxes that somehow exists in many locations at the same time?
Sebastian: It’s not a “box”, it’s my house! If someone is lost and needs my help, then I will arrive heroically from my house and help them, wherever they may be. It’s that simple. And in case you wonder, it’s actually a lot larger on the inside. How else would I be able to fit my increditastic collection of porcelain horses in there? Laws of physics and logic are such boring concepts anyway.
I’ve heard you know lots of good old stories. Could you tell us one?
Sebastian: I’m afraid I can’t. You see, I save all my good stories for the lost wanderers who find me at certain secret locations. If I was just telling stories all the time I wouldn’t have anything left to tell, now would I?
We couldn’t help but notice you came here on a flying creature. Does it have a name?
Sebastian: Ah yes! That is my majestic flying stallion who carries me around everywhere! A man of my status shouldn’t have to tire his feet by walking, now should he? He doesn’t really have a name, but I can summon him anytime by whistling three signals though my left nostril. I’m feeling a bit allergic today unfortunately, but I should be able to do it nevertheless. Want me to demonstrate?
Umm…perhaps later. Well, thank you for your time, we can’t wait to see you in the game.
Today I will answer some frequently asked questions… and also some less frequently asked questions that I find relevant nonetheless.
—————-
Q: When are you guys going to release ilomilo?
A: It hasn’t been announced yet, but it should be this year at some point.
Q: What formats are you releasing ilomilo for?
A: So far it has only been announced for XBLA, but there is a possibility we will release it for other formats in the future.
Q: I’m a Playstation 3 owner and it doesn’t look like you will be releasing ilomilo for PSN. Does this mean you hate PSN?
A: No, we do not hate PSN. In fact we released Tecmo bowl for PSN just recently so we have nothing against it at all. We always want our games to be available on as many platforms as possible, but those decisions are up to the publishers to make.
Q: Are you planning on making some neat ilomilo merchandise? I want an ilomilo T-shirt and an ilomilo pillow.
A: Yes, so do we! It’s definitly on our to do list. Especially the official ilomilo coffeemug.
Q: Do you think you could release some ilomilo wallpapers?
A: Yes, it’s all a matter of finding an available artist who is up for the task. They are the busy type unfortunately, but we’ll fix it soonish.
Q: Those plushie-ilomilos on the site are awesome. Are they for sale?
A: No, sorry. Those are hand-made and were used in the cutscenes of the game so they have a lot of sentimental value to us. Perhaps we can make some cheaper copys we can sell though.
There’s an earlier post about this here if you’re interested.
Q: Are you making ilomilo for android? I have seen it run on MWC videos.
A: The version of ilomilo shown at MWC was a tech demo we made for Qualcomm so they could show off their snapdragon technology. However it is possible that ilomilo will be released for portable platforms in the future.
Q: Will there be any cool downloadable content for ilomilo?
A: Maybe, if so it will be announced.
Alright, time for some development news! We’ve decided to add some new pickups and collectibles to the levels, such as the memory fragments you can see scattered about on the level in the picture. Collect them and good stuff will happen.
Apart from memory fragments there are records and photos. The photos will unlock pictures from the development process and the records will unlock the in-game music so that you can play it whenever you want. You’re gonna have to find them first though, and that can be quite challenging (Why, you didn’t think we were just gonna give them to you, did you? Sheesh!)
Our friends at the superb gamingblog GalaxyNextDoor asked me a few questions about ilomilo.
I should probably build levels for ilomilo or do something else important, but instead i built ilo and Milo out of nano blocks! It’s kind of like a japanese version of LEGO, only smaller.
Enjoy!
Music is a big part of ilomilo. I love what Daniel has done with the music, and I think it’s time we show you some of his stuff.
First of all!
A new trailer to celebrate the gift of music!
Or download the super high res with deluxe sound by clicking here!
And!
5 songs to listen to or download!
Put them in your mp3 player of choice and dig!
theme of ilomilo
download theme of ilomilo
march of the ilomilos
download march of the ilomilos
me and my paper plane
download me and my paper plane
music school
download music school
sunny days
download sunny days
Tonight:
Southend’s summer barbecue with delicious burgers by Coding Mega Robot Gordon. Wooh!
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.
Yay!
Ilomilo in my favourite videogame magazine Edge!
It should be out now (it has got some shiny cars on the cover). Buy it!
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