Your beloved DS-x2.com staff got the opportunity to ask a few questions about upcoming WiiWare title Monsteca Corral, often looked at as a "Pikmin-clone". In this interview, developer Onteca gets the chance to explain why that comparison won't do any justice.


DS-x2.com had the chance to ask company Director of Onteca, Jon Wetherall, a few questions about their upcoming WiiWare title Monsteca Corral. In recent reports, the game was often regarded as a clone of Nintendo's Pikmin for WiiWare. In this interview, Jon explained to us why Monsteca Corral and Pikmin are (totally) different titles, what we may expect from the game and whether we may expect a follow up (perhaps on DSi)...


DS-x2.com: Monsteca Corral is regarded as a "Pikmin-clone" by many. What is your opinion on that? What are the main differences?

Jon: Corral is more freeform than Pikmin. In Pikmin you solve a series of specific puzzles to finish a level. In Corral you have to make more of a judgement about where to run to and when to do certain things but there are many ways to finish a level depending on your personality and play style.

It helps to have a frame of reference when talking about a game, particularly one that some of the parties to the dialogue have yet to play. Pikmin is a pretty good frame of reference to Monsteca Corral - they have many features in common. Of course Pikmin is a classic whose merits are not solely the characteristics it contains but also excellence in execution and presentation.

Corral is a somewhat more action oriented game, faster paced, and simpler. It is also of much smaller scope, and lower production values - as befits an indie developer's debut title.


DS-x2.com: Where did you get your influences for the title?

Jon: The Monsteca universe which has been in development for some time as a shared setting for games. Much work has been done on creating an exciting, living, breathing world with maps, characters, societies, technologies, wildlife and narratives.

You will only get a taste of this in this first game, but it enriches the experience and we are looking forward to doing more with this material in the very near future.

From all over, we all love Pikmin, Lemmings and Worms. But equally we are fascinated by Pokemon and Neopets and the whole collecting thing. From outside gaming we love the Studio Ghibli films such as Spirited Away and Aardman Animation's handmade feel which is encapsulated in the Wallace and Gromitt series.

More recently we have been playing Noby Noby Boy and Flower alot in the office, really anything which avoids the photo-realistic aesthetic.


DS-x2.com: What type of game play modes are available to the player?

Jon: There are twenty levels and a tutorial section. Your main aim is to rescue all the Sdompies from the level but there are bonuses for speed or knocking down flying robots. You can complete by just getting one off but you can then go back and try the level again.

The game is divided into tiers of levels, with a number of achievements up for grabs on each level. Each of which will emphasise different aspects of play.


DS-x2.com: What type of game play elements are there? (like are there things like puzzles, guns etc.)

Jon: Crowd control, combat, exploration, resource gathering, a bit of light stealth and tactical action.

We came to the game with the idea that nothing would die. If the robots catch one of your monsters they will put him in prison and you can rescue him during the level.

If enough Sdompies are gathered together they can knock the robots away or even better throw them in the water where they get stuck.

Generally there is power in numbers if you can gather all your Sdompies nothing can stop you.

Your main aim on a level is to pick up gas bubbles to make the Astro Maggut fly, when you have fed him enough you all get to fly off into the sunset together.


DS-x2.com: Is there any multi player?

Jon: Up to 4 people can play together on the same Wii with each of them controlling part of the herd. Casual drop-in co-op play: up to 4 players can join in, taking control of some of the monsters, but only player 1 has camera controls.


DS-x2.com: From your point of view, would this game work on other platforms (both consoles and handhelds). While we're at it: Any plans to port this game to a device like the Nintendo DSi on DSiWare?

Jon: The game has been built upon the ergonomics of both wiimote and big telly & couch gaming. We will port the game around a range of devices, including DSi, iPhone and PSP but we will need to rethink the gameplay for each device as they have different sized screens and input methods. At the moment we are just concentrating on polishing the play experience on this game but once it is out we will start thinking about ports.


DS-x2.com: What room is there to build a sequel if the game sells well?

Jon: That is an interesting question. There are many features which we have had to drop from the original concept which would fit well into a sequel.

We are particularly interested in the idea of herding a mix of monsters and more likely we would do a new game on a different platform, building on what we've learned from this and reprising some of the themes.