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Toy Bot to grapple onto PSP Minis and DSiWare?

He may be small but his appeal is broad

Toy Bot to grapple onto PSP Minis and DSiWare?
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| Toy Bot Diaries

IUGO's three Toy Bot Diary games were some of the first to demonstrate the fun of physics-based platforming on iPhone and iPod touch.

Over on PocketGamer.biz, lead designer Kyle Maglio has been explaining the inspiration behind the games, how they were developed and what's happening next with the Toy Bot universe.

"IUGO is ... working hard to develop several IP groups that can be expanded upon," he says.

"And you may see Toy Bot on other portable and mobile platforms in the future. We think his appeal is broad and the games would transfer well onto other devices."

We'd certainly think the games could work well released through Sony's Minis program for the PSP, always assuming the iPhone's accelerometer and touch controls could be neatly converted to joypad or D-pad. DSiWare would involve a more complex redesign of course, but it could be done.

And the fact all three games would likely be bundled together would provide gamers with a stack of content.

As for the game's name, Maglio says that was happenstance.

"In a kick-off brainstorming meeting, the lead programmer handed me a document that said "Game Title: TBD." It seemed curious. I thought to myself, "marketing loves recognisable acronyms," and mentioned that TBD seemed like a good game acronym," he explains.

"Just before the meeting, the lead artist showed me a robot concept he was working on - one that looks very much like the Toy Bot we know and love today - so I already had that in my head. When I said, "What about Toy Bot Dexter?," Sarah Thomson, our director of business development, quickly followed up with "Toy Bot Diaries." And the rest is history."

You can read the full interview - Well-oiled machine: The making of Toy Bot Diaries - over on PocketGamer.biz.

Jon Jordan
Jon Jordan
A Pocket Gamer co-founder, Jon can turn his hand to anything except hand turning. He is editor-at-large at PG.biz which means he can arrive anywhere in the world, acting like a slightly confused uncle looking for the way out. He likes letters, cameras, imaginary numbers and legumes.