Interviews

Luc Bernard talks iPhone, Eternity's Child, Defend Mechopolis and making the perfect game

Game-related ramblings from the Anglo-French designer

Luc Bernard talks iPhone, Eternity's Child, Defend Mechopolis and making the perfect game
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iPhone + DS + PSP ...

While you might not have heard the name Luc Bernard before you may well be aware of his last project. Eternity's Child has so far divided gamers the world over, with fans praising its lush 2D visuals and critics attacking its gameplay issues - many of which have since been addressed by the development team.

Following the rather hostile response Bernard received after the launch of the game on the PC download service Steam, the Anglo-French designer (still only a mere slip of a boy at 22) announced he would be reconsidering his role within the video game industry.

Well thankfully for us it's not taken him long to conclude that he still wants to create games. Bernard recently got in touch to confirm that he was in the process of developing a range of titles for Apple's iPhone, and we immediately fired some questions his way.

Pocket Gamer: What tempted you into producing games for the iPhone?

Luc Bernard: When I first picked up the iPhone and played around with it I was struck by just how beautiful a piece of hardware it was. I really love it and I like the fact that you can also carry the games over to the iPod touch, so it's effectively two formats. I don't see it as a rival for the DS so much but I think the PSP's days may be numbered.

What benefits do you see in producing games for the iPhone as opposed to say, the DS or PSP?

To be honest there are no benefits compared to the DS - now the DSi has a 'DS Ware' store on the way it's pretty much the final piece of the puzzle for Nintendo, but the iPhone is without a doubt the best phone to make games for. I believe the DS and iPhone can coexist in the portable market, but like I said I'm not so sure about the PSP's chances.

One of the titles you're working on appears to be similar to Bejeweled – could you tell us what it does differently?

Well you could say that Puzzle Quest is also inspired by Bejeweled yet it's a completely different game! The same thing applies with this title. I don't want to reveal much right now until it's out but you choose different characters with different abilities and then with points earned you can upgrade them, which will change the way you play. There are also different power-ups and bonuses, not to mention an online leaderboard for score tracking.

One of the touches I really like is that with one character you sometimes need to shake your iPhone to succeed. It's a very fun game and I'm quite proud of it – we didn't just do a Bejeweled clone, but took a little inspiration from it and did our own thing.

Another of your games appears to be some kind of fantasy racing title – can you tell us a bit about how that will work?

The working title is Defend Mechopolis (see screenshots above) and it's really an action game - you're just in a vehicle and fighting off other vehicles. You can move the vehicle when you tilt the iPhone and you have to press the screen to attack. What I like about it is the fact that it goes at high speed so it's very fun; it's really mindless entertainment - just kill all the other vehicles that are trying to attack you. This title will also have online leaderboards.

This racer appears to be set in a world that bears more than a passing resemblance to the one seen in Eternity's Child. Is this intentional?

Well, Eternity's Child is the story about the character Angel, but there are a lot of stories and characters that inhabit that world. It's intentional that the games set in that world resemble each other, but each franchise will cover a different genre and feature different characters.

Do you have any other iPhone titles in development at the moment?

Sure - there's this RPG that I'm designing with the director of Eternity's Child sequel. I don't expect that to be finished until end of 2008 but what I can say is that it's set in the same world as Eternity's Child and is about the war between the fictional Landians and these other winged creatures. We're taking our time to design it – the director is doing the game design while I'm sending him ideas, concept artwork and the general story. It will be a nice release for those people who want to know what happened prior to the events in Eternity's Child, but we're still undecided about what platform it will eventually arrive on - if the iPhone looks like the best bet then we'll happily release it on that format.

You've stated that you want your iPhone releases to retail for 99 cents/59p. Do you think this is a viable business model?

I don't think it's a good business model at all; to be honest it's maybe totally insane! However, I want as many people to play the titles as possible. I'm really testing out the market; if people buy the games and we end up making enough cash then well I'll continue with the low price.

There have been reports that you've adopted a more 'hands off' approach to these titles, as opposed to the more involved role you had with Eternity's Child?

That's not entirely true. For these two iPhone games, I'm directing them. For the puzzle game the entire team contributed ideas and we created something really positive, and for Defend Mechopolis it was a kind of similar process. It's mainly for Eternity's Child 2 that I decided not to direct and just produce. There are some other titles I'm just producing or giving advice on, but since I also have a animated TV series to work on now I haven't got as much time for big ambitious video games at the moment, sadly.

Has the relatively hostile reaction to Eternity's Child tempered your enthusiasm for creating games, or has it made you more determined to succeed?

Well, a close industry friend told me to not read any good or bad comments and that's pretty much what I've been doing. You have to take the rough with the smooth - for example, the PC version of Eternity's Child got a very positive review the other day whereas others have been harder on it. To be honest I don't think I should pay attention to just one angry reviewer; Eternity's Child has built up a big fan base with players creating their own levels and modifying the visuals. It's clear that many people like it.

I am determined to succeed and I honestly believe that the quality of these iPhone titles we have in development is excellent, especially when you consider the price we're offering them for. As long as there is a fan community that still like what we do, I think I'll be happy.

Can you confirm that the GBA version of Eternity's Child is going to be given an official release?

Yes. The GBA version was part of the deal when I signed up with Alten8 (publisher of the WiiWare version of Eternity's Child) and they want to release it, possibly on 'DS Ware' and maybe even WiiWare.

Imagine for a moment that you have unlimited resources and can effectively create the video game of your dreams. What would it be?

Well, first off I would take some animator friends of mine that have worked on 2D Disney movies and have them do all the animation – it would be a 2D title, naturally! Seeing as I would have unlimited resources I would probably want to produce it for every platform, but I would do a title that is very much like the recent DS Castlevania games, with a vast world to explore.

The player would have various weird weapons and be able to gain experience, RPG-style, and it would support a four-player co-op mode as well. To be honest my list of things to include is pretty much endless, but basically I would love to do a game like Ganbare Goemon 3 on Super Famicom, which is my favourite game of all time – it's even better than Konami's latest Castlevania offerings, in my opinion.

Assuming your iPhone titles make it on the App Store and sell in decent numbers, what's next for Luc Bernard?

If they sell in decent amounts I think I will do a really big game for the iPhone, because it means it's a good market for the kind of products I want to produce. The funny thing is that I got recently contacted by a publisher to produce a 'DS Ware' game; it's very early so I naturally can't mention any specifics right now but that might have a bearing on what my next project is. Mobile wise, maybe in the future I might do both iPhone and DS Ware games, and cross-port them so nobody misses out.

Our thanks to Luc for his time. We'll obviously report back on his iPhone efforts but, in the meantime, those interested will find Eternity's Child is currently available on PC via Steam, while the WiiWare version is expected shortly and will be published by Alten8.
Damien  McFerran
Damien McFerran
Damien's mum hoped he would grow out of playing silly video games and gain respectable employment. Perhaps become a teacher or a scientist, that kind of thing. Needless to say she now weeps openly whenever anyone asks how her son's getting on these days.