We were fortunate enough recently to chat with Hou Chen - a member of the brand new Chinese game developer working on its first DS release.

GDN: You say that the script is based on "some classical fairytales", but where did the original idea for Matchman originate?
TF-H: The idea was inspired by a GIF animation consisting of black and white line drawings. This GIF animation is about a fight between two cartoon characters, filled with exaggerated weapons and kung fu fighting. It is very impressive and funny. It is a very newfangled idea to express this kind of style on NDS. So, we have started doing this. And by using the classical fairytales as the background it enriches the humorous factors. The characters or stories from fairytales will be acting as an extra spice, but it is not the main ingredient.

(We suspect he’s refering to Xiao Xiao, which will be very exciting for fans of the classic Flash animations. - Ed.)

GDN: Why did you decide to make this game a side scrolling shooter rather than a different genre?
TF-H: The reason why we designed this game as a shooter was our original intention to create a game featuring unique manipulation. This manipulation will utilize the touch screen a lot - for instance some ballistic weapon’s launching depends on drawing a parabola on the lower screen. Due to this idea we decided to make a shooter game.

GDN: Who designed the look of the game?
TF-H: Once the basic design was determined, our graphics team started to realize the ideas on the computer. The black and white line drawing style looks so simple, but there were still some problems that emerged. One of them is the game looks too plain, even hard to tell the differences between characters. Finally, we found way to solve it. We added some comic styles to the original black and white line drawing to make the game look vivid, meanwhile the original style was retained.
The game combining black and white painting and this comic style looks a bit old-fashion. Therefore, the expression with black, white and grey is a big challenge to our graphics group, but we have been bold with our attempt and we believe it works well.

GDN: The idea to find alternative ways to kill bosses has been hinted on before in such games as Shadow of the Collossus on the PS2. How does your system differ from that?
TF-H: One of the sale-points is the ‘boss’. There are about 40 different bosses in Matchman, majors and minors. Ways to defeat bosses vary. Players are not going to keep shooting from beginning to the end. They need to us different means and techniques to defeat the bosses.
The essence of this game is humour. Our daily life inspired us, and most of our crew members are cartoon fans, so we extracted some excellent ideas from both. It is undeniable that some ideas were brought from and by other classical games.
Shadow of the Collossus is an ex-ordinary action game, but the differences are so obvious, because Matchman is a shooter game. What we emphasised is interesting scenario designs and unexpected boss fighting. Thus, an overly complicated gameplay system was avoided.

GDN: A lot of games nowadays are of a very small/short in length when it comes to finishing the game. How long on average does Matchman take to get through?
TF-H: Players can go through the entire game in 5 to 8 hours (normal difficulty), and within two weeks can challenge the highest difficulty. In addition, players who enjoy multi-network game mode will spend more time on net game mode.
There are 9 major scenarios involved in this game, and every major scenario includes 3 minor scenarios. The average time spent on each minor scenarios will be 15 to 20 minutes.

GDN: What is the best unique feature of this game and why?
TF-H: Matchman’s main feature is on the graphic style and controls.
Using touch screen to operate weapons is the main difference than many others.  For example, launching an arrow divided by pulling a string, aiming and launching. You might not be used to it when you first start however; getting familiar with this operation, you will soon feel great about it. To control ballistic trajectory with multi-angles has never appeared in a shooter game before. I believe you will develop a real passion for this mode after your first experience.
The old fashion cartoon design will be very nostalgic for many gamers. Matchman might be the game with most number of bosses you’ve ever seen. There are nearly 40 different bosses to challenge; and every boss fighting has unique features and fun, because to fight the boss until its life is exhausted will never appear in this game.

GDN: Tell us a bit about yourselves and your gaming history leading up to Matchman.
TF-H: TF-H is a freshman in the domain of console games. However, we own the 3D engine developed by ourselves, and we have a few game development projects. Therefore, we are confident about the quality of our games. Our goal is to produce innovative games and to bring more fun to people.
The reason we choose NDS as our first console game development is that we are interested in it, and we have done a lot of preparation. We are confident that we can bring game fans an excellent DS game.


GDN: There aren’t too many major gaming producers emerging from Chinese shores yet. Do you see yourselves as a sort of beacon to light the way for other potential developers to follow suit?
TF-H: Mainstream in the Chinese game industry is PC-Online games; on the other hand, development of console game remains blank. There must be a lack of experience bothering other developers. When qualified game developers learn more about both hardware and software of console, a first class game can be presented.
It is our pleasure and honour to be involved in the first wave of Chinese original developers of console games. We hope we can present our capability to the whole world through our excellent games and software. Meanwhile, I like to think we’re encouraging more Chinese game developers to get into this domain.

GDN: Does Matchman have the potential to get a sequel or is it going to be a one off game for you?
TF-H: We are already working on the continuation of Matchman. That is a different type of game, and the platform could well be the Wii.

GDN: The "Commuter" mode is quite a novel addition to the game. Who came up with the idea for that and was it indeed because they were on a commute and needed a hand to keep hold of their coffee?
TF-H: Mobility and portability are the most appealing aspects of handheld game consoles.  For the case of “Commuter” mode, this term could be explained in another term - “single hand” mode. In most Asian communities, people are taking very busy public transportation for their travel between work and residence. The way is long and boring, sometimes even insufferable. So, why not play some games to pass this time? But, trembling busses will not allow you to use both of your hands. Thus, the idea named “Commuter” came out. That means you can play a game by one hand, while still holding the rails on the bus for keeping your balance. If you want, you can also play a game when holding a cup of coffee!