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Studio Feature
- Dream-On Studios
(Added 10th September
2003 - By Andrew Blanchard) A
Bit Of Background
Dream-On Studios, which is based in France, arose
from the ashes of the now closed Infogrames Lyon House
Studio. They were in fact, the GameBoy team at Infogrames,
and have been working on and developing games for the
platform since the GBC. On the GBA front, some of the
games that the team has worked on include Lucky Luke
and Mr.Nuts. Aside from games, they are also working
on a 3D engine for the GBA.
Dream-On has also developed an original game called,
Treasure Quest, for the GBA. Unfortunately, just like
the other original games from the other studios that
we've written about, Treasure Quest, might never appear
in your local neighborhood game shop, mainly because
it is virtually impossible nowadays to publish an original
game on the GBA. As we've said before, games like Treasure
Quest often remain as technical demos, and if good or
lucky enough to be commissioned by a large publishing
house, will only serve as the technical framework for
another run-of-the-mill TV or movie tie-in game.
But enough of my grumbling and let's have a peek
instead at some of the titles and technologies that
the Dream-On team are currently working on.
Treasure Quest
"Four pirates - Lovely Stella, Wild Pete, Ol'
Bones and RealHard Will - have decided to go in search
of the 6 fabled treasures of Cutthroat Sam. This mysterious
buccaneer is said to have collected 6 fantastic treasures,
each hidden on a different island. In the taverns, some
even tell that Sam may still be alive through the use
of some kind of black magic, and continues to protect
his booty!"
This is the premise of Treasure Quest, which can
best be described as an action platform game. Dream-On
were kind enough to let us try the game and it's fair
to say that the version we played was quite impressive
and even more so when we were told that it only took
a few weeks to produce and with only three members of
the team actually working on it.
The first thing that hits you about Treasure Quest
is the high quality of animation, which is something
you'll not often see on the GBA. Think Tex Avery, and
you'll come somewhat close to visualizing the range
of exaggerated moves and facial expressions that each
and every character seems to possess. In addition, the
game also boasts of some of the most beautifully rendered
and lush, multi-parallax scrolling backgrounds I've
ever seen.
It doesn't end there either, because even when you're
stationary, there are a variety of spot animations in
the background and foreground to keep the whole game
active and alive. The waterfall, for example, is constantly
flowing with plumes of water vapor exploding from its
base into the air. The artists have also managed to
include a great illusion of depth so that the wooden
platforms strung between two cliff faces have a realistic
feeling of height which immediately increases the element
of danger into the levels.
Our version only allowed us to play as the Lovely
Stella but the final version will also include the three
other pirates. Stella is both athletic and rather good
with a pistol that makes disposing of the natives quick
and painless. Pressing the shoulder buttons gives you
access to bombs as well, which you'll need to defeat
the more persistent assassins. Treasure Quest is not
all platform action either as the final version not
only promises a two player version (with two copies
of the game) but also mini games, which will include
anything from Treasure Hunting to a variety of Beach
Games testing your reflexes, speed and memory. You can
even indulge in the unique sport of Pirate Beach Volley
Ball where up to four players can enjoy the sport with
a single copy of the game.
Mr. Nuts
Later this year will see the release of Mr. Nuts
which is published by Infogrames (now renamed as Atari).
This game is a conversion of the early nineties Super
Nintendo classic although it did make a brief showing
on the GBC. Obviously, the most striking upgrade is
the visuals and if you look closely at the screen shots,
you'll realize just how vibrant and colorful the new
version will be. Mr. Nuts has also seen improvements
in gameplay. Players are now challenged to roam through
six worlds and more than fifty levels of fun-packed
action. The game is scheduled for release in September.
Nascar And The Future?
The Nascar screen shots that you're seeing now isn't
a title that Dream-On is working on, but rather a showcase
for their new 3D engine. Looking at the impressive frame
rate, camera angles and textured models, it's hard to
imagine that everyone used to think that 3D was impossible
on the GBA.
Aside from what we've highlighted, Dream-On have
other projects nearing completion, some with publishers
in place, so hopefully Mr. Nuts is not the last title
that we're going to see from this new but experienced
developer.
Final Words
After my last "Studio Article", even more
GBA titles have been cancelled as publishers deem them
financially unfeasible. Games are still being released
but they're becoming less original, with the majority
receiving only lukewarm critical response and being
awarded average marks. I'm hoping that these articles
will enlighten the millions of GameBoy owners out there
as to the many good and original games that are available,
games like Treasure Quest for example. I'm sure that
if we want, we can make a difference, and in the future,
get to play those games that are fueled by imagination
and originality rather than watered down Hollywood scripts.
Special
thanks to Benjamin Yori
for his help in this feature.
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