With over 8 million downloads already chalked up on mobile platforms, the success of the Tiny Trooper’s franchise thus far has led it a merry dance to PlayStation platforms when it launches on PS3, PS4 and PS Vita late October.
Created by Finnish developer Kurouki Mobile Entertainment, who has teamed up with Wired Productions for the PlayStation port, the twin-stick arcade shooter is an amalgamation of Tiny Troopers and Tiny Troopers 2: Special Ops and will be available as part of the PlayStation Cross-buy initiative.
We hooked up with Senior Producer of Wired Productions, Kevin Leathers to learn more.
PSU: This is the first time that the Tiny Troopers franchise has appeared on PlayStation platforms, but you’ve already experienced great success on iOS and Android with Tiny Troopers 1 and Tiny Troopers 2: Special Ops. For those who haven’t played the previous games, can you tell us a little about what type of game it is and what this specific version brings to PS3, PS4 and PS Vita?
Kevin: Tiny Troopers Joint Ops is a top down twin-stick shooter featuring nearly 60 missions. It is a pick up and play game, with great replay value that will have you playing for hours. It is loosely based on real world military events, but in a very light and humoured way. The Heroes are these tiny soldiers of great character and charm. The player sets about very specific missions, ranging from destroying enemy buildings, to escorting journalists, to taking over enemy bases. Oh, and there is a special ‘Kill All Zombies’ mode, just for fun.
Tiny Troopers Joint Ops combines the best elements of Tiny Troopers 1 and Tiny Troopers 2: Special Ops in one game and makes them cross-compatible, so any progress you’ve made in one game with your soldiers will be reflected in the missions for the other game. We have also have included the ability to start the missions from either game, split into Soldier (TT1) and Spec Ops (TT2) campaigns, though we recommend starting with the Soldier campaign to get the most out of the story.
PSU: Unlike many traditional twin-stick shooters, players move around the battlefield in a squad formation. Can we expect a class-based system with each squad member having a different set of skills and attributes? And will we be able to unlock further recruits as we progress?
Kevin:The number of soldiers you have in your squad will depend on the mission that you are currently playing at the time. Some will be solo missions, while others may have two or three soldiers (there is typically a maximum of 3 soldiers at any one time, however in some cases you are able to call in additional troopers, such as the medic to increase the total to 4). In these cases the soldiers are the same, though they can level up if they survive each mission giving minor stat boosts. Should you lose a soldier during the mission however you lose them permanently and any boosted stats they gained. You can revive them, but this is limited, so you have to be careful with your soldiers and careful who you revive.
For some missions you can hire Specialists. These soldiers can be hired once per mission and they come with their own unique abilities. Some come with extra secondary weapons from the mission start, the medic heals the team while moving and others come with heavier weaponry. The Specialists also become a special fourth member of the squad to add that extra bit of firepower. More Specialists can be unlocked by using medals which are found in most levels. However there are only so many of these in the game and you need medals if you want to revive your soldier, so you need to be careful where you use them.
PSU: With progression measured via a levelling up system, what can we expect in terms of new challenges and additional features as we complete levels?
Kevin: As mentioned, the soldiers in the game can permanently die and lose any boosted stats they gain. It won’t affect any upgrades you have done, but losing that extra boost can make a difference in later levels.
New features we have added include a new story with some great cut scenes, as well as the implementation of Cross-Save and Cross-Buy with shared online leaderboards for the games Zombie mode as well.
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PSU: What collectibles and customisation options can players expect in the game?
Kevin: One of the fun collectables in the game will be the unlocking all of costumes for the soldiers. Not only do they give a new look to your squad they can also boost some attributes as well. The Urban costume gives the soldiers a blue fatigue look while also reducing the enemy’s observation range. Unlocking all of these will take a fair amount of time.
There are also a range of items to collect during missions including dog tags, cans of drink for added health and speed and even collecting enemy bombs. Each item gives the player extra Command Points to spend in game to unlock upgrades and supplies for your soldiers.
PSU: What kind of weapons can players look forward to in Tiny Troopers: Joint Ops?
Kevin: In addition to the trooper’s rifles, players can use rockets, grenades and even call in air strikes! The troopers standard equipment can be upgraded with the use of Command Points (obtained when completing missions) and they can also call upon a range of specialist mercenaries such as Airborne troopers (equipped with rockets), a Medic (to automatically heal other troopers), a Machine Gunner (for those missions that require a lot of firepower), a Flamer (a flame throwing trooper effective against both infantry and hard targets), a Gatling Gunner (packing a heavy punch) and finally, the elite Delta Force (equipped with 3 air strikes).
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PSU: It must have been challenging coming up with 50 mini-maps (campaigns) each with a different design and look. Can you tell us a little about the various environments and challenges we’ll face?
Kevin:We have a variety of different mission types in Tiny Troopers Joint Ops. These range from wiping out the enemy within the area, to rescuing prisoners of war or defending an area against waves of attacks. My favourite mission types are the Jeep missions, where the you need to fulfil the objective in an ‘on-rails’ Jeep with a massive machine gun. It mixes up the gameplay nicely and offers something different.
The game will also take you through different locals including desert areas, snow toped mountains and urban environments.
PSU: We’re delighted to learn that Tiny Troopers Joint Ops is not only a cross-buy game but also features cross-save functionality. We’re surprised that more developers don’t implement this popular scheme. Why do you think that is? Is it a costly, or complicated process?
Kevin: I think it is a mixture of things. Tiny Troopers Joint Ops is coming to PS4, PS3 and PSVita and syncing online rankings, trophies and creating Cross-Save between all three games is quite a complex process. Not only that but you are paying for three games development and selling them as one. Thanks to the Unity3D engine being used, we have managed to get the development of Tiny Troopers Joint Ops finalised a lot more quickly than we were expecting, but it still costs time and money to develop these kinds of functions and make them work with each other.
It would be great to see more games make use of the feature, but I believe you will only really see it in smaller digital games compared to much larger productions purely due to the time and effort that is needed in order to bring these features in line with each version.
PSU: Can we expect any online functionality?
Kevin: Tiny Troopers Joint Ops is purely a single-player experience but we will be including online leader boards for the Zombie mode. Players will be able to post the score and wave they reached in the Zombie mode, with these stats being shared between all formats well.
PSU: Sony has been keen to stress how open it is in embracing the indie scene and making it easy for developers and publishers to create games for its platforms. Can you tell us how you got involved with Sony and how that experience has been?
Kevin: We have been talking and presenting our projects to Sony for a number of years now. They listen, they are knowledgeable, and more importantly are very accessible. They give everyone a chance, and their feedback is really valued. So far it’s been great to work with them.
PSU: The indie development scene has exploded in recent years while some larger studios have crumbled. What have you learned about the industry from the downfall of some popular and successful publishers and developers, and do you think the indie revolution will last?
Kevin:My thoughts are that the term ‘Indie’ does not really apply to the games being released anymore. Yes they are being developed by smaller teams and on smaller budgets but the embracing of digital content have helped the smaller developer stand out and in some cases more than a AAA studio with a multi-million dollar game. I think we have transitioned back to the older way of game development where developers will work on their own ideas and either look to release it themselves or get help from a publisher, be it financial, development or marketing.
It is great that a new breed of developer has come into the world of games and breathed new life into the industry as a whole. There is the danger that the digital store fronts will become like the mobile app stores that are swamped with titles, but I am hoping that because of the extra work needed to get games onto consoles, the quality of these games will remain high and give us plenty of great entertainment to choose from.
PSU: Tiny Troopers Joint Ops is one of the many games that are now available solely as a downloadable title. Do you ever foresee a time when physical retail ceases to exist?
Kevin: There will also be a place for physical releases for games, at the very least for the current generation. While there has been a transition to digital only releases, there are always people, myself being one, who loves to hold the disc of the game and have it sitting proudly on their shelf. That may change in following console generations, especially if services like PlayStation Now take off, but I think for now, especially with larger releases there will also be a demand for physical releases.
PSU: What are your plans after Tiny Troopers Joint Ops? Are you working on any new games?
Kevin: We are currently working on a new title for release called Last Inua –.which started its life as an award winning mobile game, but is now being developed for all PlayStation formats. It is a father and son platform adventure with a real atmospheric game experience, where you play as both the father Ataataq and the son Hiko. Your main role will be to cleanse the spirits who are being swallowed up by the mythical evil. We’re looking forward to announcing more on Last Inua in the near future.
There are a number of other exciting projects in the pipeline, but unfortunately I can’t talk about them at the moment. Hopefully I will be back soon to talk more about these upcoming titles and give you a little insight into what to expect.