Punch-Out!! Post Mortem Interview - Features

Punch-Out!! shipped for Nintendo's Wii not so long ago to much acclaim. And we get to know the title better in this Post Mortem interview with developer Next Level Games that examines what was left out, the useability of the Wii Balance Board, how the the project came together, and so much more.

* Source art by: holyfragger.com

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In this Corner:

The introductions, please: Name, role on Punch-Out!!, how long you’ve been in the industry, and what’s the thing on your desk or in your cubicle that inspires you on a daily basis.

Bryce Holliday, Gameplay Lead on Punch-Out!!

I started in the industry as a Tester 10 years ago at Electronic Arts Canada and have been at Next Level Games for 5 years. Empty game cases litter my desk and remind me of the good and bad times we encounter while creating video games

Ken Yeeloy, Producer on Punch-Out!!

I’ve been in the industry almost 5 years now and all of it here at Next Level Games.

The pix of my kids on my desk inspire me daily!

Chad York, Audio Director on Punch-Out!!

I’ve been working professionally in audio for 18 years and in the industry for just over 3 years with Next Level. I’m inspired by anything that is human and/or organic. I enjoy imperfections and idiosyncrasies from the real world. Whether it be personalities and characters or the sound of real instruments rather than synthesizers.

Round 1: Design

Who approached whom? Did you approach Nintendo with the idea of a new, updated Punch-Out!! or based on the success of the Next Level’s Mario soccer games was it Nintendo that brought the concept to you?

BH: We have worked with Nintendo for more than 5 years now, and in collaboration, we’ve completed three titles during that time. Our working relationship is strong and we often talk about future products during the course of developing the current one. Informal Punch-Out!! conversations started once the Wii was announced and then developed into a collaborative pitch document and

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eventually into a prototype experiment. This organic back and forth between our team and Nintendo allows us to really grow an idea or evaluate a product that we wish to bring to market.

What was the process of selecting the characters that made it into the game?

BH: It came down to name recognition, breadth of their current

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personality, and lastly, the fact that we wanted to have believable boxers (in the cartoon sense) rather than gimmicky caricatures.

Did original Punch-Out!! director Genyo Takeda have much input on how this version of Punch-Out!! turned out?

KY: Genyo Takeda was a supervisor on the project so he did have input on the overall, high level direction of the project.

What was the vetting process with Nintendo like? Based on your previous titles for Nintendo, was there a level of trust and understanding that meant each and every new idea didn’t need to go through four levels of management?

BH: Next Level has a very flat hierarchy for design and production. Any person on our team can add to the collaborative design at any moment. My job as Game Director is to promote this structure as well as make the choices for what gets dropped and what gets added. I measure a person’s idea against the game vision and product pillars that we agreed on with Nintendo at the beginning of the project. Using this measurement tool we can parse through the cool ideas to decipher between the ‘that would be fun, but it’s not Punch-Out!!’ ideas and the ‘how did we forget about that’ ideas. We have monthly milestones and conference calls with Nintendo throughout the project to ensure that our vision and pillars remain intact. Lastly, Nintendo knows and understands fun so they are in continual contact with us from a QA perspective, offering us bug write ups, design changes and testing feedback to ensure that their standard of quality is met.

Were more robust multiplayer features ever explored, like online multiplayer or playing as the other boxers?

BH: Lots of ideas were talked about and some even went into prototyping and experimental phases. At a roundtable about half way through development with the producers from Nintendo we scoped out an online component of the game. This was a tough decision to make, but the best use of resources and budget was in creating a richer game experience by pushing characterization of bosses and increasing hardcore depth. Online modes could wait for the future.

Was there a lot of fiddling with the perspective of Punch-Out!! It’s completely in-line with the previous titles, but was how long did it take to get it just right?

BH: We always knew we wanted the camera to be behind and over the shoulder of Little Mac since that is a hallmark of the series and also the best angle for its side to side puzzle gameplay. It still took some time to gets all the camera cuts, movement and rumble just right, but from the very beginning we stuck with the notion that we need to be behind Little Mac at all times.

What’s one feature of Punch-Out!! that was thrown out due to being unworkable or just not being able to work it into the game due to time considerations?

BH: 3D movement around the ring was explored but was removed because the game no longer has the ‘look’ of Punch-Out!! We wanted the game to be instantly recognizable for the old fans. Next Level was fortunate enough to get all the time we needed to craft the experience you’ve played - if a feature is in the finished game, it’s pretty much how we imagined it.

Every game a development team works on is bound to teach them something. What lessons did Punch-Out!!’s development teach the team?

KY: Bringing back an old IP is not that easy. Understanding and staying focused on what made the original game fun and appealing is the key to success.

One thing that went wrong during Punch-Out!!’s development was….

KY: The development of the head-to-head mode. We started developing it early, struggled to make the gameplay fun and then ended up leaving it for a long period of time before coming back to finish it. I think the resulting time pressure forced us to come up with something that was good for the amount of time we had left in development. I can’t help but think we could have done something better with it had we not stopped working on it for that period of time.

Jamie Ip: There was really nothing that went wrong, but it would have been nice to add more boxers to the game. I know the fans wanted more brand new fighters, but we would’ve had to sacrifice some of the classic characters like Don Flamenco or Bear Hugger for new boxers. I would much rather have a classic character brought to life first before having someone new step in, so I think we made the right choice.

CY: One of the challenges we faced was getting authentic accents during our voice casting. Glass Joe and Don Flamenco were both cast three times before we nailed the Parisian French and Madrid-Spanish dialects we required for their voice assets.

What aspect of Punch-Out!! are you most pleased with?

KY: I’m most pleased with how well we delivered on what fans wanted in the Wii update of Punch-Out!! From all the review feedback and comments in the forums, we seem to have captured the essence of what Punch-Out!! was and kept the IP intact.

Jamie Ip, Game Designer on Punch-Out!!: One of the goals earlier on in production was to make this game meaningful for all types of users. I think we achieved that by offering a wide array of fights. For the fans of the previous Punch-Out!! games, there’s Title Defense, while people new to the series had the Contender portion of the game to help them get up to speed to the Punch-Out!! universe.

CY: I’m happiest with the variety of unique personalities we’ve brought back to life. I think every boxer adds their own special dimension to the recipe of Punch-Out!! of course topped with healthy dose of nostalgia.

Round 2: Character >>>>>>