How do you guys think this game will be?

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Cul 6? :p

what is this game about? and what genre is it shotter, rpg, ???

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 I PR1M3 TiM3 I wrote:

what is this game about? and what genre is it shotter, rpg, ???

Well it seems to be a game-full-of-mini-games type deal here. You apparently play as animals and you've got to beat these mini games to be the best. Sounds really terrible. It could've been wildly hilarious with a name like that.

It is by the maker of Stubbs the Zombie (worked on Halo 1 as well). Means it should be funny and likely better than it looks. Still can't get past the Budget title/ Arcade feel of it from the previews. They should make a Stubbs 2 with online co-op and VS modes. Stubbs was a great but short game.

Yeah, Hail to the Chimp is developed by the same guys who did Stubbs The Zombie.  By the way, Hail to the Chimp is run on the Unreal 3 Engine.

Hi! I'm one of the designers for Hail to the Chimp.  I saw people were were trying to figure out just what this game is and thought I'd just post some thoughts just because, in true wideload fashion the game is a little hard to pidgeon hole.  I'm not sure where people get the idea that this is a "budget".  It's no more of a budget game than Mario Kart is.  We basically realized that there weren't many games that supported the kind of fast action, small committment, group intereaction, that we all used to enjoy with our friends in the living room.  Those kinds of games are about fast furious play and that's the kind of experience Hail to the Chimp is designed around. 

What people keep referring to as minigames are no more minigames than deathmatch and King of the Hill are in what ever your favorite gun based game is.  The games you're playing are more of that kind of experience anf it doesn't play much like Smash Bros.  If I had to compare it to other games I'd say it's like a combination of Powerstone and UT3 with a little Mario Kart.  You always have the option to just beat down an opponent but that won't necessarily win you the game.  The game types have a pretty wide range and the more difficult ones can take a prety long time to win.  On one end you have simple pick up the clams gametypes on on the other end you have these pretty complex, hard core gametypes (there is a combat othello type of game for instance).  Between the levels, the traps, the flair, the curses, the teamup, the gametypes, and the characters there is a lot of play in this little game.  Everyone I've seen play it has really gotten into it.

The game is built using the Unreal III engine which is the same engine used for Gears of War, UT 3, Jericho, Bioshock, and Stranglehold.  We chose to not go in the direction of realism like most games that UE3 do.  That's the lowhanging fruit and much harder to stand out in that particular group of games. There's only so many space marines and bondage clad monsters that the market can handle.  This way we get to establish the other end of the spectrum.  Like other UE3 games there's also plenty of non-game entertainment.  I've been surprised by the number of folks I've seen get sucked into the tongue in cheek world we've created (check out www.grrnews.com for an example) and start digging deeper to get at the funny unlockables thaat are buried in the game.

I can't say I think the game is fore everyone (some folks just won't like this sort of game) but it is for just about anyone.  If you don't like funny games you probably won't like this.  Everything you do in HTTC is a bit ludicrous and meant to make you laugh.  The smacktalk that erupts from people only serves to make it even more ludicrous.

If you play the demo and don't like the game then I'd definitely be interested in hearing the particulars of what turned you off.  I like to think of myself as a sort of toymaker and I want to make something that people will genuinely have fun with, so if people aren't havening fun then I want to know why so I can make my next toy/game/interactive narrative more engaging.

Thanks,

Allen Turner.

Thanks for the post. I love how involved developers are on the 360. Sorry for the budget comment but I really have yet to see much video on this title, thus the post. I'm not really into party games unless they are really outstanding. But I do support your company and loved Stubbs. What titles are you working on now that you can talk about?

Sorry for the double post ran out of time. Is this game like Viva Pinata Party Animals or does it play different. One thing about your company is you think outside the box. You might be able to draw me into the genre. I'm a bit confused on the play style from the descriptions I have read.

PS any chance of a Stubbs 2

Hey Areacode,

No worries about the budget comment.  My comments weren't directed at you as much as the idea of what constitutes budget and non budget.  There have been a few previewss out there where I see previewers catagorize a game as "budget" and worth less of your money based soley on it's hype and graphical comparison to someting like Crysis and not really engage the game in front of them on it's own merits.  That makes people start thinking that said game should be at best a downloadable game, which in turn puts people into the mindest that a downloadable game is somehow inherently bad or lacking.  I want people to try to jusdge the game based on the experience it proposes and how much of that proposal is realized.  It shouldn't matter what the price is or whether it's in channel sales, "budget bins", or downloadble.

I understand that not everyone is into party games and that's completely cool. One of the problems with trying to think outside the box is that many people who like their ideas easily compartmentalized and identifiable are uncomfortable with games that break molds.  That's not an attempt to put people down, jsut to say that if you're a fan a particular style of gaming and along come something that sits at the fuzzy edge of that preference, you're less likely to check it out.  Big publishers know this, which is why you see so many more sequels and clones come out of them than the smaller guys.

Thanks for the good words about Stubbs btw.  Stubbs is a perfect example of a game that thought outside the box and reduced it's potential audience by doing so.  Psychonaughts had this problem and so did many of the games from now defunt Clover.  We definitely talk about a sequel to Stubbs often but there's nothing to report yet.  I think one day you may see such a beast, but only once we've got a story worth telling.  We don't want to just put one out just to put one out.

We do have other things being tossed about but nothing that we can really comment on yet.

So as far as how the game plays let see if I can give you a general breakdown.

You start a campaign with 4 players.  A campaign is a series of games from which an overall winner is chosen.  The individual games in a campaign are called primaries.  For each primary you pick a gametype and a map.  Some maps are harder to play on than others due to the environmental hazards that can be used as traps.  The main resource for the game are clams. These act as both your health and typically the thing you need lots of to win the game.  Every gametype at least minimally requires you to pick up clamsjust to keep from dying. 

Think of clams as health like Sonic the Hedgehog and his rings.  Picking up clams keeps you in the game.  Each gametype will give you a secondary thing to do with the clams.  One of the gametypes often shown in the previews is Stuff the Ballot Box.  In that gametype, for example, you must deposit clams in your ballot boxes.  The first one to deposit a total of 75 clams wins.  Now that's a bit harder than it sounds because if you always deposit all of your clams then you'll die a lot since you have no health (people can collect your clams by hitting you) so you want to balance depositing clams with staying safe.  If someone really starts to pull ahead then two other players can team up an basically become a super character that has an offensive trick that lets them terrorize the board briefly and get tons of clams quickly.  That's where a lot of the meat of the game is. . .the team ups.  Team-ups let people quickly form temporary alliances for the sake of stopping someone else, and just as quickly betray each other. 

There are also curses (which are our powerups).  Curses are effects that you can slap on another character that are generally detrimental and short term. They include things like a hive of bees that stings you so much you lose clams for a while; the ice which keeps you from running and jumping and makes you slide around the map; or think which makes your head swell up to enourmous sizes and makes your jumps huge and hard to control.

So you get all of these layers and people wind up playing with as manyof them as they actively think about.  Beginners will probably spend a lot of time running around and smackign the *** out of each other.  more advanced players will seek out the curses and use them a lot along with the more complicated game types.  Players who get even more advanced may use those as well as the team-ups to try to control the game.  really advanced players will use all of the above as well as interesting combinations of blocks, dodges, charge attacks, and ground pounds to complete the goal.  There will be a lot of people madly struggling for first place only to have it stolen by the person they weren't paying any attention to who waited to steal an attempted team up at just the right time. 

The last bit of the whole experience is what we call flair.  You unlock this stuff which are clothes and items that you can use to personalize your instance of one of the main characters.  They have no game play value but they do add to the overal visual variety of the game and is a great way give people ownership of their favorite cahracter.  Some of them even form predesign outfits that add extra character to an individual character.  It's a good time all around.

Not only is it fun to play. It makes a great spectator sport.  People who aren't gamers actually had fun watching people play.  That's a rarity.  When you add in the loads (dare I say wideloads) of unlockable stuff that is part of the news program (GRR News) which is the wrapper for the game, there is something there for everyone.  Loads of fun to be had.

Allen T.

To help you in marketing I will tell you what threw me off on this title. First the descriptions I have read (off of several sources) really don't tell what the game is about. Stuffing ballot boxes might be a blast but reading it I just don't get a good picture of how the game plays (and stuffing ballot boxes doesn't sound as fun as I'm sure it is lol). Second the 360 has not had a good running of party game titles. Most of them are truly mini games, most of which simply involve variations of simple button press timing games or basic race track game variations. Which is great for kids and would be fine for budget titles but just isn't my cup of tea.

Based on your posts I now understand this game is not like that. Most people like me will glance at it generalize it based on other 360 party just like you said. Remember for marketing to let people know it has Mario Kart and Power Stone traits to it, made all of the difference to me.

Stubbs was one of the most creative titles I have played on Xbox (def the funniest) that is why I checked back on this forum, I thought there might be more to this title than I first believed. My guess is your team is thinking outside the box again and it is "not your mamma's" Party game. I'll try out the demo for sure when it comes out. BTW if you ever want suggestions for stuff I always have plenty of ideas lol.

 Skagaronomy wrote:

So as far as how the game plays let see if I can give you a general breakdown.

You start a campaign with 4 players.  A campaign is a series of games from which an overall winner is chosen.  The individual games in a campaign are called primaries.  For each primary you pick a gametype and a map.  Some maps are harder to play on than others due to the environmental hazards that can be used as traps.  The main resource for the game are clams. These act as both your health and typically the thing you need lots of to win the game.  Every gametype at least minimally requires you to pick up clamsjust to keep from dying. 

Think of clams as health like Sonic the Hedgehog and his rings.  Picking up clams keeps you in the game.  Each gametype will give you a secondary thing to do with the clams.  One of the gametypes often shown in the previews is Stuff the Ballot Box.  In that gametype, for example, you must deposit clams in your ballot boxes.  The first one to deposit a total of 75 clams wins.  Now that's a bit harder than it sounds because if you always deposit all of your clams then you'll die a lot since you have no health (people can collect your clams by hitting you) so you want to balance depositing clams with staying safe.  If someone really starts to pull ahead then two other players can team up an basically become a super character that has an offensive trick that lets them terrorize the board briefly and get tons of clams quickly.  That's where a lot of the meat of the game is. . .the team ups.  Team-ups let people quickly form temporary alliances for the sake of stopping someone else, and just as quickly betray each other. 

There are also curses (which are our powerups).  Curses are effects that you can slap on another character that are generally detrimental and short term. They include things like a hive of bees that stings you so much you lose clams for a while; the ice which keeps you from running and jumping and makes you slide around the map; or think which makes your head swell up to enourmous sizes and makes your jumps huge and hard to control.

So you get all of these layers and people wind up playing with as manyof them as they actively think about.  Beginners will probably spend a lot of time running around and smackign the *** out of each other.  more advanced players will seek out the curses and use them a lot along with the more complicated game types.  Players who get even more advanced may use those as well as the team-ups to try to control the game.  really advanced players will use all of the above as well as interesting combinations of blocks, dodges, charge attacks, and ground pounds to complete the goal.  There will be a lot of people madly struggling for first place only to have it stolen by the person they weren't paying any attention to who waited to steal an attempted team up at just the right time. 

The last bit of the whole experience is what we call flair.  You unlock this stuff which are clothes and items that you can use to personalize your instance of one of the main characters.  They have no game play value but they do add to the overal visual variety of the game and is a great way give people ownership of their favorite cahracter.  Some of them even form predesign outfits that add extra character to an individual character.  It's a good time all around.

Not only is it fun to play. It makes a great spectator sport.  People who aren't gamers actually had fun watching people play.  That's a rarity.  When you add in the loads (dare I say wideloads) of unlockable stuff that is part of the news program (GRR News) which is the wrapper for the game, there is something there for everyone.  Loads of fun to be had.

Allen T.

You should def message a mod make a new post and get them to sticky this info. It is the most informative description of the game I have seen. (and I did search on it once looking for games that your team made~ since I liked Stubbs so much lol)

The name of this game reminds me so much of the Simpsons episode with Homer watchign the movie of a chimp as president.

"HAHA! That's what you get for not hailing to the chimp!!"


Ok, I'll leave now...

I will give it my highest compliment, I've played it, and yes Allen this is your student, see I told you I wasn't that other guy.  It's basically Powerstone + Mario Party + Comedy,  I vote Mergatroid btw...why not?

This game sounds like a huge improvement to party games that have been created for the 360 so far.  There is acctually a very big market for these type of games.  I have a lot of friends who are married and always complain that there is just not enough games that their spouses can join in on due to the difficulty.  There are a lot of wives and girlfreinds out there that want to get involved with their significant others gaming.  Games like these will make it possible for families and friends to play together again.  I try to support almost every party type game that comes out so that xbox will realize just how many people acctually want these type of games on the market.  There are so many families that live so far away from eachother now days, we need games like these that we can play over xbox live to help us feel we are in the same room with our friends and family all over the country.

I have been playing video games since 1985 on a tandy 1000sx and I have to say... without a doubt...

 

 

That this game will most def. suck, not return the money invested for the mere production (or barely that) and will end up on that endless discount bin collecting dust. I sure don't mean to knock your hustle, but damn, you should have seen this coming a mile away as this games smells from a mile away. Who knows, you can always pray to end up like viva pinata but at the end of the day you know this will end like viva pinata 2 party animals if your lucky. When your ready for gaming concepts that will make you gta money, come talk to me. But it is nice to see an insider replying in the forums for once. Good day and luck to you sir. 

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1000 - Dead Rising
1000 - The Orange Box
1000 - COD 4
1500 - COD W@W
1550 - Fallout 3
+ I'm better at Hexic HD than you.

 VIPER MAN 13 wrote:

This game sounds like a huge improvement to party games that have been created for the 360 so far.  There is acctually a very big market for these type of games.  I have a lot of friends who are married and always complain that there is just not enough games that their spouses can join in on due to the difficulty.  There are a lot of wives and girlfreinds out there that want to get involved with their significant others gaming.  Games like these will make it possible for families and friends to play together again.  I try to support almost every party type game that comes out so that xbox will realize just how many people acctually want these type of games on the market.  There are so many families that live so far away from eachother now days, we need games like these that we can play over xbox live to help us feel we are in the same room with our friends and family all over the country.

And for God's sake, quit copying and pasting this brown nosing post all over the HTTC forum. I saw it in here; I don't need to see it everytime I open a HTTC thread.

Damn.

This is whats wrong with you people.

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1000 - Dead Rising
1000 - The Orange Box
1000 - COD 4
1500 - COD W@W
1550 - Fallout 3
+ I'm better at Hexic HD than you.

 A Town Home Boi wrote:

Awful

 

SHUT UP *** BOI THIS GAME IS GOING TO OWN I CANT WAIT FOR IT TO COME OUT!

TO much walls of text, i WANT to like this game i will have to see when it releases

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To be yourself is all that you can do.

This game will be absolute ****

this game is  actually pretty fun...

anybody know if you can unlock achievements while playing online this game sounds pretty cool im waiting to check out though untill i can play online with friends

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TOTEM BALL = BEST GAME EVER

Yeah, most of the achievments can be unlocked online - the acheivements don't make any distinction between online multiplayer and local multiplayer, so the only ones you can't get online are the single-player ones.

 Protohominid wrote:

Yeah, most of the achievments can be unlocked online - the acheivements don't make any distinction between online multiplayer and local multiplayer, so the only ones you can't get online are the single-player ones.

That is a very cool feature about the game. It really doesn't punish you in any way no matter how you play, co-op or single player.