1) Congratulations with the release of your first own studio game. You guys must be thrilled. Any last minute things that need to be worked out or is it time for a release party?

Everything with the game itself is wrapped up now, just a lot of rushing around with marketing and promotional work and praying that people actually enjoy playing it!

2) Can you tell us about why you guys decided that it was time to start working for your own? The steps you took and how it all came together.

We all left Rare around the same time and I guess to summarize the main reasons we were looking for something new to do and wanting to make some games that we wouldn’t get the opportunity to do at Rare. We’d all been there more than 10 years so it was a big change.

We could have all gone off to work at different companies, but realizing that all four of us were looking for something to do it seemed a great opportunity to try actually creating something together. We got started on some prototype work for Xbox since that was what we were familiar with and reached out to contacts, looking for some funding.

We all knew Ken Lobb when he was at Nintendo and Rare was with Nintendo, and then we knew Ken when he was at Microsoft and Rare was bought by Microsoft, and he ended up as a big help forging the deal for Fusion after we set up Starfire. We just can’t get away from him!

We supported ourselves for the first 8-12 months of development so it was fantastic when we got a contract signed and knew the funding was there to keep working on Fusion and finish it.

3) What are the benefits from working with a small team and being your own bosses?

Well it’s cool being in charge! And we can all totally customize anything we want – PC specs, chair, the whole workspace and make sure it’s perfect for us individually. On  the game side we each get a bigger input and can make sure the things we want to see get in there.

4) How much does Starfire Studios depend on a hit? I can imagine that with having your own studio, the creation of a first game can result in a lot of pressure. If so, how do you cope with that in a fashion that it doesn’t interfere with the creative process?

Well the more successful it is, the easier things will be in the future. The biggest problems come from actually running a business and having to handle things like accounts, legal contracts, pitching to publishers – all these interfere with actually making the game, and you have to try and minimize the time they take up.

5) As we look at your past productions, none seem to be in the genre and line of Fusion Genesis. When did you come up with the idea for this game and decided that you would create a game in this genre.

Very early on when we were considering our team size and skill sets – spaceships seemed like a good fit. And we were interested in MMO style games but wanted to avoid running servers ourselves so experimenting with some dynamic matchmaking seemed interesting. Hopefully on the next game we can expand the team a bit and do something with characters and animations.

6) Did Microsoft only publish Fusion Genesis, or are you guys an internal MS studio?

We own the company ourselves, so we’re not part of Microsoft, but it was great to continue working with them given our close relationship. They also really helped with some areas of development like the cool UI, story writing and engine optimizations.

7) I played Fusion Genesis for a couple of hours now and it feels absolutely huge and complex. I have a feeling that a regular gamer will need some serious playtime before they figure out about all the options. Did you intend to focus on not creating a casual game ?

Hopefully there are different options to appeal to different gamers   If you like a fast blast shooting things up, then maybe you’ll like the warzones. If you want to level up and collect impressive ships and weapons then you can do that. Or if you’re interested in the story then try playing the different factions to discover what is really going on. Hopefully players can find something for their tastes 

8 How long did you work on the title?

Overall it was 2.5 years – a bit longer than we originally planned but the game kept growing

9) As the game looks like a mmo, how do you keep players interested once they witnessed all the things in the game’s universe?

Hopefully the Warzone and the Dark Legion Invasion will be interesting to keep playing as they are like mini-games on their own. The Warzone provides player vs. player team combat, while the Dark Legion Invasion has waves of increasingly difficult AIs to pit your skills against and try to reach the harder difficulties.

10) Could you give us any insights about how you handled the production process from the first drafts to the final product?

It was a very iterative process while moving steadily from the start (with nothing) to the end (originally just a vision). So as anything (e.g. graphics, features, technology) was added to the game we’d consider if it was good enough, or if it needed improving or redoing or if it should be completely removed and done a different way. We were following a plan but had to be prepared to adjust and adapt a lot along the way. Often times you don’t know how well something will work or what implications it will have until you try it – so you get a basic version in first and then keep iterating and refining over time. For example what should the controls and viewpoint be? There are several in the final game, but we tried out many more

11) How big is the development team and what are the team members functions? Who designed the in game 3d models, who the visuals, interface, voice-overs.

There are 4 of us at Starfire:

Chris: design, software (mainly gameplay) & producer stuff

Mark: software (mainly technical)

Phil & Ross: designed & created all the graphics

The music was composed and created by Steve Burke (an old friend from Rare who is now freelance).

And some SFX were done by James Stant (also ex-Rare).

Microsoft helped out later on with story writing and a makeover of the interface, plus some performance optimisations. They also provided the voice overs, localization and tons & tons of testing!

12) One of the benefits of xbox live arcade is to create ‘smaller’ games. If you got the opportunity to do another big budget full release xbox game, would you do it or would you rather stick with a smaller team to develop arcadegames.

XBLA is cool for trying out new things as there is less risk with a smaller budget. But obviously the full big budget games have higher quality and more content. We can certainly think of more games of both types we would like to make in the future – we just need the funding

13) Will there be dlc?

Nope there is not any planned currently. But we have a ton of ideas we’d love to be able to add if we ever got the chance. Or perhaps they will appear in another future game.

14) How does the windowsphone7 variant fit into Fusion Genesis? Please tell us more about the WP7 version.

Fusion: Sentient is a cool separate game in it’s own right – very RTS-like where you control Sentients in their ground based form and level them up. Sentients can then be swapped & traded both ways between Fusion: Sentient on WP7 and Fusion: Genesis on XBLA. In Fusion: Genesis the Sentients take control of drones which fly around your ship in formation and help boost your powers in various ways e.g. with special offensive or defensive abilities. Obviously higher level sentients are more powerful so being able to move Sentients between the two games can make you more powerful in the other game much more easily. By playing both games you also learn more about the storylines threading through the Fusion universe.

15) Whats next? Same category, dlc, a follow-up or in ’old-old-rare tradition’something completely else?

“And now for something completely different” – is very probably it! We’re incubating a few ideas, so we’ll see which emerges.

16) Now that you have worked quite some time on this game for your own, do you miss your old working desk at Rare?

I have to say I prefer my current desk as the hardware is setup perfectly for me   What I do miss is that the social aspect is smaller when there is only 4 people in the company. And I also wish I still had access to all the Microsoft internal software resources.

17) If you learned one thing from Rare on how to run you own studio, what would be it?

If you learned one thing not to do….what would be that?

Don’t do interviews … oh …!

Many thanks for all your answers and we wish you the best.

Last week I started playing Fusion Genesis and except for the facts that it was an MMO and that it took place in space I knew not much about the game. Yet I was very very anxious to see and play the game. Of course all that had to do with the fact that the developer behind the title, Starfire Studios, have quite a portfolio of games to look back to. (PS: please read through my bad English gramatica) 

Story
A lot of the storyline is fired at you from the start of the game and it is quite complex. I’ll try to give you a glimpse. The human race are the new ones in a galaxy divided into several factions. One overseeing alliance of factions keeps the peace in the galaxy but the humans threaten it by their rivalry. Another combined enemy of all factions, The Legion, is to play another key role in this play.

I could understand that the game evolves about you being a student of a professor who unraveled a big secret. That secret could mean the end of a war. Most of the conversations are done with small graphical animation. It’s really one of those things where you are reminded that this is a lower budget production. I really hope that if this game does well that a follow-up will have more of a bounding storyline and done with a bit more of animation to keep you in the same experience.

Controls
You start the game in a small spaceship while playing some tutorial-esque mission. At first you really need to get used to the controls, especially in the starter ship. But after that, things go fast and you’ll adapt rather quickly. In some cases I felt that I was missing some fingers, since you’ll have to let go of firing button to use a booster or a barrel roll. None of that is really annoying but it is just something I noticed.

Missions
There are three kind of missions. The ones you get from a space station Captain. Mostly they are the faction leaders too. These missions make you level up in your faction, resulting in unlocking newer and better spacecrafts. Then there are the story missions which give you more information about the story. Lastly there are the missions you can use to gain credits and experience. There a lots of them, most of them don’t really add to the story. Once you shoot down other players in PvP you’ll receive more experience- and credit points.

Factions
Every faction has their own strengths and weaknesses. I played for the thugs most of the time. Hijacking other players ships is one of their bonuses but the downside is that they are at war with almost every other faction, thus resulting in a lot of enemies while cruising though the galaxy, especially in PvP.

Modes
The Single Player story mode is very obvious and it is really easy to turn PvP on in that mode. But the Multiplayer co-opWarzone,Ark Raid and Legion Raid modes are the most where the coolest action takes place. This was one hell of a ride with many large friendly battle ships taking on the Legion ships. I really enjoyed it. I hope more players join this game so that co-op missions like this will happen all the time.

Customize
The game is all about customization, you can update your pilot skills (damage, shield, etc), your ship, your weapons, weapon add-ons and your sentinels. Sentinels are the little robots you can attach to your ship. There are three Sentinel types being Standard Tank, Attack Tack and Healer Tank.  You can use your experience points to update the sentinels but you can also use crystals you find in space. Lots of stuff!

Grafics
The graphics look really awesome. The ships are low-polygon models but have nice maps to them. All ships have their own look depending on which faction you play for. The galaxy itself is the nicest aspect of the game. It’s huge, looks absolutely deep and has lots of locations which all have their distinctive looks. The in game option screens look high-tech and de HUD tells you everything you need to know in a style. The only thing that bothered me were the graphics on the start and loading screens, not the ones with an images from space on them but more the ones with characters on them. They look out of place for being not so high-tech and hand drawn. Reminded me a little bit to the oldstyle Atari and Nintendo 8bit covers. Story elements are done with minimalistic animations.

Sound
The sound is nothing orchestrated like players got use playing Halo and Mass Effects games. Yet is gets the job done and never feel out of place. They add a feeling of mystery and space to the galaxy. Some tunes are quite excellent though!

Durabilty
The game is absolutely huge and after playing al lot, I can still see me playing this game for a lot more. The first few hours you’ll really need to figure things out. Once more players come online the game is absolutely endless. Also, I really believe some really cool add-ons will be released later on, because I am still using some standard classed weapon add-ons which indicate more exclusive ones.

Verdict
The game is huge and once you are playing a mission, the graphics and action is awesome. The options to customize your ships are endless and the multiplayermode is getting more and more fun by every day. After the tutorial, which is really basis, you’ll have to figure out all the options in the ‘back-options-screen’ yourself. Since those options go really deep I’ll advice you to take a look at the ‘helpscreen’ which should be a bit deeper with more info. If Starfire Studios can find a way to make the whole experience as one, then they have a definite winner on their hands. For now, the ‘not in mission’ graphics and animations make you realize that you are still playing an 800 pts arcadegame. Yet, the more I play it the more I like it and I have a feeling that I’ll be playing this for some time. I’ll certainly advise other players to play this game.

Score 8

Choose your side. Expose the truth. Become a hero.

Fusion Genesis is an explosive mix of space adventure and multiplayer shooter in an ‘always connected’ dynamic multiplayer environment – the first of its kind for XBLA.

Featuring:

• Follow six epic storylines that let you become a free trader, a lawless mercenary, a galactic peacekeeper, a military loyalist, or a devout seeker as you unravel a sinister alien plot

• Explore an “always connected” environment where friends and enemies populate your world dynamically

• Take on hundreds of varied solo and co-op quests

• Discover 23 innovative and action-packed levels

• Fly over 100 ships, from agile scout fighters to huge cruisers, each with its own specialty

• Customize your ship with over 1000 different upgrades

• Choose from over 200 deadly and strategic weapons for your ship

• Learn from more than 40 unique combat skills

• Enjoy both cooperative (1-4 players) and PvP (1-8 players) gameplay

• Fight in epic ship battles in PvP warzones

• Cooperate with other players to defend space stations from Dark Legion raids

• Join other brave heroes to overcome the terrible guardians of the mysterious Ark

• Connect with Fusion: Sentient, a Windows Phone 7 game where you can level up and trade amazing AI units that will help you in Fusion: Genesis

Starfire Studios is an Independent Development Studio set up by 4 ex-Rare industry veterans Chris Tilston, Mark Edmonds, Philip Dunne and Ross Bury. Having been key contributors on games such as Goldeneye, Killer Instinct, Perfect Dark and Kameo they are now focused on bringing something hugely ambitious, innovative and unique to Xbox LIVE Arcade with their first release, Fusion: Genesis.

Steve Burke created the soundtrack for Fusion: Genesis which you can download for free here: http://www.steveburkemusic.com/FusionGenesis/Fusion_Genesis_Soundtrack.zip

Steve has scored music to Xbox 360 video games such as Kameo: Elements of Power, Viva Pinata and Xbox Live Avatars.

Kinectaku.com
http://www.kinectaku.com/reviews/2011/10/kinect_sports_season_two_360
The best just got better 9/10

Computerandvideogames.com
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/323750/reviewskinect-sports-season-2-review/
Business as usual for the Kinect Sports franchise. Season 2 packs fun new features but anyone who wasn’t won over by the original will have little reason to love this. 7/10

Videogamer.com
http://www.videogamer.com/xbox360/kinect_sports_season_2/review.html
No matter who you are you’ll likely have fun messing about with what’s on offer here, especially if you’re in the company of friends.  7/10

GameRant.com
http://gamerant.com/kinect-sports-season-two-reviews-jeff-111899/
Handily besting its predecessor and packing the best party play available on Kinect. Highly recommended. 4/5

God is a Geek
http://www.godisageek.com/2011/10/kinect-sports-season-review/
It is the perfect companion piece for those who loved the first game and who want more events to try.  8/10

StrategyInformer
http://www.strategyinformer.com/xbox360/kinectsportsseasontwo/1697/review.html
The first time you win and ‘The One and Only’ blasts out and gives you a buzz.  8/10

Gaming XP
http://www.gamingxp.com/bericht-5209-microsoft-microsoft-x360-kinect_sports_season_2.htm
You really don’t want to read German…..anyway -> 8/10

Gamestudio: Starfire Studios
Platform: XBLA

Fusion: Genesis is an explosive mix of space adventure and multiplayer shooter, in a dynamic online world. You will have to unravel a sinister conspiracy in a galaxy on the brink of civil war. Starfire Studios says that the dynamic multiplayer environments are “always connected” and will feature 6 epic storylines, 100′s of solo and co-op quests, over 100 ships and a plethora of weapons, upgrades and skills.

The Story
Humanity has taken its place among the stars . . . only to find itself scorned by the alien races and fighting over a startling discovery that threatens the balance of interstellar power forever. Embark on a dangerous journey through a galaxy on the brink of war, and pursue long-forgotten secrets under the shadow of an invasion from beyond known space.

Features

• Follow six epic storylines that let you become a free trader, a lawless mercenary, a galactic peacekeeper, a military loyalist, or a devout seeker as you unravel a sinister alien plot
• Explore an “always connected” environment where friends and enemies populate your world dynamically
• Take on hundreds of varied solo and co-op quests
• Discover 23 innovative and action-packed levels
• Fly over 100 ships, from agile scout fighters to huge cruisers, each with its own specialty
• Customize your ship with over 1000 different upgrades
• Choose from over 200 deadly and strategic weapons for your ship
• Learn from more than 40 unique combat skills
• Enjoy both cooperative (1-4 players) and PvP (1-8 players) gameplay
• Fight in epic ship battles in PvP warzones
• Cooperate with other players to defend space stations from Dark Legion raids
• Join other brave heroes to overcome the terrible guardians of the mysterious Ark
• Connect with Fusion: Sentient, a Windows Phone 7 game where you can level up and trade amazing AI units that will help you in Fusion: Genesis

Games: Secret
Platform: Unknown

Mission: Don’t Step On The Cracks aims to make simple yet high quality games for everyone.

Website: http://dontsteponthecracks.co.uk/
Twitter: @dontstep

David Buttress (Ex-Rare)
Expertise: Principle Artist
Games: Kinect Sports, Banjo-Kazooie, Conker, Perfect Dark Zero

Games: Backflow, Smusicup
Platform: iOS, Web/Flash, PC

Mission: We believe that games make the world a better place, and we aim to create innovative, high quality and fun games for everyone to enjoy.

Website: http://www.tzai-entertainment.com
Twitter: @tzaigames

Vincent Low (Ex-Rare)
Expertise: Technical Artist, Game Developer
Games: Kinect Sports, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts&Bolts

Tianshui Wang (Ex-Rare)
Expertise: Artist-Game Developer
Games: Kinect Sports Season 2, Kinect Sports

Games: Fusion Genesis

Platform: XBLA
Mission: Focusing on designing and creating the games they love and have passion for.

Website: http://www.starfirestudios.co.uk/
Twitter: ?

Chris Tilston (Ex-Rare)
Expertise: Designer, Project Lead
Games: Donkey Kong Country, Killer Instinct , Perfect Dark

Mark Edmonds (Ex-Rare)
Expertise: Programmer
Games: Goldeneye and Perfect Dark

Ross Bury (Ex-Rare)
Expertise:  Environment Artist
Games: Banjo Kazooie Nuts and Bolts, Avatars, Perfect Dark

Phil Dunne (Ex-Rare)
Expertise: Lead Artist
Games: Kameo, Donkey Kong Country

Games: Secret Game

Platform: iPad
Mission: A dream that making games is creative, that making games is collaborative. But more than anything that making games is fun and meaningful. Nyamyam was formed to fulfill this dream. With love and attention we strive to create beautifully crafted games. Games that not only express who we are as individuals, but also bring a little magic into other people’s lives.

Website: http://nyamyam.com
Twitter: @nyamyamgames

Jennifer Schneidereit
Expertise: Game Creator
Games: Kinect Sports

Phil Tossell
Expertise: Game Creator
Games: Kinect Sports, Starfox Adentures and Kameo.

Ryo Agarie
Expertise: Game Creator
Games: Perfect-Dark Zero and Xbox 360 Avatars

David Wise will be producing the music for Nyamyam’s upcoming iPad game

At the start of 2011 Will and Ed left Rare to work with Nosy Crow full time and their first two children’s apps have met with great success …

Games: Cinderella Story, Three Little Pigs

Platform: iPad
Mission: Focusing on designing and creating the games they love and have passion for.

Website: http://nosycrow.com/
Twitter: @Edmundree

Ed Bryan (Ex-Rare)
Joined Rare in summer 1995. Worked on Dream on SNES which became Banjo-Kazooie on N64. Banjo-Tooie was next with a little time spent helping make characters for DK64. After that came Grabbed by The Ghoulies and after that Viva Piñata and Trouble in Paradise. Next working on a few protypes and helping with the Sky Sports/Canal + stuff we did for the dash. Ed’s last project at Rare was Kinect Sports.

Expertise: Art Director
Games: Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie, Donkey Kong 64, Grabbed by the Ghoulies, Viva Pinata, Viva Pinata:Trouble in Paradise, Kinect Sports

Will Bryan (Ex-Rare)

Will joined Rare in 1998 and worked on Banjo-Tooie, Grabbed by The Ghoulies and then headed up the VP team. Will was the driving force of the team and game. He also developed the Piñate Vision tech in his own time! After Trouble in Paradise Will worked on a number of prototypes.

Expertise: Software engineer / Software Director
Games: Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise, Viva Pinata, Grabbed by the Ghoulies, Banjo-Tooie

Robin Beanland (Rare)
Will and Ed asked BAFTA winning Robin Beanland if he would like to write the music for both apps (Cinderella and TTLP) and do all the sound effects. Thankfully he said yes!

Andy Hall (Ex-Rare)
They also had help with the animation for Cinderella from an old Rare pal, Andy Hall, who had left the previous year to go work on the third Narnia film in London.  Andy had worked on both VP games and Kinect Sports.

Succes? Hell yeah!

- iPad app of the week in Germany with The Three Little Pigs

- Cinderella named in Guardians ‘Top 50 iPad apps’

- Cinderella featured on Wired.com

- The Three Little Pigs on USAToday.com

- Top children’s books for iPad’ from The New York Times

- Nosy Crow nominated for ‘iOS developer of the year‘ in iLounge.com’s Readers-choice-awards!