Ten Questions With… Eduardo Jimenez (Eclipse Games) Ten Questions With...
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Ten Questions With… Eduardo Jimenez (Eclipse Games)

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Eclipse Games recently released the rather brilliant Super Toy Cars on Steam Early Access. Eduardo Jimenez, the managing director of Eclipse Games, was kind enough to answer some of our questions.

Can you give our readers a quick introduction of yourself?

Hi, this is Eduardo Jimenez. I’m the founder and managing director of Eclipse Games. I’ve been in the games industry for almost 10 years now. On top of the games I’ve done with Eclipse, I’ve worked in various AAA titles for console such as Pure, Split/Second, F1 2012 and Disney Infinity.

What made you choose to create an arcade racing game?

Well, for starters I love racing games. Also, I find them quite attractive from a developer point of view. I’m particularly interested in the physics and AI of racing games, so that makes the work interesting to me. Anyway, probably the most important reason is that I’ve got some knowledge of the genre already. I used to work at Black Rock Studio which was an English studio specializing in racing games (Pure and Split/Second I worked on there). I learned a lot about the genre there and I thought I could put that knowledge to good use.

What are the games that influenced you and how?

Well, for starter’s the influence of classic top down arcade racing games such as Micro Machines and Death Rally (which I loved as a kid) is obvious. When we decided to go for a behind-the-car camera we also tried to borrow from the best kart games, such as Mario Kart and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. Finally, I wanted to have a handling model that was a bit deeper than your average kart game. So we looked to many arcade racers, but I think you could say that Blur, Burnout: Paradise and Need for Speed: Most Wanted were the games I played the most.

What features of Super Toy Cars are you the most proud of?

Personally, I’m particularly proud of the handling model of the game. It’s deep enough to have a lot of variation between cars while keeping it simple and casual enough for an arcade racer. Or so I like to think :o)

I believe the visuals of the game are also one of its high points. I’m very proud of the work done there, particularly considering the team is made of two full time people, a 3D artist and me, the programmer, and one less than part time (the one behind the HUD and the menus). I think the vehicles look particularly nice for such an indie game.

What is the biggest challenge while creating the game?

For me it is the online gameplay. As our team is so small, pulling off the game in around one year was pretty hard. But if I have to pick a concrete challenge, I think it’s the online part of the game. It was the first game I worked on where I was directly involved in the online part of it (I normally work in physics, gameplay or AI) and it was quite different, new and challenging. I don’t think the final result is particularly good or complete, but it works well and does the job.

Don’t get me wrong. I think the game is very fun to play in multiplayer, I just think I could’ve done much more to make the lobbies, and in general the overall experience smoother.

What aspect of the game was the most fun to create?

For me it was the handling of the cars. As I said before, I’m a bit of a geek and I like working on physics or math problems. The physics of a car present an interesting problem to me as I have liked cars since I was a kid and like to drive. Knowing how it all works inside and making a simulation myself was actually quite fun.

How is your experience with Steam Early Access?

Quite good actually. In terms of sales it’s not too bad but not amazing either. But the level of interaction and the amount of feedback, suggestions and bug reports we’ve received from the community is amazing. It’s been really, really helpful both polishing the experience and getting to know which features people are expecting the most. I think it’s been a very positive experience so far.

What are the future plans for Super Toy Cars?

Well, first we want to polish it further and make sure the experience is as smooth as possible. Then we want to port the game to Mac, Linux and Wii U, and release the game officially. We want to do a demo by that time too. Finally, if we get it accepted, we’d love to do ports to other platforms such as PS Vita, PS4 or Xbox One.

What is the most unusual thing on your desk right now?

Not much. TBH, I’m not one of those guys with lots of figurines on his desk. I’ve got a few toy cars. Yeah, like the game :o). I’m particularly fond of the AC Cobra one, my favourite car. Apart from that, the most unusual thing would probably be the Wii U devkit.

Anything else you would like to add?

Well, not much. First, thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us. I would also like to say to anyone reading this that we’re really open and looking for feedback for Super Toy Cars. If you play it and have any feedback, please don’t hesitate to voice your opinion, either in the forums or by simply sending us an e-mail. We read every single mail and forum post and I try to answer each one of them too.

A big thank you to Eduardo for taking the time to answer our questions. Super Toy Cars is available now on Steam Early Access. You can check out our preview for the game HERE or check out the official website HERE. If you already own a copy of the game be sure to give these guys your opinion and help them make the game even better.

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3 Comments

  1. GAMERamble September 20, 2014
    Reply

    Comments (Reposted for preservation)
    Elikstroh03
    Pure? Split/Second? Duuuuuude! I had no idea, woah that is quite a pedigree you have there.
    Reply

    RaydonK03/17/2014 12:21pm
    How i woud have love to see a sequel to split second 🙁
    Reply

    JoeyJ8603/17/2014 10:31am
    Sounds like a nice guy 🙂 Eduardo if you read this I really want to see some tracks in the garden and bathroom like Micro Machines used to have in your game. I know you are a car guy but maybe some future dlc for boats, tanks, helicopters etc would also be cool 🙂
    Reply

    Dren95hoss03/17/2014 4:34pm
    +1
    Reply

  2. GAMERamble September 20, 2014
    Reply

    Eyeroneek03/17/2014 11:21am
    Lots of respect to developers willing to listen to their fans. Too many diva devs lately treating their paying customers like scumbags.
    Reply

    Barrelrollah03/17/2014 12:44pm
    Super Toy Cars (the name) sounds like something out of the S.N.E.S era lol
    Reply

    St.Jimminy03/17/2014 1:00pm
    I love how you can play from a topdown view in this game for that total micomachines vibe. Will the price go up after the game is out of early access or will it stay the same (I have a few friends taht are still hesitating to bite)
    Reply

    doctorParaSite03/17/2014 3:55pm
    Honestly the game looks nice and the dev seems like a nice guy but i’m not a fan of early access games and my backlog is so big that i can just wait until this is in some type of bundle before i play it.
    Reply

  3. GAMERamble September 20, 2014
    Reply

    Eduardo Jimenezlink03/18/2014 2:49pm
    Hi guys,

    This is Eduardo, the dev. Thanks for the support. Regarding all the suggestions and questions (including the price ones) I’d like to redirect you to the Steam forums of the game. No one has asked for tanks or helicopters yet so you can be the first one to mention it (although it’s unlikely to happen in a dlc at the moment) :o)

    In any case, thanks again for the support!
    Reply

    Eduardo Jimenezlink03/18/2014 2:51pm
    Sorry, I forgot to add a link to the Steam forums:

    http://steamcommunity.com/app/116100/discussions/

    Hope the gameramble guys don’t mind me adding a link here. It’s just that there are some ongoing discussions there about some of the subjects brought to the table.

    Thanks!
    Reply

    GAMERamblelink03/18/2014 3:26pm
    Hi Eduardo, thanks for stopping by. The link to the Steam forum is already up on this page (top left section along with the Facebook, Twitter and website links) but I guess folks must have missed it 🙂

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