Our friendly affliates, Gamecube Advanced talked to Joseph Sutton, Vice President of Research & Development at Majesco, about their cel-shaded boxer, Black & Bruised.

GameCubeAdvanced: First off thank you for joining us here at GCA we know you guys are very busy!

Joseph Sutton: No problem. We always have time to talk about our games. Thanks for your interest in Black & Bruised!

GCA: What was your inspiration in creating Black & Bruised?

JS: We've been fans of Disney type animation and wanted to create a fighting game that would capture the look and feel of high end cartoons. We were also greatly inspired by Super Punch Out. We've emulated that title while adding many stand out features that make Black & Bruised an excellent game in its own right.

GCA: How long has Black & Bruised been in development? How far along is it?

JS: Black & Bruised is being developed by Canadian-based Digital Fiction. By the time the game launches in early 2003, it will have been in development for nearly a year and a half. We're about 70% complete at this point.

GCA: What kind of modes are you planning to include in the game?

JS: We currently have Single Player, Two Player, Survival, Championship, Training, and the highly story-driven Boxer's Life mode. In Boxer's Life, each character has a series of FMV sequences that connect to actual gameplay. So, for example, one character gets in a car accident and hurts his ribs (in the in-game movie) so the next time he fights, he'll have to protect his abdomen from body blows or he'll take twice as much damage. Most games have cinematics for entertainment value but we wanted to give the movies a connection to actual gameplay. It adds a whole new dimension to the game.

Finally, we're integrating an innovative Gambling mode that will bring a very different type of multi-player experience to the traditional fighting game. We'll be able to provide specifics soon.

GCA: What feeling should a gamer be left with after playing a round of Black & Bruised?

JS: We hope that a player will be impressed by the game's attention to detail, depth of play and unique modes. Black & Bruised has more than 30 different facial expressions per character. Those expressions help bring each boxing personality to life while making bouts more comical. Detail is also evident in the real-time "damage" each boxer experiences: over the course of a fight, boxers will bruise and swell as punches connect.

The game also includes taunts, combo moves and a range of power ups in addition to standard boxing moves like block, slip, uppercut and body blow. These new moves add depth and strategy to ensure it's much more than a "button masher." Finally, unique play modes like Boxer's Life and Gambling will give players a reason to play Black & Bruised even after they've beaten every boxer.

GCA: How much focus has been put on the multiplayer aspect of the game?

JS: A great deal! A solid Two Player mode is definitely an important element to any boxing game but we believe a strong One Player game is just as key for a well balanced game. That's why we've worked hard to structure One and Two Player experiences that go beyond the standard modes you'd expect to see in a boxing game. Boxer's Life is this type of integral mode to Black & Bruised because it truly is unique and adds a lot of depth to the One Player Game. Gamers are going to want to play through each character's Boxer's Life mode just to see what happens and how each movie affects the fight.

In terms of Two Player, we obviously include the standard Two Player fight mode but we're also implementing a multi-player Gambling mode that will extend replay and give players a new feature to have some fun with. We've also added in power ups that players will have to fight for so that will add a lot of strategy to a 2-Player match.

GCA: Do you find it easy or more difficult working with GameCube's unique controller design?

JS: We like working with the controller because it's responsive and fits well in your hand. We're also taking advantage of its rumble features so you'll feel the impact of every punch.

GCA: How have titles like Nintendo's own Punch Out influenced the direction of the game?

JS: Punch Out is a classic arcade-style boxing game that definitely had a big influence on Black & Bruised. What made Punch Out great was the characters and the fun, over-the-top boxing gameplay. Given what's possible on the GameCube, Black & Bruised can take the Punch Out style of gameplay to a whole new level. That, and all of our new modes/additions make Black & Bruised an evolution of Punch Out that players of all ages will enjoy.

GCA: Why was the choice made to make the game cel-shaded?

JS: Cel-shading works very well with the game design of Black & Bruised. We want players to feel like they're playing a cartoon-complete with special effects, over-the-top moves and comical violence. There's no better way to achieve that graphically than through cel-shading. Given how much time we've spent on character design, facial expressions and audio, players really will feel like our cartoonish characters have come to life.

GCA: Tell us a little about the characters. Just what kind of boxers are we going to be seeing in this game?

JS: There are 18 characters in the game but only some of them will be available from the start. We've covered every possible personality-from the high school football hero Kid USA to the headstrong female mechanic Holly to the overweight loanshark Bronto�there's a character in the game for everyone. Check out the screens and movie clips to see the character art first hand.

GCA: Any difficulties you have had in creating the title?

JS: One of the most difficult challenges was developing two native platform engines at the same time as the art assets.

GCA: Are we going to see some comic like animation or more realistic style of animation in the game?

JS: Our animation will be comical. Again-we're going for the cartoon look and feel so it wouldn't make sense to create sim-like animations or gameplay.

GCA: Are gamers going to notice large differences between each fighter's style of boxing?

JS: Absolutely. Each boxer has his/her own unique fighting style, combo moves and taunts. Boxers will also have individual statistics like strength, speed and stamina so that will affect how they fight too.

GCA: Any GBA/Gamecube connection?

JS: We are looking into this right now.

GCA: What do you have in the works for the Gamecube after this title?

JS: We just released Bomberman Generation for GameCube and BloodRayne will be shipping this Halloween.

GCA: Final question, will players be able to bite their opponents ear off?

JS: No! We'll leave that to Mike Tyson boxing. We're not a sim!

GCA: Thank you very much for sharing your time with us.

JS: Thank you for covering the game. We'll have more character art and screens to share over the next few months.

Source: Gamecube Advanced