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Planet GameCube: Jazz Jackrabbit was one of those games that helped get the shareware concept for PC software off the ground. Traditionally a PC title, what's made you decide to give Jazz a new lease on life?

Eric Kinkead: Jazz is a great character with a lot of potential for growth and development outside of the PC arena. We always wanted to make an in-depth storyline platformer game that also took full advantage of the multiplayer capabilities that the GBA had. Jazz Jackrabbit was a perfect candidate for this. Especially since there has been no movement on this property for years, and Jazz has been doing all sorts of things in the galaxy since Jazz 2 came out.

PGC: Can we expect classic Jazz gameplay, or do you have new tricks in store for fans of the Jazz Jackrabbit PC titles?

Eric: Many aspects definitely crossed over like helicopter ears and such. However the lowest screen resolution of the PC title was 320x240. And even then most people played in 800x600 or 640x480. The highest resolution on the GBA is 240x160. So we could have chronicled the old days of Jazz Jackrabbit and made Jazz's sprite 8x8 but we instead decided to focus on the new stories that have unfolded in his early adulthood which would give us a greater amount of character detail on the GBA. This is Jazz Jackrabbit years after his PC shareware days. He has evolved and grown up. He now works for R.A.B.T. and is required to dress for protocol. So naturally the Single player mission branches away from the shareware model and are more story driven.

PGC: Is Cliff Bleszinski, (aka Cliffy B), involved with Jazz Jackrabbit GBA? Perhaps giving a hand with level design?

Eric: Yes, Cliff worked very closely with us in laying out the groundwork for this game. The games design went through him first for approval at Epic Games. He basically wanted more in-depth battles with the turtles, multiple weapons (not just ammo changes), and overall cool things to make the game appealing to a 'post-Matrix world'. He was crucial in getting this character back into the hearts and minds of gamers.

PGC: Did you decide to develop for the Gameboy Advance instead of the Gameboy Color? If so, why?

Eric: Uh. Where should I start. 160x144 resolution of the Gameboy Color. Gameboy Advance has more than 56 colors. Gameboy Color has 1 background layer and 40 8x16 sprites. Gameboy Advance allowed us to have multiple scrolling planes, rich vivid color, Boss monsters the size of the screen, and just a ton more power. Not to mention the multiplayer. Just wait until you play four of your friends in single-pak or multipak multiplayer. ;)

PGC: If you were given the option to implement something (that will not be in the Game Boy Advance version) into Jazz Jackrabbit, be it graphical, aural, or related to gameplay, what would that be?

Eric: A cash money dispenser on the cartridge for the large amount of money you can collect in the game.

PGC: What's your next project?

Eric: I don't think I am allowed to tell you that at this point. :|

PGC: Is Spaz, that crazy red rabbit, going to make a return? Are there going to be any new playable characters?

Eric: Yes, but not playable. He makes his return as an NPC, but he is still as crazy and red as ever. The focus of this game is purely Jazz's new adventure and the multiplayer.

PGC: Will the game be getting global distribution?

Eric: Depends if we get lots of support for our work. We are hoping it is picked up, we have a deal to localize it in the event that it does.

PGC: What kinds of new additions can fans look forward to?

Eric: Ah, where to start. Like I mentioned earlier our focus here was on the weapons, enemies and more of a story driven plot. You can have up to 7 unique weapons. The balance of those weapons was important, because it also crosses over into multiplayer.(ie. The larger the gun the heavier and slower your character) You can shoot in many more directions than just Horizontal and Up. The enemies have much more involved AI. For instance turtle troops can get scared and run away if they take a beating. However a turtle general will go out and yell at them which causes them to rally and rejoin the fray. You take on waves and waves of enemies with different AI patterns. The enemies interact with the character and each other in the in-game cut scenes and out of game cut-scenes. Our camera is independent of the player sprite, so when the story is highlighting something in the environment other than the main character it will pan over to that particular event. Much like in 3D console games.

PGC: What kinds of multiplayer modes will the game have?

Eric: All modes can play 2-4 players. Single-Pak mode requires only 1 version of the game and some link cables. This is really important, and this is what really helps us stay true to the Jazz Jackrabbit Shareware roots, as this is as close as console gets to shareware. The other players get a version of the deathmatch uploaded to their connected GBA's without even having to have the cart plugged in! So they can check out what multiplayer is like and then see if they want to get the game! [rant] I CAN NOT STRESS how much this feature is neglected in GBA game development. It is not only a shame on publishers for not demanding it but it is more of a shame on developers for just not doing the work. If a developer just does it, No publisher is going to be like "hey take that extra cool feature out of our game!". It requires zero space, just time and some creative programming. It really does a dis-service to the consumer to not let them play even the smallest of minigames against their friends for free. [/rant] I have been told we are one of few action platformer games to have this feature so that is humbling for me.

Now if you play against people who have the cart you get a more elaborate multiplayer game. With all weapons available to the players, no initial upload times since everyone has the cart, more larger and more detailed maps, rackup screens to rub your victory in like salt on a wound, a scanner to find the other players who are camping, oh and a capture the flag mode.

All modes feature selectable levels to play on and locked levels that can be unlocked in single player.

PGC: Does Jazz have a recorded voice at any time? (Hearing programmers act is an absolute joy.)

Eric: We would rather focus on more animations than to spend valuable cart space with gritty digitized speech. Besides Jazz let's his gun do most of his talking.

PGC: Jazz's arch-nemesis, Devon Shell, seems to have taken a turn for the worse and become even more villainous. Can you reveal why he's taken on a Darth Vader persona?

Eric: Because he is not Devon Shell. He is Devon Shell's Father's, brother's, nephew's, cousin's, former Roommate. In the game there is much reference about his wishes to be a villain supreme. I think that Darth was one of his influences. This game parodies everything from popular science fiction to video games themselves. This is nothing new in the Jazz world.

PGC: Will Jazz be revisiting any locales from the previous games?

Eric: Not really, but I believe Dark Shell has a fondness though for some of the old collectibles that belonged to Devon so some similarities will appear.

Planet GameCube would like to thank Eric for the interview, along with everyone else at Game Titan.