It's a big year for Bomberman fans, with Super Bomberman R 2 finally coming out later this month. That game won't feature co-op, however, so it falls on other games to pick up the slack. One such game is the upcoming Dynablaster from BBG Entertainment. To learn more about Dynablaster's Bomberman-style gameplay and co-op features, we talked to Stephan Berendsen, Founder and Managing Director of BBG Entertainment.
Co-Optimus: Thanks for dodging countless bombs to reach our office for this decidedly in-person interview. First, could you tell us a little about your experience in game development and some of your favorite games?
Stephan: I started at the age of 16 with two friends at my first software company. We developed game software, programming languages, and tools for SHARP MZ home computers. In 2001, I started the mobile gaming company, Living Mobile. We licensed mobile games from Japanese companies like Hudson Soft, Capcom, Bandai, etc. and ported these games to European J2ME feature phones. After selling Living Mobile in 2005 to The Walt Disney Company, I started BBG Entertainment in 2008. Our first product was a science-based brain training game, Train Your Brain with Dr. Kawashima.
My favorite games are Boulder Dash, Sokoban, Chip´s Challenge, Pac-Man, and Tetris.
Co-Optimus: Can you tell us what everyone on the core team (outside of Intellivision) contributed to Dynablaster?
Stephan: Dynablaster (our first version from 2016 and our new version from 2023) was developed by the same core team. This team of three people is very experienced and has worked together for many years. [We also] had some excellent internal beta testers.
Co-Optimus: As for Intellivision, how did the partnership come about, and did anyone from Intellivision make significant contributions to Dynablaster’s development?
Stephan: When Intellivision announced their new Amico console, we liked the idea. We contacted [them] in 2019 because we wanted to port our games, like Dynablaster and Einstein Brain Trainer/Brainduel, onto the Amico. Intellivision sent us dev kits, and we started to port our games. During this porting process, the Intellivision team, especially Tommy Tallerico and Mike Dietz, gave us lots of feedback and great ideas to improve Dynablaster. Tommy had so many great ideas for new features, and Mike helped us a lot to improve all the visuals. Tommy even composed the music and sounds for Dynablaster.
Co-Optimus: It was good of them to help out! What inspired your team to resurrect the franchise?
Stephan: We love retro games. We already released our first Dynablaster version in 2016 for mobile (iOS and Android). All of us like to play this strategic multiplayer action game. Therefore, we decided to develop a completely new 3D version with local and online cross-platform multiplayer for PC and consoles.
Co-Optimus: Focusing on the new Dynablaster, is there an in-game story, or is this more of an arcade-style game?
Stephan: It is an arcade style game. There is no in-game story.
Co-Optimus: What are the game modes in Dynablaster?
Stephan: The game itself includes 50 levels [and] 5 different worlds: Garden, Warehouse, Forest, Desert, and Castle (inspired by the original Dynablaster).
It also supports the following modes:
Single player: Players can choose from either Tournament or Key Picker mode. In Tournament, gamers take on AI bots in intense time-limited 1-minute battles. When time is up, the game area gets smaller, so players need to apply even more strategy to survive. In Key picker mode, players must find and collect keys to win a game. There is no time limit, but they must still take on AI bots. (It's not necessary to destroy them to win the match, though.)
Multiplayer: Players can choose from either Tournament or Co-op mode. Tournament in multiplayer follows the same principles as in single player, only against real players. The goal is to reach 2500 points to win 2500 virtual coins. Co-op is also similar to single player’s key picker mode; gamers have to collect keys of their own color to win.
Co-Optimus: What is the single player Tournament mode like?
Stephan: In single-player Tournament, where the [goal is] to destroy all enemies, there are three different sub-modes for players to tackle:
Skirmish: a short tournament game against one AI opponent and the player has to reach 1250 points to win the tournament. This can be played within 5 minutes. Normal: The player plays against two opponents and must reach 2500 to win. Victory can be reached in about 15 minutes. Agony: a four-player [competitive] game. The player becomes the winner after reaching 5000 points; this usually takes around half of hour of playing.In single-player Key Picker, players can look forward to the following:
Short deal: where the objective is to gather all keys in just 5 rounds. This be finished from 5 minutes to 10 minutes. Normal: a 10-round game. The game can take around 20-30 minutes. Long walk: 15 rounds - the hardest and longest mode, lasting more than half an hour, for experienced players.Co-Optimus: What kind of options are available in the competitive multiplayer?
Stephan: In multiplayer Tournament (essentially, death match arena), [we have] three modes:
Online against 3 randomly assigned online players: If there aren’t enough available online players, the match will be filled by AI bots. Local: Players can set up and configure the game for up to 4 players. [Empty spots] can be filled by bots. The difficulty of the bots is predefined and balanced. Vs Friends: Dynablaster creates a list of [online friends] to choose and play with.Co-Optimus: Now then, we’re most excited about the cooperative Key Picker mode. Does it have a set number of levels?
Stephan: Yes, in the first level it is necessary to find and collect only one key. But in the longest and most difficult variant, you have to finish up to the 15th level and find all the 15 keys.
Co-Optimus: Can you tell us more about the challenges and mechanics of Key Picker mode?
Stephan: There is no time limit, and in higher levels there are AI bots. In this specific situation, there can be up to 8 [Dynablasters] at once: 4 players plus 4 AI bots at the same time, in one game! It's not necessary to destroy [the AI enemies] to win the match. When one player dies, the game doesn't end. All the uncollected keys turn silver and have to be grabbed by one of the remaining co-op players. Keys can't be destroyed nor collected by bots.
Co-Optimus: How will players unlock different looks for their characters?
Stephan: Players are rewarded with game currency for winning the tournament and collecting keys. They can spend the coins on customization, and then equip their character with various visual add-ons. They can also unlock and choose from 40 items in 6 categories: Free, Rare, Cool, Epic, Legendary, Ultimate. BUT there is one more very special hidden gem, which is super locked and can't be purchased by any Dynablaster virtual money. Players can get this unique item only by unlocking all the previous ones. Please don't ask us what this item looks like :-D
Dynablaster also [features a ranking system]. Each player gains a higher and higher rank as they advance and score in the game. This starts at the rank of Private and can rise up to 22 ranks to Army General.
Co-Optimus: Speaking of characters, can you tell us about your approach to the game’s character designs and visual style?
Stephan: The visual style of the protagonist is, shall we say, a small robot with a big head and small feet. He has no hands, and there are two blue eyes on his big head. [The eyes] express basic emotions, such as joy when he wins, sadness when he loses, and fear when he gets stuck somewhere and there is a bomb nearby. We tried to create a cute little robot, and hopefully we succeeded. I also have to mention that when the robot dies, something interesting happens. I’ll let players discover this for themselves :-)
Co-Optimus: Now then, we have a couple of platform-specific questions for you. Will the Steam version be Steam Deck compatible?
Stephan: We will have a Steam version for Windows, Mac and Linux. We would love to optimize Dynablaster for the Steam Deck. We are big fans of the hardware, and we’re already confident that our current version will run on it. We just need to get our hands on a dev kit. :-)
Co-Optimus: Dynablaster was initially announced for all the major platforms except PlayStation. Do you have any plans for a PlayStation version in the future?
Stephan: We’ve just got PlayStation 4 and 5 dev kits from Sony, and our aim is to release a PlayStation version by the end of this year.
Co-Optimus: Finally, is there anything you’re proud of about Dynablaster that we haven’t already touched on?
Stephan: We’ve poured so much into our reimagined version of Dynablaster. The team has worked so hard on this reimagined version, using the power of the platforms we're developing on to their fullest potential, it is most definitely the ultimate Dynablaster experience, and we can't wait for players to get their hands on it. We hope that people like it.
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To learn more about Dynablaster, visit Dynablaster.com and https://bbg-entertainment.com/game/Dynablaster/.
Dynablaster will come to Xbox, Switch, and Steam in early Fall, and PlayStation and Atari VCS later in the year; it will cost $19.99. You can try the free Steam demo right now.