Frogger: The Interview

Hasbro Interactive's Frogger for the PlayStation is a modern 32-bit take on the popular "get-the-frog-across-the-road-and-stream" 80's arcade game by Konami.

This time out though (later this fall specifically), Frogger's getting ten all new 3-D worlds (for a total of 50 levels of gaming), a split-screen multiplayer mode, and new features, such as heat-seeking tongue, power croak, and super jump.

Lead producer of Frogger, Chris Down, recently took the time to provide GS News with the answers to a few questions people have had about the game.

Q: Describe Frogger in less than 100 words.

A: Frogger is based on the original arcade hit of the 80s. We retained the elements from the original that made it a classic and added loads more goodies for the "challenge-hungry" gamers of today. The old cast of friends, from the snake to the girl frog, are all there, plus new friends and enemies like seagulls, piranha and bulldogs. The play parameters are no longer confined to the little road and river from the old game, but are now graphically stunning worldlets.

Q: Is there anything in this game that we've never seen in any other?

A: You haven't seen "avoid 'em-up" Frogger-style gameplay since the original Frogger 15 years ago, and you've never seen Frogger-play with a power croak, super hop and heat seeking tongue! The control method is totally Frogger, too. If you haven't played the original in 15 years, you'll still be able to pick up the controller and get right into the new game.

Q: What else can we expect to see in this version that wasn't in the original?

A: In addition to the new special abilities I just mentioned, you will see 40 unique levels in 9 graphically different zones. You also will experience new levels of play and some puzzle solving with switches, exploding barrels, crushers, frog-eating plants and a whole slew of other things that extend the classic Frogger gameplay pattern.

Q: What's your favorite part of the game?

A: I love the mowers - they're absolutely mad! And the multi-frog race mode (2-4 player split screen). And every level of the game has this "gotta try it one more time" addictiveness.

Q: Why will it be better than any other game of its ilk?

A: Frogger uses one of the greatest, well-known gameplay patterns of all time. This, coupled with awesome 3-D graphics - unique too, I might add - and an incredibly addictive multi-player mode, make it a must have in my book.

Q: Are there any technical innovations to speak of?

A: Frogger has more complex animated entities moving on screen at any one time than most games. The play is not about just a frog, but about Frogger interacting with and avoiding everything in the environment. In particular, the water effect is incredible. It has a true 3-D floor with an undulating animated mapped water surface with fish swimming underneath. Check out the sewer water - trash included!

Other tech specs include large numbers of animated polygon based entities in a smooth 3-D environment and repositionable camera, 80 animated entities active, 100ish different animated entities in the game, and 3000 polys on screen. The polygon-rendering engine is based on over two years experience with the Playstations GPU.

All polygon-rendering routines are therefore handwritten in R3000 assembly language to provide the highest polygon throughput possible. Custom polygon types allow for fast real-time environment mapped polygons, as well as many transparent polygon types. New lighting models have been implemented that allow the use of real-time point light sources. Local ordering tables are created and manipulated by the API for important game characters to avoid the polygon flickering effect seen in many Playstation games. Sound code provides pseudo 3-D sound positioning to enhance game effects.

Q: Tell us about some of the different levels.

A: The game starts out with retro levels, which are 3-D representations of the original game that we all know and love. These levels are really just the training grounds for the rest of the game, though. The sky levels are trippy, with rising and falling balloons, biplanes and slippery clouds. The desert levels are cool, as they look like they're straight out of the Roadrunner-style cartoons, complete with stampeding buffaloes, vultures, and falling boulders. The industrial levels are nifty; there are switches, moving platforms, balls of fire, crushers...I could go on and on, but I should save some for the next entry!

Q: Why should anyone care about your game?

A: Frogger is a game that is fondly remembered, and for good reason. Just about any gamer that sits down to a "quick" game of emulated Frogger finds himself hooked for "just one more go" again and again. This gameplay addiction has been captured in the new Frogger, but is even better. The game has tons of depth, tons of variety, tons of challenge and almost infinite replay value, and that's just the single-player mode. The multi-player mode is clever, simple and incredibly addictive. And, come on, it's Frogger!

Be sure to flip through the following screenshots for a look at the latest build of Frogger, and check out our previous news story for more shots and a video. Expect a full preview of the game on the site, right soon.