Gaming Interviews
"Suguri" Release Party was Rockin
Rockin' Android had a SUGURI Video Game Release Party during Tune In Tokyo on July 16th, 2009 at the 2nd Street Jazz Bar in Little Tokyo (in L.A.)... just a week after one of the biggest anime events of the year: Anime expo. The bar was set up with three screens so attendees could play the much anticipated game Suguri. DJ Yuki and Greg filled the room with thumpin music, while the everyone took their turn at shooting Bosses. If they weren't playing, everyone danced and mingled. Even though it was a party, most people seemed to eye the screens so that they wouldn't miss their chance at checking out the game. We had a few words - inbetween our own bouts of defeating the evil bosses- with Enrique Galvez, founder of the indie Gaming company: Rockin Android.
AF: So can you tell me what exactly Suguri is about for those out there wondering?
Suguri is actually a collection of 2 games. The first one is Suguri, which is a first person shooter,goes through stages and eventually a boss level at the end.Whereas and the second, The Acceleration of Suguri, is a hybrid shooter-fighting which only has boss levels.
What type of gamer is Rockin’ Android trying to appeal to? Is it everyone or is it specific genre?
We deal mostly with a niche market which is mainly hardcore gamers. We want to educate people on indie Japanese videogames and get them hooked.
Why release at Tune in Tokyo?
I’m friends with Greg, the host of Tune in Tokyo, and we both thought it would be a fun thing to do. We had been talking about doing a collaboration for a couple of months and now it finally happened...
Will your titles expand beyond Suguri over the next few weeks, months or years?
Suguri is our first release. We are pretty much riding on that one at the moment, but another one, Gundemonium, is really popular and gets a lot of requests. Suguri has a low computer requirement so it works for everyone...we think it’s going to be addictive.
Do you feel that the platform, a computer, has some drawbacks when trying to market your product?
One major draw back is our games work best with game pads. The game pads are a little like PS2 controllers, but you hook it up to your computer using a USB port. It’s possible to play the games without the game pad, but you won’t get the full effect. It’s a bit easier to manage since our audience is mainly hardcore gamers; but for the regular person,it’s a bit difficult since they most likely don’t have the pad.
In general, how is business going on the indie gaming front?
Great. We are getting a lot of feedback for our games on both indie and major websites.
Are there a nymore games in the works that maybe I could get a little hint about?
Well, we have games lined up all the way up to 2011. We have a game coming out called Bunny Must Die. It’s a female character that looks a little bit like a playboy bunny but with fox ears. She also has a lot of different powers. The game is pretty much a combination between Castlevania and Metroid, both of which are pretty addictive so we think this one will be as well.
What is the future of Rockin’ Android? Are there any plans to branch out even further?
Right now we are working with companies in Japan and we really like it. Hopefully in the future we will be able to make our own titles and games, but overall we like how things are going...
to find out more about Rockin Android's products, visit them on the web at http://rockinandroid.com
