Naughty Bear interview

Naughty isn't your everyday action game and we got in touch with lead designer Ashley Pannell, from A2M, to discuss some of the finer points of the upcoming teddy bear murder sim...

Where did you get the idea for {Naughty Bear}?
A lot of the inspiration for {Naughty Bear} came from Saturday morning cartoons, and the idea of juxtaposing that innocence with dark humor and over-the-top violence. We think the blend of syrupy cuteness and cartoon violence works because of the foundation of an innovative AI in the game, making {Naughty Bear} a unique, fun experience every time you pick up the controller.

What made this bear so naughty (what is the basic plot)?

{Naughty Bear} has been unfairly blamed for everything that has gone wrong on The Island of Perfection.  After {Naughty Bear} wasn't invited to Daddles' birthday party, enough was enough.  He's now hell-bent on exacting his revenge against all things cute and cuddly on the island. This is just the start of the story and things escalate pretty fast from there.

Somehow, a teddy bear is more frightening then aliens or monsters. Is {Naughty Bear} going to be genuinely frightening or more tongue-in-cheek?

Definitely more tongue in cheek! For a start you get to play him and we all have a lot of empathy for {Naughty Bear}. The things he can do are very brutal, but we somehow feel that those other bears deserve it.

Tell me about the naughty points!

The system is deep but easy to understand: you will earn points for any naughty thing you do and even more for naughtiness the other bears witness. The player is awarded even more points if he's creative and changes his tactics frequently.

Each bear is unique and will react differently to you, some are courageous, some are cowards and will go hide while some are intelligent and will get help or form groups. It is important to understand each of the bear's personality to get more points from them. The tactic you will choose to use, the timing and the location are also important to your success in this system.

Points unlock levels, costumes and earn you Naughty Cups. Earning Naughty Points and discovering new ways to earn them is what gives the game some of its depth. There are hundreds of different ways to be naughty from smashing stuff to much more in-depth ways like getting the other bears to witness your carnage. Also, as you play, your points are added to leaderboards and your friends' high scores are shown, encouraging you to beat them. There are also more than 50 different ranks to unlock from Naughty Cub to Naughtomotron.

What kind of weapons will there be?

There are dozens of weapons players can use, from pistols and machetes to common, everyday objects like a refrigerator or a BBQ grill. Players can interact a lot with the environment, so there's a lot of fun to be had with items like bear-traps just lying around the island. My personal favourite is the sledgehammer!

What can we expect in level design? Open world or linear levels?

We feature linear levels with sandbox gameplay. The player can genuinely approach their objectives anyway they like. From stealth to all out action there is plenty to discover. Very little is scripted in {Naughty Bear}; this allows players to expect the unexpected with regards to all of the NPCs in the game.  No play-through is the same, making for a completely new experience every time someone picks up the controller.  Gamers will keep coming back to try out the unique DLC we will offer, but also to try and get more Naughty Points and climb the leaderboards.

What kind of objectives will there be?

In the main story mode the Player is tasked with raising a set number of Naughty Points to progress. Later on in the game we shake things up with 7 new challenge modes that include Speed run, killer and the insanely tough Top Hat challenges. In these we arm every bear with a Top hat and a laser pistol and set them against the Player.

How violent will this be? {Manhunt} style?

{Manhunt} was very realistic; our game is all about the juxtaposition between cuteness and violence. Is it violent? Absolutely, but it will make you laugh too. We're not trying to just shock the player, we want to make you smile (even if it is guiltily).

There are a number of multiplayer options, can you tell me about those?

There are 4 different multiplayer modes in {Naughty Bear} which all feature the same humor found in the single player experience and are sure to make you laugh. You will find some classical modes that have been twisted with the {Naughty Bear} flavor and other modes that are unique to this game. {Naughty Bear} multiplayer features competitive and cooperative elements. It is also good to note that there are some perks to unlock for the multiplayer modes and also that all the naughty points you score in multiplayer are stored on your global score. As we say here, it's sweet as a moose.