Ten Ton Hamster

Interviewer: Padma “LadyLotus” Fuller , Editor/Site Lead
Interviewee: Matt Saia, Creative Director

Ten Ton Hamster was able to catch up with the very busy Matt Saia, the Creative Director of Freaky Creatures. We got the inside scoop on building your creature, the battlegrounds, the loot system, and more! So without further delay....

1. How is development going on Freaky Creatures?

Development is going great. We recently let the first few testers into closed beta and it’s been a blast seeing them experience the game we’ve been working on for so long. We’re focused on getting battle tighten up and are about to go back to refining the creature lairs. Even though we are getting closer and closer to launch there’s still a few cool things we want to get into the game.

2. The Trailer has gotten great buzz on the Internet; tell us your experience with it?

It was the first time we really showed Freaky Creatures in motion. We’re glad it’s gotten so much attention. I think there is a desire for something like Freaky Creatures out there and I’m happy we’re going to be delivering that experience.

3. For Players who don’t know anything about FC, how can they build their creature?

We wanted creature building to be a fun and easy process.

The first choice you make is what type of creature (cyclopor, setsa, rexar etc.) then you choose one of ten different color schemes.

The second step involves modifying the different parts of your creature. There are five places you can modify: Head, Back, Tail, Right Arm and Left Arm. The head has a selection of horns, fins spikes and other fun parts. The back has things like wings, tentacles and spikes to choose from. Tails are…tails and there are a bunch of crazy tails to choose from. Right and Left arm are for weapons which include everything from blasters to swords and shields. Once you have something you like you move on to the next step.

The third step is choosing a name and a musical theme for your creature. Once that is complete your creature is “created” and you can head off to giving it some powers.

You can also head into random create and let the random generator take care of steps 1 and 2 for you.

Powers are the fourth step but take place after your creature is created. You can go to the edit powers menu and assign powers to your creature. Where parts are a very visible part of creature creation powers are not visible on your creature and more about what kind of battler you want to be. Do you want to be aggressive attacking all the time? Defensive turtling up and waiting for your opponent to make a mistake? Or maybe something odd like trying to disable or steal their powers? There’s nearly unlimited combinations.

Once you have powers you are ready to go.

4. Tell us about the Battleground and how Players will compete?

Players join battle zone which hold up to 16 players. The first area which is available at launch is the Rival Temples area on Dura. In a battle zone players can chat and decide which opponent they want to fight or observe. Once a player challenges another player and the challenge is accepted they will go to one of five different battle arenas and fight. When the fight is complete they return to the battle zone and can select a new opponent, have a rematch or exit their current battle zone and find another.

One of the cool things about the battle zones is players can create their own passworded world where they can invite friends to join them. So, if you just want to play with your friends you can.

5. Will players get rewards for their victories?

Definitely. There are lots of different rewards. If you beat an opponent you have a chance of winning one of their powers. To clarify on a common question, the other player doesn’t lose the power; we figured losing the match was enough of a penalty. You also win creature credits which you can use in the store on the website to buy everything from exclusive parts to pets for your creature. Also after a set number of wins we award you a random power from our servers which might include a new power not available in the launched set of powers. On top of all this you can also get specific parts, powers and lair objects from placing high enough on the leaderboards.

Last but not least you get experience points which can cause your creature to level up which has its own rewards. Leveling up lets you upgrade your creature with added defenses, increased critical hit chance and increased special activation chance.

6. How many creatures will be available at launch? How many will be female?

There are 11 creatures available at launch. Two of those, Merasha and Setsa, are female. One of them is a secret and won’t be discussed until the first person collects all ten.

7. Give us a brief history of the planet Verdura.

Verdura is a green world overflowing with natural plant life, strange creatures and deep jungle-forests. There are many ancient ruins on the planet’s surface that suggest Verdura was once covered with ancient cities inhabited by a long forgotten race.

Explorers from all over the galaxy come to Verdura, some to hunt wild game, others to plunder the planets natural resources and a very few searching for knowledge from Verdura’s natives. The natives of Verdura possess unique powers that are scientifically unexplainable. Many say they can feel spirits.

Verdura is one of the most popular areas for trainers to start battling. The tournaments tend to be low stakes. It’s linked to all the popular galactic shipping routes so there are always some aliens on world, especially when the monthly competition occurs.

8. Give us a brief history of the planet Magol

Magol is a world filled with fire and danger. The human inhabitants are tough and the beast that live there even tougher. Corporations use the excessive heat of Magol’s many volcanoes to forge everything from starship hulls to creature weapons and parts.

Magol’s numerous natural threats make it a challenging place for explorers. Many areas on Magol have never been seen by human eyes. Few can even guess what mysteries the plant might hold.

Few visit Magol without a specific purpose. It’s outside the normal circuit and those who battle there are veterans that don’t mind the harsh climate.

9. Will there be more planets for players to visit in the future?

Absolutely. New planets are discovered all the time and there are many unexplored areas of existing worlds. We’ve already got quite a few ideas on where players will be going in the future.

10 . Tell us your favorite part about working on Freaky Creatures?

One of my favorite things about Freaky Creatures is when people try to put us in a box. We’re doing so many crazy things (action figures, battle, lair, mobile, web etc.) it’s hard for people to put us in a specific category – and I love it. We are looking at doing all kinds of weird and new things with Freaky Creatures so I can only expect it will get harder and harder to figure out what we are…without experiencing it directly. A one of a kind experience is what we are about. We were lucky to be in a position to create something that didn’t have to follow any set rules – we got to start with a blank slate – creating something that is designed to be fun and entertaining rather than conforming to a specific genre.

Other than that it’s been amazing to see the whole thing come together. We can’t wait to share the game with everyone.

If you want to watch the Freaky Creatures video click here

Click here to read a Ten Ton Hamster preview of Freaky Creatures

Click here to go to the Official Freaky Creatures Website