I recently went on a tear about how I’d like for more women in video games tothrow off the shackles of gender conceptsin favor of just being as interesting and genuine as possible. The female protagonists from WayForward are a perfect example of what I mean. Their female leads sometimes cute, sometimes beautiful, but always distinctly feminine, but without being defined solely by their gender.
Their next game,Mighty Milky Wayis no different. It’s planet hopping, gravity-based puzzle platformer about a little green alien girl who exudes confidence, charm, sex appeal, but most importantly, she clearly does things her own way. She hangs out with a T-Rex, beats up said T-Rex, and isn’t afraid to spin some records after the fight.
Speaking of that T-Rex, the “pre-production artwork” you see above is evidence of how that character was designed. The little check mark on the right says it all. WayForward is the studio that’s willing to give a hastily drawn picture of a cyborg dinosaur scribbled onto some lined paper the green light for an appearance in an up and coming videogame. That’s my idea of a studio who knows how to have fun with the process of game development.
Read on for a better look at the intentions, concepts, ideas, and awesome doodles that went into the creation ofMighty Milky Way, courtesy of WayForward’s Sean Velasco.
Dtoid:What are you hoping players experience when they playMighty Milky Way?
SV:We want players to scratch their brains over devious puzzles. We want them to grittheir teeth as they skim past the surface of a dangerous planet. We want them to sheda single tear when they hear the choirs singing “T-Rex!”. Above all, they should scratchtheir heads at the nonsense, and then smile as they embrace it!
Dtoid:How did you come up with the characters forMight Milky Way, particularly Luna. AnyOlimar influence in there? Jetsons maybe?
SV:The only thing those characters have in common are bubble helmets! I’m surprisedyou didn’t throw “The Fury” fromMetal Gear Solid 3in there too. We basically justwanted to make a cute little space girl that had a sort of 50’s retro chic, and Luna wasthe result! As you can see in my admittedly crude concept art, she was originally waymore retro. Naturally, that got massaged out as we made the game mightier.The T-Rex was drawn on a legal pad while we were at Jack in the Box. NotJoking.
Dtoid:By my count, Luna is the third original WayForward heroine to star in her own game.That’s more than a lot of bigger, older developers have done in their lifetime. Is there areason why WayForward is so fond of female protagonists?
SV:We’ve actually had several of them over the years in addition to the ones you seeon DSiWare. Our creative director, Matt Bozon, is fond of female leads, especiallyones that are strong characters in addition to just looking pretty. The other directorsand I wholeheartedly agree with this concept, and it’s become one of our core tenets.WayForward fights the misogyny!
Dtoid:WayForward also has a knack for designing female characters that aren’t overlysexualized or objectified. Do you have general rules around the way that you designyour female protagonists?
SV:We like our characters to be attractive and appealing. But, it’s important to let thepersonality dictate the look. It’s easy to make a sexy-looking design, but not necessarilyan attractive character. Discerning audiences can tell the difference, and it’s easy toturn people off.Milky Way’s lead gal “Luna” is a character I’d be proud to show mymom! Side note: whenever I’m working on something bloody or violent, she alwayssays “Why can’t you make another sweet game like a boy and his blob? That game wasso nice…”
Dtoid:Back toMighty Milky Way, what lessons did you learn from designingMighty FlipChamps, and how did you apply those lessons to designing your new “Mighty” game?
SV:The Bozon Bros. designedMighty Flip Champs, whereas I helmed Mighty MilkyWay. The team makeup and structure was totally different on both projects. However,theMilky Wayteam looked hard at the unique aspects ofMighty Flip Champsandvaliantly endeavored to bring them to our game. The twoMightygames are verydifferent, with distinct personalities, but we think that’s what’s great! Hopefully we cando anotherMightygame with a different team, and it would be a third pillar of quirk!
Dtoid:Is there a specific reason for the reoccurring “Mighty” prefix?
SV:We wanted to tie the games together so that they would stand out among othergame titles. Ideally, we could make a bunch ofMightygames; games that have thesame reoccurring elements. Players would go in knowing sort of what to expect, and wecould build a library of unique games under the same moniker! Think theBit.TripgamesandPixeljunkseries and you aren’t too far off.
Dtoid:Is there any potential for a retail release of your DSiWare games? Sadly, there are alot of people who don’t have their DSi’s online, and I feel like they’re missing out.
SV:While we love the DSiWare platform, we are always looking at different ways to getour games to the players. I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of WayForward’s originaltitles coming to other platforms in the near future…
Dtoid:Any potential to bring your games to other download services or consoles?
SV:Absolutely! I can’t talk about it right now, but you will hear more about our diabolicalplans very soon!
Dtoid:In closing, what’s your favorite thing aboutMighty Milky Waythus far?
SV:The music in this game is truly amazing! However, I am going to have to call outLuna and the T-Rex’s relationship as my favorite part of the game. Their dynamic is justso complicated, realistic, and exciting. Once you play the game, you will understand. Ormaybe you won’t! That’s the beauty and mystery ofMight Milky Way.
