Innovation and Knockout City
Last week we were honored to be included on the list of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Design Companies of 2021, “for rethinking play”. It is amazing to be included on a list with pioneers like Adidas and Google.
We invented our first product, Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, and then co-developed it with Nintendo. The game’s reception at launch was gratifying and thrilling. We felt that we had something special from the beginning: a game that delivered a fresh perspective on our everyday world, a new form of play, and a mixed reality experience that paid off on that technology.
Experimentation. Simplicity. Consumer first. Flexibility. These are just a few of the philosophies that stood out among the stories of our fellow honorees. We see many of those same philosophies reflected in the approach that we take.
Velan Studios’ approach to design and innovation extends well beyond our first product. Here are some of the core values that drive us as a studio and influenced the development of our latest game Knockout City, to be published in May 2021 under the EA Originals label.
1. Stay Curious. We will always look for that spark of creativity that comes from keeping our eyes open and staying curious. The genesis of Knockout City came from asking ourselves what we could make that was different from the sea of action games out there. What hasn’t been done? Why? How could we make it fun?
2. Find the Fun. It all has to start with the play experience. Is it fun? The core mechanic in Knockout City is throwing and catching a ball. As simple as it sounds, it is a mechanic that had never been explored fully in a game before. Sure, it would be different, but would it be fun? After 18 months of prototyping, the game proved that throwing and catching a ball in a fast-paced competitive dodgeBRAWL match was incredibly fun.
3. Scrappy Problem Solvers. But how could we pull this off as an online multiplayer game? How do we deal with multiple physics objects and latency? The available game engines out there couldn’t deliver on our vision. We had to develop our own engine, along with a unique programming language that the game is written in. This is our approach: find the fun first, and then figure out how to make it work technically.
4. Deeply Passionate. That process of finding a core idea, finding the fun, and then figuring out how to deliver that experience from a technical standpoint was just the start. It is truly the passion of the team making Knockout City that has resulted in what you will play. The final version of the game is a testament to the commitment of the team. Fully cross-play & cross-progression. This means that players can play with others on the platform of their choice. They can also start on one platform and continue with another. Our goal was to use the technology to bring players together in joyful competition. Seasons and special events from Day 1. A full Crew system to deliver on team play from Day 1. The team has thought about what is best for the player experience and then figured out how to deliver.
Our mission has never changed from Day 1 of our studio to create breakthrough games that are magic. Knockout City is the next game on our journey, and we couldn’t be more excited to have you with us. There will be a Cross-Play Beta April 2–4 and the full launch on May 21st. We hope that you check it out. Playing is believing!
Sign up to play with friends on PC, PlayStation®4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. (It’s also backwards compatible and enhanced for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.)
