As the hotly anticipated sequel to the design-your-own-Flugtag-flyer game, Flight Lab, takes off, we had a chat with Carsten Schneider of German game developer Less Rain about what to expect...
How does Flight Lab 2 improve upon the original?
"The original Flight Lab featured only one level, a serene lake in a cardboard countryside where players could experiment with a self-made plane in a realistic physics-based flight simulator. To be really successful, you had to test and refine your aircraft until it showed perfect flight characteristics.
"For Flight Lab 2 we wanted to add a game mode that is more accessible, where players are no longer required to tinker with their plane to make it onto the score board. Here, it's all about speed and reaction times. We added many more locations as well, with varying degrees of difficulty.
"So with a choice of classic mode and a range of new levels, both hobby pilots and professional aircraft designers alike can now find the perfect challenge."
The first game won a clutch of coveted awards, did this spur you onto outdoing your previous success with Flight Lab 2?
"In this case - not really. Building the first game was a series of steep technical challenges, from the free-form plane-drawing tool to building a physics-based flight simulator in Flash. This time, our focus was simply to to refine, and to improve usability and playability. What spurred us was not to win more awards, but instead to get more users in, and cater for different playing styles.
How did you go about bringing the fun of a Red Bull Flugtag event to people's desktops?
"We knew that we couldn't compete with the real event. It would be impossible for us to re-create the Flugtag experience online. Players would not face a huge audience with thousands of spectators, there would be no tall ramp, and they wouldn't have to throw themselves off it.
"So instead of trying to replicate Flugtag, we built a game alongside it. We focussed first on the aspect of creativity and started with a simple but powerful building tool. The original game stayed a bit closer to the event, by measuring flight distance, flight performance and a rating for creativity. The new game is about reaction speed. So, while not exactly following the Flugtag template, I think we're still staying true to the spirit of the event.
Did you do any real-world research for the game?
"We have been to several Flugtag events in the past, so we had a pretty good idea which aspects were easy to translate into a game, and which ones weren't.
"But the main research went into airplane physics and 3D programming. At the heart of Flight Lab is a pretty serious flight simulator, that we modified to simulate birds as well - in the original game you had to flap your wings to fly.
"While you could call this 'real-world research', we had to exclude ourselves from the real world for quite some time."
Red Bull Flightlab 2
Does the limitations of Flash gaming help or hinder your imagination?
"The limitations often helped us, since you have to be really creative to overcome certain obstacles. When the original game launched it was one of the very first Flash websites to use the Papervision 3D engine, and not just for a pretty interface, but for a somewhat serious simulation. We spent months on research and on prototyping, and that was for us probably the most exciting part of development.
"To give you an example: The lake you see in the game - it's not really there. We could not get enough performance out of Flash to display a large water surface. Instead, we created the illusion of a lake just through reflections of the background graphic, and the shadow of the plane.
"We then created an invisible "mini lake", that moves together with the plane. So when you crash, you land inside the mini lake and your plane can sink into water.
What would be your top personal tip for Flight Lab flying success? Is it all in the design or the flying?
"Well with Flight Lab 2 you can now choose: The original game is still available as 'Classic Mode', and here physics - the design of your plane - play a very important role. Small but heavy lets you go far, big and light lets you perform stunts. So you need to build something specific to your flying style. The new game though is only testing your piloting abilities, so you need good gaming skills and fast reaction times."
The archive features a stunning amount of different flying machine designs, do you have any particular favourites?
"We were a bit surprised by a particular stick-like design. It turned out to be almost unbeatable in classic mode. So although this design started to dominate the highscore table, we where happy to see players experimenting with the physics model and actually trying to build better flying planes, rather than just prettier ones."
What Flash games or Apps have you been playing lately?
"Currently I'm playing Kairosoft's Pocket Academy, and I'm waiting for their iPhone release of Grand Prix Story. On consoles, I prefer very immersive, movie-like titles, like Red Dead Redemption or L.A. Noire. Both managed to re-create a time and place with an amazing attention to detail, and I sometimes find myself traveling the game world like a tourist, looking for a perfect spot to enjoy the virtual sunset..."
Red Bull Flightlab 2
Want more?
- Take a look at the Moscow Flugtag event page
- More Flash gaming on RedBull.com
- Check out the Red Bull gaming blog
- Visit the Less Rain site
- More Creativity on redbull.com
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