Recently I got the chance to speak with Thomas Silloway – Project Lead on the new game Rocket League. The idea of playing Soccer with super powered cars is an interesting one and we got the inside look at this pending game.
What made now the ideal time to bring the game back?
We’ve always wanted to do more with Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars and now, we are in a great position to do it. Psyonix has grown quite a bit over the years and we are fortunate enough to be able to run a small, self-funded team to develop Rocket League in a way that players should love. Our fans were demanding a revisit, the timing was great with the PlayStation 4 in full swing, and there are more opportunities than ever for Indie developers.
How many different arenas will there be?
We haven’t announced an exact number yet, but we think the fans will be happy with the variety. We’re going to be announcing more details in the coming months.
What are some of the vehicle types in game?
There’s a bunch of different types of vehicles for Rocket League. We’re bringing back a couple of original cars from the first game and we’ve added a lot of new ones too!
How much can players customize their cars? What are some of the customizations?
We’re not talking about customization too much yet because we’re going to be doing a big announcement very soon that goes into the full details of the system. We can say that there will be over 150 items to customize with, so you can really make your car look unique.
How many players can the game support in online multiplay?
We’re doing up to eight players online and that includes four-Player splitscreen. That means you can team up with three of your friends against another group of four friends and battle each other from across the network!
What have been some of the biggest challenges in creating the game?
Matchmaking has been one of our biggest challenges. It’s a challenge for any game and even more so for us since we have a much smaller team. We’ve completely revamped matchmaking several times during the development of Rocket League and we’ve finally landed on something we think will work very well. Matchmaking is always one of those ongoing, always-improving things, but we feel like we have a very solid foundation in our solution.
Another big challenge has been just trying to figure out how we’re going to fit all the features that we want into the game. We have a wishlist of items a mile long from both ourselves and the community. We’ve gone to great lengths to ensure every minute of time we’re working on Rocket League is spent on something that has a high value to our fans.
Does the game allow leagues and for players to form their own teams?
This is a good question! Our single-player mode allows players to customize their own team and play in a league against teams of AI opponents. One neat part about this is that you can play your season with your splitscreen friends too, so you and your buddies can sit down and try to win the championship together!
Do you have a favorite vehicle/tactic and if so can you share it?
I play similar to how I play soccer in real life — I tend to lean more towards defense. I like to stay near the goal, clearing the ball out when it gets close or hopefully saving shots on goal. However, I’m always making sure that I have a full boost meter so if the opportunity presents itself, I’m charging right up the field to take a flying aerial shot on the opponent’s goal.
