GamingBolt spoke to Teemu Mäki-Patola, COO at Frogmind, about this, including what new players can look forward to in the Game of the Year Edition of Badland and the company’s stance on the console wars, among other things.

"Bringing a game from tablets to consoles is difficult even if it would suit well for that. There is a certain stigma to it. It’s much more okay to do the other way around, even if the game would be totally the same on all platforms."

Rashid K. Sayed: Badland has a very interesting timeline. It was critically acclaimed when it released on mobiles two years ago and is now available for various consoles. What motivated the desire to bring the franchise to PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Windows 8, etc.?

Teemu Mäki-Patola: When BADLAND was initially released in 2013 on iPad, our goal was to create a console-quality game for tablets. Frogmind was just a team of two at the time, without the resources to enter the console market, but we always dreamed of bringing BADLAND also to consoles and Steam. Our backgrounds are indeed in making console games. Thanks to the game’s success on tablets we could fulfill the dream, gain new experience and reach new audience. We felt strongly that it would make for a great game on those platforms. Of course we needed e.g. to redesign the controls and do some changes to get there. Playing the game on PS4 or Xbox One from a big TV in Full-HD and with four players at 60 frames per second, we are happy with the end result and feel that the new version offers good value. But yeah, I do wish we were faster in bringing it over. The development took over a year of work even after all business and platform holder stuff was in order. But taking in 8 new platforms is plenty of work.

Rashid K. Sayed: For those who haven’t played Badland on mobiles, could you explain all the content included in the Game of the Year Edition?

Teemu Mäki-Patola: The GOTY Edition has 100 single player levels, 100 co-op levels (for up-to-four player local multiplayer) and 27 multiplayer versus levels where the players compete against each other. Both the single player and co-op campaigns usually take about 10 to 15 hours to play through. The game has large-scale trophies (1000 points) on the PlayStation platforms and 77 achievements on Xbox One & Steam. The PS versions support cross-buy (get the game for all PS4, PSVita & PS3 with a single purchase) and cross-save (syncs your progress between different PS devices – e.g. PS4 & Vita). The controls have been expanded to support full 2D movement (controlled with the analog stick). And all the levels have been modified for the new control scheme.

Rashid K. Sayed: The gameplay for Badland provides a mix of subtle story-telling and puzzle solving that demands both quick thinking and reactions from the player. How did you feel this would be received on consoles?

Teemu Mäki-Patola: Bringing a game from tablets to consoles is difficult even if it would suit well for that. There is a certain stigma to it. It’s much more okay to do the other way around, even if the game would be totally the same on all platforms. Playing the console version during development, we felt strongly that the game is really good on consoles. If you would play it without knowing anything of the background, you would not think that it’s coming from mobile. It doesn’t look or feel mobile. It feels like a good indie game and at home on the consoles. So based on the game, we expected it to be received well. Based on the genre of the game, we expected it not to be for everyone on consoles but aim to a specific audience that likes indie games, beautiful 2D graphics and puzzle adventures.

Rashid K. Sayed: The art design is also intriguing, especially with what’s happening in the background as well as the silhouetted foreground. How were the visuals enhanced for the transition to consoles and other platforms?

Teemu Mäki-Patola: There are more visual effects such as shaders, tweaks on level elements and assets and setting aspect ratios and safe zones to work on all console & Steam variations. But overall, the original hand painted art style works really well from a large screen. You notice much more details from the assets.

"The biggest difficulty was to make the game suit for natural console controls. We knew it could not be a one-button game. Once we changed the gameplay to controlling the 2D movement with the analog stick, all the timing based puzzles broke."

Rashid K. Sayed: The difficulty of the game has been talked about quite a lot. Was it always meant to be this challenging?

Teemu Mäki-Patola: Kind of was but we don’t feel its too challenging. We felt that some amount of challenge suits well for the console & Steam users. Many of user reviews say that the difficult parts can be frustrating but also that the satisfaction in conquering them is definitely bigger when there is some challenge.

Rashid K. Sayed: What are your thoughts on concerns of Badland being more suited to mobiles than consoles because of the nature of its segmented stages and gameplay?

Teemu Mäki-Patola: On consoles & Steam it is less for everyone than on mobile just for being a 2D-art indie puzzle adventure and not a giant AAA FPS production. But e.g. the level based gameplay suits the console platforms equally well. Our levels were always a bit long for mobile. Many of them take between 5 to 15 minutes to play through. The one button gameplay was a clear concern and that’s why it was changed to more expressive free movement.

Rashid K. Sayed: How difficult was it to translate the gameplay from mobiles to consoles? Did you experience any challenges in porting the control scheme from touch screens to controllers?

Teemu Mäki-Patola: The biggest difficulty was to make the game suit for natural console controls. We knew it could not be a one-button game. Once we changed the gameplay to controlling the 2D movement with the analog stick, all the timing based puzzles broke. So we needed to change the levels quite heavily to match the new freedom of movement. It wasn’t so much of a challenge but just something that needed to be done and required work. And to be honest, the hundreds of technical requirements require work too. Super happy that we had Blitworks and Frozenbyte guys helping us.

Rashid K. Sayed: Of the current gen consoles available, namely the PS4 and Xbox One, which has impressed you the most and why?

Teemu Mäki-Patola: We are not too eager to enter the console wars. We try to keep our focus in the games and less in the platforms. From our perspective, both PS4 & XB1 suited our game equally well. Both are definitely powerful enough.

Rashid K. Sayed: Furthermore, what is your take on the differences between the two consoles?

Teemu Mäki-Patola: Our take is pretty minimal for that. We are not pushing the limits of shaders, effects or polygon output and thus don’t depend on whatever small differences the platforms might have in regards to those.

"Consoles and mobile are getting closer to each other in respect to the power to express. There will be lots of games that can work on all of those platforms as long as the audiences wants that to happen."

Rashid K. Sayed: Badland: Game of the Year Edition on Wii U has somewhat of a delayed release compared to other platforms. Are you using the console’s Gamepad for some additional functionality?

Teemu Mäki-Patola: We struggled some in the beginning of the Wii U development and that started slower than development on the other consoles. The Gamepad naturally supports touch screen playing and playing even without the TV. But other than that, the Wii U version is very close to the others, also by with being 1080p at 60fps. But there has been a bit more iteration on the technical requirements and the testing & approval process is longer as well.

Rashid K. Sayed: What’s next after Badland and will it come to mobiles first or release on multiple platforms simultaneously?

Teemu Mäki-Patola: Our main focus is still on mobile with lots of cool stuff in development. You will see some already after the summer. We are working on multiple projects. Releasing them on other platforms will be considered later.

Rashid K. Sayed: What is your take on the differences between the indie policies of both Sony and Microsoft?

Teemu Mäki-Patola: Both have supported our project well. Microsoft maybe makes more of a statement of supporting the indie side with the ID- program.

Rashid K. Sayed: What is your take on the resolution and frame rate debate that seems to be all the rage on console games these days?

Teemu Mäki-Patola: It’s natural but pretty hardcore. Our approach to games focuses on other things than pushing the maximum amount of polygons per second. The games that are pushing that limit are great to look at but also require 100 man teams to work on them and their content. Of course they tend to be the hardware sellers as well.

They are one side of the industry and then there are lots and lots of awesome experiences you can create by focusing on other factors. We believe to convergence in the platforms: the iPad is already a rather powerful device. So are the best Android tablets. Consoles and mobile are getting closer to each other in respect to the power to express. There will be lots of games that can work on all of those platforms as long as the audiences wants that to happen. We care more about games and gameplay than about inventing standards by which specific platforms can be better than others.

Rashid K. Sayed: Is there anything else you want to tell us about the game before we let you go?

Teemu Mäki-Patola: The local multiplayer & co-op are a lot of fun, so definitely try those if you have a chance.

GamingBolt recently got in touch with Teemu Mäki-Patola who is the COO of Frogmind, the studio behind, Badland : Game of the Year Edition which recently launched for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. In our interview, we asked Teemu about his take on the differences between the indie policies of both Sony and Microsoft.

Teemu revealed that both companies have supported them well but according to him, Microsoft is probably making more of a statement due to its ID@Xbox policy. “Both have supported our project well. Microsoft maybe makes more of a statement of supporting the indie side with the ID- program,” he said to GamingBolt.

He also gave his take take on the resolution and frame rate debate that seems to be all the rage on console games these days. He stated that they do not make games that will push the hardware to its limit but did acknowledge the debate as hardcore. “It’s natural but pretty hardcore. Our approach to games focuses on other things than pushing the maximum amount of polygons per second. The games that are pushing that limit are great to look at but also require 100 man teams to work on them and their content. Of course they tend to be the hardware sellers as well. They are one side of the industry and then there are lots and lots of awesome experiences you can create by focusing on other factors.”

“We believe to convergence in the platforms: the iPad is already a rather powerful device. So are the best Android tablets. Consoles and mobile are getting closer to each other in respect to the power to express. There will be lots of games that can work on all of those platforms as long as the audiences wants that to happen. We care more about games and gameplay than about inventing standards by which specific platforms can be better than others.”

Badland : Game of the Year Edition is available on all major platforms. Stay tuned for our full interview with Teemu in the coming days.

However, that was two years ago. Badland: Game of the Year Edition signals the game’s simultaneous release on home consoles and PC hardware. Given the influx of indie titles, particularly 2D side-scrollers with awesome production values, how well does Frogmind translate the mobile puzzler onto the big screen? Is the resulting gameplay value worth your time and money at the cost of portability and convenience?

"You'll face scenarios wherein one Clony must traverse through the upper part of the screen while another Clony moves through the bottom. The world is full of dangerous traps including buzz saws, hydraulics, thorns, falling rocks and much more as mysterious machines hang about in the background."

Badland’s gameplay is somewhat like Flappy Bird, except with much more variety and with far less punishing mechanics (in the beginning, at least). You control a small little bird-like creature called Clony that progresses through a strange and mysterious world divided into days, each day denoted by a certain time of day such as Dawn and Noon.

These days consist of numerous small levels with their own little mechanics to conquer. By holding down the right trigger, players will dictate how high or low Clony can travel through these levels. One will also come across differing power-ups. There’s a power-up which results in numerous Clonies being generated and one that can increase Clony’s size exponentially.

You’ll face scenarios wherein one Clony must traverse through the upper part of the screen while another Clony moves through the bottom. The world is full of dangerous traps including buzz saws, hydraulics, thorns, falling rocks and much more as mysterious machines hang about in the background. Credit must be given to Frogmind for simply yet seamlessly blending together numerous mechanics like environmental destruction, switch pressing, protagonist-altering and quick timing together in rapid success for a number of levels.

Even on mobiles though, Badland’s graphical approach was as casual as could be. The art style is interesting and colourful, evoking a darker Rayman and World of Goo aesthetic while still managing to remain distinct. The foreground is mainly silhouetted in shadows, making it difficult to identity certain switches and puzzle solutions in the environment.

Frogmind has a done a decent job bringing Badland to the Xbox One but the higher resolution artwork tends to clash with the minimal amount of activity occurring in the environment. At times, the effect is beautiful and stark. At others, it can be extremely and utterly routine as you whizz by levels without paying too much attention to the visuals. And unlike the other aforementioned games I didn’t find too much soul in Badland’s world. Thankfully, there weren’t any frame rate troubles, tearing or other discernible glitches.

"This isn't to say that Badland: Game of the Year Edition isn't fun. When it all clicks and you start that smooth, perfect run through a level, it can be an exhilarating feeling. Even when you're slowly traversing some sections, waiting for that opportune moment of timing to progress, there's a fair amount of tension."

There was concern about the puzzles and how they’d carry over into the console version. While Badland is no Ninja Gaiden, its gameplay felt more like an old platformer rather than a new-age, hand-holding mobile title. Often times, you’ll find yourself making significant progress in a level only to make one small mistake and be back at the beginning. At other random times, there will be checkpoints for you to continue your progress.

And considering the nature of the gameplay, it did take a fair number of retries in order to clear some stages. There’s nothing too severe that can’t be cleared with sufficient effort though. The one nagging criticism I had of the game’s puzzles was in the pacing. Badland doesn’t give you much time to gloat or marvel at your ingenuity before hurling you to the next stage. The plot is minimal and even non-existent at points, leaving you to clear stages for the sake of overcoming challenges more than anything else.

This isn’t to say that Badland: Game of the Year Edition isn’t fun. When it all clicks and you start that smooth, perfect run through a level, it can be an exhilarating feeling. Even when you’re slowly traversing some sections, waiting for that opportune moment of timing to progress, there’s a fair amount of tension. It’s just that it feels less like a home console game and more like an interstitial selection of levels. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing on mobiles – you can pick up and play at any time without having to remember the plot or your current progress – it does feel somewhat lacking on consoles, especially with extensive play.

Badland: Game of the Year Edition does have its issues and it indeed feels out of place on the Xbox One. It’s still a decent time pass, one that you play at off-times but it stands rather oddly next to the numerous AAA releases on the console. Even compared to most modern indie titles, there isn’t a whole lot of replay value to Badland. Once you finish the main campaign, you’ll only really be motivated to unlock the relatively simple Achievements before retiring the game for good. Badland isn’t a game everyone should play immediately but if you find it cheap, it’s an interesting and at times fun game that’s pretty forgettable.