This is the second interview preserved from the Madgear website.
1. Now that Hydro Thunder has been around for a while is the team changing it’s name for the next project, or will it be “Team Hydro Thunder Presents”… a new game.
– We’ll always be known as Team Hydro. Hydro Thunder was our first game together and so it makes sense that we keep it, regardless of the types of projects we’re working on.
2. How much vacation time did you get after the completion of Hydro Thunder?
– The artists got 2 months, but the programmers only got like a month. I think I could have taken 6 months off and still not recovered completely!
3. How much work or traveling did you have to do to promote Hydro Thunder?
– Let’s see, England for the ATE show, Las Vegas for the ASI show, Los Angeles for the E3 show, and Chicago for the Hydro Thunder National Championship. Next time around, I’m hoping to promote our next game in Hawaii.
4. How much feedback/ praise have you received from people around America (or the world) on Hydro Thunder?
– Support from Hydro fans has been more than any of us had expected. We receive many emails every week from gamers mostly just wanting to say how much they like the game. For the team, this is what it’s all about! It’s what makes the long hours totally worth it.
5. In the sequel to Hydro Thunder will there be enough changes to warrant an entirely new racing game experience, separating it from the original?
– I think it’ll blow you guys away! You just wait and see, hehehehe… In fact, keep visiting Noe’s site (this site) because I’m going to give him a picture of one of our new boats for him to post. This will be the first picture ever released on Hydro Thunder 2.
6. Have you been taking suggestions for Hydro Thunder 2 from this site as well as e-mail from around the world into consideration for the sequel?
– We’re always open to ideas. Of course, not every suggestion will make it into the game. The strangest request we got was from a kid who wanted knives on the boats. Huh? Interesting idea, but I just can’t see it happening.
7. I know you are not allowed to talk about the new project you (Steve Ranck) are working on, but if you could give arcade gamers a few words to help build suspense what would you say?
– A few words? Hmmmm. How about lawsuit, fired, Bobbett. Oh wait, those are the words the Midway attorneys used to build suspense in my future if I were to say anything. At the risk of them actually pursuing any of that, I’ll just say that it’s a racing game on steroids. And leave it at that.
8. Are there any new or leaving members from the original Hydro Thunder team?
– At the end of Hydro, we had one programmer leave to go to Naughty Dog. He was the guy who wrote our sound system and AI stuff. With Hydro 2, we’ve hired a new programmer, Jason Gregory, who’s been kicking serious ass. He’s definitely part of Team Hydro and we couldn’t be happier. Aside from that, everyone else is present and accounted for.
9. Has the team looked into developing directly for any of the home console systems? (both current and upcoming machines)
– We’ve discussed the idea of porting Hydro 2 to Playstation2 or X-Box after we’re done with the arcade version. But seriously, that’s a long time from now. We’re just concentrating on the arcade version for now.
10. Does the team want to focus solely on Hydro Thunder racing games or would it like to branch out into car racing or a different genre?
– See Question #7 🙂
Thanks, Noe, for developing and maintaining such a kickass web site for Hydro Thunder! And thanks to all of your visitors for the great suggestions. It’s good to be in touch with you gamers and hear what you’d like to see in a game!
Go Go Go !!!
– Steve Ranck and the rest of Team Hydro