ComingSoon spoke to Outright Video games producer Ester Zanón about the latest Barbie video game, Barbie Challenge Friendship. Whereas there are many enjoyable mini-games that children and oldsters can play collectively, it additionally has an important message about making a distinction of their neighborhood. It’s now accessible on consoles and PC.
“It’s a Barbie recreation like no different! Attempt new issues with family and friends, like caring for pets with Barbie’s sisters, making ice cream with Ken, renovating the arcade with Teresa, customizing scooters with Nikki, or performing a brand new track with Daisy as your DJ… and what Barbie journey could be full with out an epic musical finale? Everybody will wish to assist Barbie and Barbie restore the neighborhood heart and have a whole lot of enjoyable alongside the way in which,” says the official description for Barbie Challenge Friendship.
Barbie has an extended historical past of video video games, ranging again to the Commodore 64. These video games have grown alongside the know-how, and we haven’t had a Barbie console recreation shortly. What would you say is the most important leap from the final time we noticed Barbie on consoles?
Ester Zanón: Selection! Setting apart the technical enchancment in consoles because the final title from 2015, in Barbie Challenge Friendship we tried to steadiness narrative with minigames and actions, giving our gamers loads of materials to work together with Malibu Waves whereas getting totally immersed in Malibu and Brooklyn’s summer season journey.
There’s such a wealthy historical past of Barbie as we noticed with all of the deep-cut references within the current film. How was it drawing upon the previous for among the actions and outfits in Barbie Challenge Friendship?
Creating a videogame is at all times a staff effort, and on this case it was no completely different: from Outright Video games, we at all times get immersed within the lore of the IP we’re working with alongside our growth groups, which made an astonishing work this time. However we additionally teamed up with Mattel to make sure we portrayed such essential characters faithfully for all followers’ enjoyment.
Barbie Challenge Friendship options split-screen co-op play. How essential was it to make it possible for households may play collectively?
For us it is rather essential to provide our gamers experiences that they really take pleasure in. We all know that younger gamers actually admire taking part in in co-op with their households and pals, thus it was essential for us to have this feature accessible within the minigames, the place the gameplay expertise advantages probably the most from the co-op function.
The sport is centered round saving the Malibu Waves Neighborhood Heart. How essential was it to have a message that children can take away from and to encourage them to be energetic of their neighborhood?
It was essential. Barbie has an extended custom as an inspiring determine and we needed to be loyal with it, as we utterly share her values. For my part, Barbie and Barbie’s collaborative spirit, working collectively and with their pals on restoring a cultural place for the encompassing neighborhood -and succeeding!- is the sort of story all of us want nowadays, not simply youngsters.
Barbie can skateboard and rock out on guitar. Barbie can do something, so how was it figuring out the mini-games and ensuring they captured quite a lot of pursuits?
Exactly due to Barbie’s lengthy historical past we knew each Malibu and Brooklyn have been up for something! We tried to have minigames and actions that make sense inside the present canon and the characters portrayed within the recreation, however at all times maintaining in thoughts what may additionally work within the Malibu Waves Neighborhood Heart. Mattel’s enter was additionally key on this facet, serving to us and the event groups to get the very best Barbie online game expertise for consoles.
