1000 Rated Disc Golf Players, News, scores, and more

1000 RATED: There has been a lot of hype concerning a new WiiWare disc golf game that you are developing. Can you give us some history behind how this first came to be, and what you initially talked about with Executive Director Brian Graham and the PDGA?

SHAYNE: PDGA and Autonomous Productions began talking in late 2007 and formalized our partnership earlier this year. From the beginning, we realized that for the game to be authentic and successful we would need to work closely with the PDGA. I believe they see it as a great opportunity to expose the sport to a wider audience and we see it as a way to better promote the game and make it as authentic as possible by working with them throughout the development process.

We’ve been in pre-production throughout the talks and originally planned a Fall 08 release window. That has now changed with the announcement of the MotionPlus add-on for the Wii. MotionPlus gives us enough better motion data to increase the accuracy of release point recognition, spin control, as well as improving throw force granularity, etc….to the point that we think real disc golf players expect. Accelerometer-only control was working pretty well, but we were having to take some shortcuts and the biggest problem we had with only accelerometer data was reliable release point data when throwing the hardest.

So, we’ve decided to pull back our release plans to wait for MotionPlus to be released, which is expected this holiday season. Currently, we don’t have a defined release window but development is ongoing and we’re going to try and release as soon as we’re happy with the quality. We’re more focused on releasing a good game with polish rather than sticking to a date, and that’s why we are waiting for MotionPlus.

1000 RATED: We did hear that you pushed back development in order to support MotionPlus, which of course will vastly improve the throwing motion into something more realistic - giving players a more precise shot. Can you explain in greater detail how much more the MotionPlus feature will add to the game?

SHAYNE: MotionPlus has changed what we can do. Unfortunately, the Wiimote doesn’t currently have a gyroscope sensor built in; only an accelerometer. MotionPlus actually adds the gyrometer. A lot can be done with an accelerometer, but the quality of the accelerometer data degrades the faster the hand is moving and it’s just not enough data to precisely support the various throwing motions that are natural for disc golf players.

MotionPlus gives us a gyrometer, so we get velocity data in addition to change in velocity data. We could get into the math of it, but trust me when I say either alone is fairly inadequate for everything we want to support, and both together gives us enough data to make it worth waiting for.

1000 RATED: Have you been paying attention to disc golf message boards or wii-related fan sites about the game to get a sense of what players are asking for? Did you hold any focus groups or development sessions with actual players in order to meet the needs of the growing population of disc golfers?

SHAYNE: We do receive regular emails from fans anticipating the game and keep an eye on message boards, and many of them are generous with their suggestions. We listen to every bit of feedback and are committed to making a game that disc golfers want. I would argue it’s been impossible to really meet the highest expectations on any platform until now with Wii and MotionPlus, and while everyone has opinions on what is the best approach to the game controls, we’re trying to balance a lot of various aspects of the game so that it’s not intimidating to players who have never heard of disc golf while feeling authentic to professional disc golfers. PDGA consults us on gameplay issues, we have consultants who do similar work and we intend to demo at various tournaments around California to get feedback before release.

1000 RATED: You sent en e-mail to someone awhile back and it was posted all over the internet. The gist of it was that you were re-creating some of the famous courses, working with the PDGA to make sure the game was authentic, and hoping to take people through the steps of becoming a professional disc golfer. Is this a pretty accurate description of how the game will work? Can you elaborate on this?

SHAYNE: We do plan on releasing the game with courses important to the sport. We haven’t decided the final list but we’re whittling it down. We also don’t know how many courses we will have at launch because there are some limitations to releasing a downloadable game for the Wii. But we do hope to continue adding new courses for download even after initial release.

As for the steps to becoming a ‘pro’, we have a few different ways we’re looking into the gameplay progression. I don’t want to say anything more yet so as to not create unrealistic expectations, but we want to keep players playing the game and having a gameplay progression is important for that.

1000 RATED: The entire disc golf community (as well as avid Wii sports game junkies) would love to see a few screen shots of what the game will look like. Are you far enough along that you are able to provide us with a couple of teasers?

SHAYNE: We’ve had several request for screenshots, but we probably won’t release any until just before release. Game development is a very iterative process, and we’re still exploring the capabilities of the Wii. We’re still improving the graphics and want to make sure it’s up to par before we release screenshots. Unfortunately, graphics are almost always the last thing to become polished in game development and that’s why most games don’t release screenshots until just before release (Unless it’s a AAA title that has 10’s of millions of funding behind it and needs years of promotion to be successful, which is not the scope we’re working under).

1000 RATED: We here at 1000 Rated Disc Golf are very interested in how ratings will be integrated within the game. Will players be trying to reach a 1000 rating as they move through the steps of becoming a professional disc golfer?

SHAYNE: Again, we haven’t made final decisions on player progression, but we are looking at the possibility of mirroring how ratings are handled in real life.

1000 RATED: Will there be an area in the game with a practice basket or a driving range so that players can practice their shots before heading on to the course?

SHAYNE: Something we’re considering, though playing a practice round should serve the same purpose.

1000 RATED: What is the game’s actual name going to be? Wii Disc Golf? Wii Pro Disc Golf?

SHAYNE: The name will be ‘PDGA presents Disc Golf’.

1000 RATED: How much will the game cost for customers who wish to purchase the game through the WiiWare Shop?

SHAYNE: Undecided.  As a downloadable game it’s sure to be more affordable than a disc based game, though.

1000 RATED: It looks like your original release date was slated for this time of year, specifically a time frame close to the Professional Disc Golf World Championships. Since the Worlds are only a week away, that doesn’t look to be attainable. If the MotionPlus will be available by the holiday season, can we expect to be able to download the game around that time?

SHAYNE: Sorry, but we’re just not at a point of being able to announce a release, but we had originally planned to demo at World’s.

1000 RATED: Do you think we may one day see a Wii Disc Golf World Championships, or a WiiDGC if you will?

SHAYNE: Actually, this is something we’re evaluating. I think the game has to live up to the standards we’re setting of it being authentic, having a proper learning curve (so, for instance, players who play for 1000 hrs are clearly better than players who’ve played for 10 hrs), etc. In other words, if we believe the fidelity of the gameplay is high enough to make a rankings system meaningful, we do want to support tournament style gameplay progression even if it’s not in the first release. Whether that means there is a PDGA presents Disc Golf World Champion at some point, it’s too early to know.

1000 RATED: Can we expect in the future to be able to play against others online?

SHAYNE: We do intend to eventually support online play, as that would be important to ultimately trying to recreate the deepest possible gameplay progression (such as a pro/amateur ratings system), but it’s something that probably will not be in for the initial release as we’re more focused on authentic gameplay at this point.

1000 RATED: If done correctly, the popularity of this game will be huge. What kind of internal conversations have you had on this subject? Can we expect more disc golf games from you in the future - perhaps a second version down the road or upgrades with more courses and features through Wiiware?

SHAYNE: Making disc golf games is something that we’re committed to in the long-term. We could have released a sub-par game this summer and probably sold 60,000 units before word got out that it wasn’t worth it, but that’s not what we’re about. I personally believe this could be a killer app for the Wii, and I get emails all the time that make it clear there is a real demand out there for the kind of game we’re trying to make. So, we’re just trying to take the right steps to make a great game for a disc golf player and we do expect there to be followup in terms of new courses, online tournaments, etc., that we want to support.

1000 RATED: We ask this question to everyone - who is your favorite 1000 rated player and why?

SHAYNE: I’m still personally getting to know the sport and players. We’re constantly watching videos of players, though, and I have to say I like what I see in David Feldberg. He’s consistent even when he’s not dominant.