Yug: Can you give me a run down on the history of Torus and how it got to where it is today?

Kevin McIntosh: Torus started more than 14 years ago now, which is an age in the games industry. We worked for years to establish ourselves, then got our big break when we developed Carmageddon TDR 2000. That put us on the radar of some bigger publishers and we went on to specialise in developing handheld titles for companies like Ubisoft, Activision and THQ. We branched out our handheld expertise by developing directly for Nokia and Leapfrog. At the same time, we were promoting the fact that we develop on other consoles too. This lead to deals with Infogrames, BAM Entertainment and Take Two.

Circling back, we got our first big console opportunity from Activision when we developed Shrek Smash N’ Crash Racing. It gave us the chance to work on multiple platforms (PS2, Gamecube, PSP, DS, GBA) and well and truly put the company on the console map. Shrek went on to sell over 1 million copies, so commercially it was a real success as well. From there the wheel has really been turning quickly. We have developed Indianapolis 500 for Destineer, Monster Jam for Activision and Zoo Hospital for Majesco. Every game gets our best attention, so it’s tending to lead to bigger projects every step we take. We’re now developing Monster Jam 2 for Activision and a high profile platformer. As long as we maintain our focus and work ethic that we’ve created over years of developing great games, the sky is the limit.

Zoo Hospital - all the fun of operating on animals without the danger!

Yug: Zoo Hospital!! Can you tell us a little bit about this game, and how it uses the Wii functionality? (I’m an old school Theme Hospital nut, so any " Hospital" game interests me these days)

Kevin: We made sure that Zoo Hospital on the Wii was all about the remote. We originally developed it for the DS and since then we have expanded on the animals, the animations and the mini games. As an example, you can treat an animal for parasites in the game. You need to diagnose the animal on the table, then shave away the fur to reveal the parasites. Using swatting motions with the Wii controller, you need to eliminate all of the parasites. Other mini games involve you removing foreign items out of the animals stomachs (twisting), removing decayed teeth (wiggling), injecting the animals (thrusting) and calming the animal on the operation table (stroking). We’ve put far more depth to the game with the story and replayability of the game. There’s a hidden ‘animal’ in the game to find as well if you play your cards right.

Yug: Do you think the Indianapolis 500 game will see the light of day in Australia, or is there not really a market for it here?

Kevin: I’m not sure about Destineer’s plans for Indianapolis for Australia. It seems like a game that is predominantly American. However, they cast the race on TV every year around the world, so perhaps it has legs. They’d have to do the numbers and work that out.

Yug: It seems like Torus has worked on almost every franchise that exists. Have there been any favourites?

Kevin: I worked out the other week that we’ve developed on 21 platforms and have released 94 individual titles. It’s sometimes hard to remember all the games. The ones that stand out as highlights for me personally include Spider-Man, Space Invaders, Duke Nukem, Shrek and our current platformer. I enjoy working on the different genres too; while developing Sentinel, which is a first person shooter for Xbox, I was also working on Counting on Zero, an educational maths game for 4 year olds. There are different challenges that come from the platforms and demographics that keep it really interesting.

Yug: Hold on, so you guys worked on a Duke Nukem title? Do you have any info on the latest title?

Kevin: The first game I worked on at Torus was Duke Nukem Game Boy Color, then we worked on Duke Nukem Game Boy Advance which won awards for its time. We really enjoyed working with George, Scott and the rest of the guys at 3D Realms. Unfortunately we don’t have any more news on Duke Nukem Forever though. I know I’ll get a copy when it comes out though, because I know the attention to detail those guys go to.

Yug: You did some original IPs for the N-Gage, how did that come about?

Kevin: That was really exciting for us actually. We had been in touch with Nokia about developing titles ever since they announced the N-Gage. We put together two game design ideas and pitched them to them. We then agreed to meet up at the E3 show in Los Angeles one year and we met with their head of development. He said that they’d created a shortlist of 12 titles that they wanted to choose from and had decided to choose two to focus on. It just happened that both titles were ours; Ashen and Operation Shadow. Obviously they went on to develop other titles as well, but it was a real thrill to be at the forefront of development with them and particularly to get our original ideas out there.

Yug: Definitely cool! Although the N-Gage didn’t exactly prove to be the killer app it promised to be. Did you do much side-talking yourself?

Kevin: They certainly improved it with the N-Gage QD and Nokia still have plans for games. They are a massive company and I think they’ll chip away at it for years to come. I hope I get the chance to work with them again in the future. I did have one of the original N-Gage’s and used it as a phone for almost a year. I’ve kept a collection of all my old games consoles and titles I’ve worked on over the years, so the N-Gage has been retired to that shelf now.

Yug: Monster Jam has just come out in Australia, how did an Australian developer such as yourself pickup a predominantly American sport licence?

Kevin: We’ve been working with Activision for years and the success of Shrek Racing showed them that we could develop great games on the consoles. Monster Jam was developed for PS2, Xbox360, PC, Wii and DS. That was again successful over the Xmas period, which is why we’re working on the sequel right now for Wii, PS2, PSP & DS. We’ve worked on a number of predominantly American licenses in the past too. We’re currently developing our 5th American Football title in Backyard Football 2009.

M-M-M-Monster Jam!

Yug: Do you think there is a market for this game in Australia?

Kevin: Although the live events are more popular in the US, I believe Monster Jam is a downright fun game for every market. The trucks are all unique and have personalities; the tracks are real world and include some massive smashes and jumps; the freestyle events are true to life. Tearing up the field while the crowd is building and the commentator is getting excited is pretty cool. There’s also multiplayer on every platform, which really adds to the replayability. Activision puts a fair amount of study into which markets they release their games in and chose Europe/Australia specifically because they knew it’s a game that stands up on its own.

Yug: Can you tell me a bit about what separates this game from other Monster Truck games? (admittedly, the only ones that spring to my mind are Monster Truck Madness, released quite awhile ago!!).

Kevin: Other Monster Truck titles have had different focuses. One title was about cross country racing. Another actually involved weapons on the front of the truck. The fans weren’t impressed and wanted something that they could experience just as they see at the live shows by Live Nation. So we concentrated on giving them a real stadium smashing experience, as well as the cross-country smashing. Our trucks are more detailed and more accurate than any Monster Truck title before, and the gameplay is building again in Monster Jam 2. It’s been great to get the opportunity to build on the success of Monster Jam 1.

Yug: Are there many existing monster truck fans at Torus?

Kevin: Actually, our CEO worked on a Monster Truck game for the NES (Big Foot) years ago, before Torus had even started. I had been to the events in the past and I know a bunch of the team have been to some of the events that they hold around Melbourne (in particular, they run a show in Cranbourne each year which is packed out). On top of that, Torus developed an original Monster Truck demo a few years ago, so it was inevitable that we’d eventually get the opportunity.

The current Torus building (although not for much longer)

Yug: Do you have much contact with the other Melbourne based developers? Is there much of a game developer community down here?

Kevin: The Melbourne IGDA has held some great events in the past which draw a diverse group from all studios. Melbourne has a very friendly developer community and we keep in touch with many of the CEOs and folks from other studios. We’re a little separated from it as we’re based outside of Melbourne, which suits us well. Torus have a relaxed and professional atmosphere, drive to work against the traffic and own our own building instead of paying city rent rates.

Yug: I've been told there isn't a high turnover of staff at Torus, why do you think that is?

Kevin: I think there are a number of reasons for this. Firstly, we are very particular about the staff we let in. We have a fantastic culture of creative people who respect each other without ego. This makes it a very friendly and tolerant place to work, which is what you need when you’re working with creative pressures. Secondly, the lifestyle is a factor. As I mentioned, we work out from the city, which is a bonus for some people in terms of travel, health, stress. The location of a studio is not important on a world scale. A publisher won’t hire you because you have an office in the city or 20 mins out from the city. In fact, many of the major publishers aren’t in their city’s CBD.

On top of positioning, we have a no overtime policy that we strive for. The company puts the staff first and encourages a balanced lifestyle that doesn’t involve weekends and late night overtime. Thirdly, the projects that we create keep people interested and challenged. We are always working on at least 4 projects in the studio, so there is plenty of variety in the genres and platforms. Many of the staff who have been here almost 10 years recognise the hurdles that we’ve overcome to be in the position that we’re in today, and it’s rewarding to know how far we’ve come and what we’ve achieved.

Yug: What titles and systems are you working on now, what can we expect to see from Torus in the future?

Kevin: I’ve mentioned a couple of them in the previous questions, so I’ll go over them again quickly. We’re working on Monster Jam 2: Urban Assault for Wii, PS2, PSP & DS. We’re finishing up Zoo Hospital on the Wii, finishing Crystal Mines on the DS and will soon be finishing Backyard Football 2009 for DS. On top of that, we’re currently working on a high profile platformer for Wii, PS2 & DS and have other projects that we’ll be kicking off shortly that may involve PS3.

We have already developed for X360 & PC last year, so the PS3 is the only platform we haven’t ticked off yet. I might just add that there is plenty of work available at the moment and we could take on twice the amount of projects we’re doing right now if we find the right people to join the company. In particular we’re looking for experienced 3D artists, technical programmers and tools programmers. We have potential openings in every department, but those are on the top of our list right now.

Yug: Best of luck filling those extra positions! Thank you once again for your time and good luck with all the future projects!