Stefan Boberg works for Team17 and at the time of the interview he was working on Addiction Pinball (former Ballistic Pinball).


Who are you

Q Who are you? (Just a short presentation would be interesting to read)

A Full name: Per Stefan Boberg, born in Stockholm 1972. Moved to Gotland, studied Applied Physics and Electrical Engineering at Link÷ping Institute of Technology (LiTH). Now living in Ossett, England, but would really prefer to live somewhere else, like in the Bahamas :-)

Q How come you got started with computers.

A I'm not sure why, but I became interested in computers back when I was about ten years old. Me and my brother got a VIC-20 on christmas 1982, and I more or less took over it immediately :-) Then I saved up to a C64, followed by a C128D, an A500, an A3000, an A4000/040, and then I moved on to the PC.

Q Did you start programming in a early age?

A Yep. Since my father would not allow us to play games (the sadistic old devil :-), we had to type in all the examples from the manual that came with the computer, and games from magazine listings. later on got some games, but by then I was already hooked.

Q WhatÆs your merits in programming, except for Ballistic?

A Well, I'm not sure it's a huge merit, but I wrote an accounting system for the sugar factory where my father worked when I was 13. I then moved on to writing demos (did "SnurkelScroller" with some guys from TSL, which won some big party competition) and other hacker related things like some widely-used crunchers (TetraPack and DefPack) and various other useless stuff. I also wrote some archivers, LhArcA and LhA, of which LhA became the de-facto standard Amiga compressor/archiver, and was a big success for a shareware project (about 3000 registrations in total, which is not bad for an Amiga program). I've also written various routines for Alien Breed, Superfrog, Project-X, Alien Breed II, and a load of other Team 17 Amiga hits. I did a bunch of CD32 conversions, and finally ended my Amiga "career" by coding Alien Breed: Tower Assault for christmas 1994. Since I finished that, I've been working on the PC, mainly working on Ballistic.

Q As I have understood it you are the leading person in the Programming of Ballistic, what exactly is it you do?

A I'm the "lead programmer", which isn't much of an achievement, or indeed surprising considering that I'm the sole programmer of the game :-). I've written the lot, which means the simulation,graphics, VESA, Win95, sound code, compressors, image quantizers and compressors, Alias PowerAnimator plug-ins, table editors, sound bank generators, 3D engine coding, some SGI-based tools and whatnot else. It's a lot of work, but I love it! :-)

As far as the actual game part of the game goes, I'm the one who designs the rules, tweaks the table layouts, and generally tries to make sure that the game flows and plays well.


Programming

Q What is your opinion in making a game with great ball physics?

A The actual physics involved are really not that complicated. All the basic formulas being employed could probably be scribbled on half an A4 sheet of paper. The problem is getting all the physical constants right, like "bounces", friction and other things. It's not completely obvious exactly how the flippers affect the ball, how much spin affects the ball motion, and so on. It takes a lot of guesswork, testing and tweaking to get it to feel and flow right.

Q If you compare Ballistics feeling with what Timeshock! will have, what do you think the difference will be? (you can also compare with The Web, since I donÆt know what you know about Timeshock!)

A It's difficult to say. Currently, the physics in Ballistic are quite a bit better than PP/TW. I'm pretty sure Adrian and the other guys have been improving the engine since, so I would think they'd be about the same. I don't really think "accuracy" is of any huge significance in itself. What really matters is in the end how well the tables play, and how fun they are.

As far as the rules go, I'm trying to strike a balance between making the game easy to understand for novices (making it possible to start neat stuff even when just knocking the ball about), while at the same time providing enough depth to keep die-hard fans interested. There will be a lot of hidden things in the game (special skillshots, combos etc.), and wizard-modes, to make it more rewarding to play for real wizards.


Ballistic Pinball

Q For what I know Ballistic is your (Team17) first pinball, where did the Idea come from?

A We wanted to do a pinball game way back in 1993/94, but then it was meant to be made by Andreas Tadic/Rico Holmes, and me. Various things happened, and we didn't get around to actually start work on it until autumn 1995.

Q Will Ballistic have any special futures like tournament mode, network/Internet support?

A I have not yet put in a tournament mode, but I don't think it will be a problem to add. It's definitely on my to-do list. There will be Internet support in the form of global high-score lists that are automatically maintained on Team 17's website, and also downloaded into the game. The player will also be able to generate/print audit reports (game stats) and various other things.

Q What will the tables layout/theme/views be like? I know one is going to be Worms, sounds odd but fun.

A There will be three tables in the first package. The tables are:

Worms: Based on the big hit game by the same name. Cartoony graphics, easy-listening music, and a table layout with plenty of nice repeatable loops and orbit shots.

Alien Breed: Futuristic sci-fi theme. Blast aliens, rescue hostages. Hi-tech table containing plenty of mechanical gadgets and visual special FX. Techno music and plenty of rendered LED animationÆs, and some interesting video modes.

Rally Fever: Racing theme. Manga-style graphics, a more basic, symmetric table layout with nice sense of speed and repeatable alternating ramp shots. Rock music and roaring engines.

I've tried to make the tables as different/varying as possible, and not just in appearance. The tables all play very differently.

Q Have you heard about Timeshock! The second pinball in the Pro Pinball serie. How do you think it will stand compared the Ballistic. (the question might be very much like the one above but could you compare the playing value)

A Naturally, I know about Timeshock!, and I have the greatest of respect for the pinball people at Empire. I have no doubt that Timeshock! will be a great pinball game. I do think that we have the means and ability to make a game that is as good, or better. Since we have more tables, I think the overall package will be more attractive and have a longer-lasting appeal.

Q Is Ballistic a game or a simulator. The Web was a very serious simulator while others like 3D Ultra Pinball more are games that you play only fir the fun, what is Ballistic?

A I'd say it's more of a simulator than a game. We don't have any silly sprites walking about the table stealing the ball, for example. We have tried to do as much as we can while still staying within the limits of what would theoretically be possible to do with a real-life pinball game. Most of the gadgets on the Alien Breed Table, for example, would probably be possible to make in reality, but would hardly be feasible mainly because of manufacturing, cost and reliability problems. It's naturally still important to make it FUN, since that's what games are all about...


Last

Q Have you got any future plans on programming more pinballs?

A Yep. Can't be very specific, though, so please don't ask :-)

Q Last I must ask, may I beta test Ballistic?

A Possibly. We obviously have to be VERY careful with these things... We'd like to keep the testing within the walls of this office.