We are Roll7, an indie game studio based in London. This week, we launched OlliOlli2: Welcome to Olliwood on PlayStation Plus and we’re really excited about it! AMA!

Who do I talk to about getting a new Dualshock 4 stick?

Haha! I think it should be covered under Sony's guarantee

Thank you for making an awesome game!

What was your total budget for OlliOlli 2?

Thank you! Budget was roughly £10.50GBP/€14.50EUR...

Any chance on an option that swaps x to land to down on the left analog stick?

NOOO!!! :) The controls are very dear to our hearts and we wouldn't change them for the world. It takes some time to get used to but once it clicks it all make sense

I'm finally starting to get it, but I have to admit I almost gave up at first. I kept on wanting to press x to jump. Old Tony Hawk habits die hard. I'm liking it a lot now, though.

Thanks so much. We hear this a lot, and it's the best thing. If you play enough, EVENTUALLY it will click - and it'll be amazing!

I can't stress enough how much I love you for the controls.

I have been gaming all my life, and at first I thought "this is unintuitive, confusing, and makes my brain hurt"...

And then in no time you gradually progress, naturally, to the point you aren't even thinking about it...stuff that seemed impossible literally becomes sub-conscious effort. That is the best part of the game for me, not actually even playing it and doing well...but progressing and getting better and better to accomplish new levels/challenges.

Seriously kudos, I'll blindly day-1 buy every game you make until you disappoint me.

That last paragraph is why I live in constant fear :p

But thanks. Controls seem to have divided people, but like, give it 10 minutes an it clicks for most people

Will I be able to purchase the OlliOlli2 soundtrack someday?!

We're working on it atm!

Why must this game be so hard? >:( Rage inducing at its best! throws controller at tv

Roll7 is not liable for any broken TVs, consoles, hands or emotions!

How does that work out launching as a 'free' title versus outright selling it like the first one? A sizeable bonus no doubt?

Sorry can't go into contractual details :(

Why am I so bad at OlliOlli2? :(

You're not bad. You're learning! Take your time, dude. It'll start to come more naturally! :D

Is it true there is a secret sub-game in your new game, in which the user gets to have realistic and accurate simulated sex with an extraterrestrial? And how can I access this subgame? Because ... reasons.

Shhhhh

Do you guys plan on releasing new tracks for DLC?

Not at the moment :( Got to finish Not A Hero!

Which is, besides OlliOlli and OlliOlli2, your favourite PS Vita game?

Here is a selection, just asked the team!

Velocity 2x, Super Stardust, Resogun, The Swapper, Rogue Legacy, Limbo, Hotline Miami and Spelunky

BEST ON VITA

>no P4G

casual

Really want to dig deeper into P4G, but where does the time go?!

Hey guys! I absolutely loved the original olli olli after finding it a couple weeks ago on psn. I play it compulsively now, and I'm about half way through completing everything on rad mode. I'm so grateful for the fun you've given me

(Now for an actual question) I've noticed you guys have followed a similar evolution to tony hawks pro skater games by adding manuals and allowing more varied combos, while still losing a dimension in 2d. Do you intentionally try to adapt the feel and gameplay from these older games? What advantages do you think staying in two dimensions gives over these older games?

YOU ARE RADICAL!!!

Yeah we definitely like the 'older' 'retro' games and I think that's part of our DNA. We all grew up in the 90's when games were super tough, on my Amiga 500 I don't think I ever actually completed a game as you had limited lives and NO SAVE! We've obviously tried to adapt and that's why we have developed the level and Challenges system (Similar to THPS) this allows people to simply skate all the Levels and if they fancy a step up they can delve into the challenges!

One more question. Are the leaderboards separated by platform? I'm pretty high up on ps4 (never been anywhere near the top on a leaderboard before), and I'd like to know if that number is accurate representation of my skills, or just the sample size is too small on ps4.

PS4 and Vita share the leaderboards, so the leaderboards are a representation of everyone who is playing! However, if you're wondering about the size and length of the Leaderboards -- it certainly might World to World.

What did you use to program the olliolli games? And dp you have anything planned after Not a Hero?

We used Phyre Engine for OO2. After NAH we need to sleep for a couple of weeks! After that, we have a few things up our sleeves but nothing concrete yet

I enjoy olliollie2 and am excited to stream it on twitch later today! So tell me what inspired you guys to start the olli olli games?

John was actually a Sponsored skater in his younger days, Route One Clothing, you may have heard of them, He actually had the idea for OO when he was about 14. It took another 14 years before we did anything about it!

We're all big skaters - and John, the lead designer of the first game, used to be a sponsored skateboarder. We wanted to capture the real feeling of tricking out and successfully landing - and visa versa, when you trick out and completely SLAM ON YOUR FACE!

Are you guys going to have a panel or booth at PAX this weekend? Or going as general attendees? I'll be playing OO2 on my vita while I wait in line all weekend!

We'll be in the Devolver Digital booth! Come say Hi!

Why isn't there an "endless level" in OO2, where you can go on forever until you bail? Would that be something interesting to you guys?

If there is, sorry for asking, but haven't found it yet.

I think we've always struggled to get random infinite to feel right.

Hopefully when you die in OLliOlli it feels like your fault, not the game fucking you.

The problem with infinite random is that it might generate something unfair, and then you feel cheated. It's defo something we'd love to do it in future, but it's something that's going to take a long time to get right.

How does getting your game in the ps+ instant game collection work? did Sony approach you?

Sony approached us after the initial success of OlliOlli1.

What advice can you offer for someone looking to start a career in the software/game development world?

Get making your own games! Game Maker is a great tool to get started or Multmedia Fusion! Cheap as well

Where are you searching such great artists, with such great music? Definitely You should listen to Killing skills from Dutch/Poland.

Cheers, we'll check them out.

If you like the music you should check out Giles Peterson Radio DJ on BBC 6. He'll intro you to a host of cool stuff

I played the game for few hours and I'm in love with it!

All I've been thinking about is a Level Editor. Will the game have a level editor for community creations in the future?

We did think about that but being such a small team we didn't have capacity. We may look to do something in the future though

Holy crap, a level editor would be amazing! Excite Bike with skateboards!

Now THAT's a sales pitch!

Is Not a Hero inspired by what your lives are like being based in Deptford?

Haha! I'm a true South East Londoner so its actually inspired by my own experiences. I've killed people for money*

• I haven't killed people for money

Wait, there are other ways to make money?

Could we get an alternative Boris Johnson skin for Bunnylord? If you can get Bryan Henderson in the game that quickly, Boris will be a cinch.

Bryan level has made it in to today's build!

I'll have a word with Bojo!

Any plans to cover any other sports? I'm sure you guys could make a really cool Hockey-party-game, or something. And next time, please release it on the PS3 as well -- I can't afford a PS4 yet :P

Snowboarding and BMX-ing would be cool already have the names so nobody nick them!

BoardyBoardy and BikeyBikey

game is awesome but im so used to skate 3 right stick controls and now i have to move left stick to do tricks. its so annoying dude:( is there no way to change flip stick to right stick?

You could turn the controller upside down.

It's no ideal, but the other option requires a lot more code.

In a world of games that have close to life-like graphics, what advantages do you believe that creating projects in side-scrolling 16-bit offer?

Interesting question. I guess for us, as a small studio, doing something hyper real is never going to be an option, we haven't the budget or the team to do something photorealistic, but at the same time I don't think it's something we car too much about. With enough people and time we could certainly make the most realistic looking skating game, but there's almost something more challenging about stylising real life instead of replicating it.

They take less time :) I;m not sure about the advantages, its more of a preference. Developing in 2d gives you more constrictions which means you have to focus on the essentials!

Thank you for the response. Enjoying your game currently, but it's extremely difficult, haha.

Glad to hear it! :D

Any tips on preforming the "double" flick moves like Double Heelflip? They are so hard to get a hang of. Also can you implement a practice arena with some kickers and some rails just to try out the tricks. It could be under the "Skatepark" section on the menu?

The double flick moves have to be done quickly, e.g Double Heelflip, as soon as you finger gets to the right hand side immediately bring it back down to the centre and release.

Might be worth trying in Manuals Part 2 Skatepark, if you don't manuals in between you'll get to just practice the tricks!

Unless it's already there and I'm simply unaware, I think you should have a free-skate mode :)

WE discussed a Free Skate mode for ages but ultimately ran out of time. Hopefully you;ll see the results when Multiplayer comes out!

Will there be Online Multiplayer or only local?

It'll be local only. We initially thought SHAREPlay could make up for it, but OO2 is too fast of a game to play over the Internet. You need the speediest of connections with zero latency. It's why you need to be set to Game Mode on your TV, too!

What are the 3 most important aspects that make a Roll7 game a Roll7 game?

Twitchy Tight controls Depth of gameplay (easy to pick up hard to master)

[deleted]

Which bit are you stuck on?

How did you come up with the name "Olli Olli?"

It was originally called OlliOlliOlli (OiOiOi!) and that got REALLY annoying to say, so we dropped an Olli!

Has anyone platinumed this game yet? Seems EXTREMELY difficult.

Yes, someone tweeted us this morning!

It seems like a lot of people quit without giving the game much time strictly because of the controls. Any chance there will be a way to customize controls in the future to help collect a larger audience?

I'm rewiring my muscle memory, which is hard, but the game is just so fun it keeps me practicing over and over again. I definitely appreciate the experience that the controls give, I just hate seeing so many disregard the game because of it.

If we changed the controls the game just wouldn't be as fun, there's a joy to mastering the completely unique controls that feeds into to peoples enjoyment (i think?!)

• You must have a lot of ideas for games that you'll never get to work on. What's a particularly bad idea you've had that you all laughed about?

• What do you know about making games now, that you didn't know when you started?

• Why did you choose to develop for the Playstation Plus?

Dolphin Punch is a game me and Tom came up with. It's an Occulus Rift game where you're on one of those dolphin tour boats and you have to punch dolphins in the face as they leap out of the water. Powerups include grenades that you can dunk in the blowhole.

Well never be making this game.

I feel like it's accurate to say one or more of you played battletoads and was insanely good at the hoverbike level. . is that guy , by chance, ... the level designer..?

OH MY GOD THAT GAME. It was stupid hard. I think I had it on NES? TBH, I think the hoverbike level was the one where I always died :(

As a skater, thank you. Finally a fun skating game I can play. The right trick names is perfect. Did you guys skate?

Haha thanks man, yeah I've skated for nearly 20 years now (although now I'm just that old guy that cruises around chatting about the sick tricks I used to do).

Our main thing in OlliOlli1 was to do a game where you could spin 180 and be riding switch. Had never seen that done in 2d before.

Hey! Thanks for doing an ama! Is there any character customization? I like to play as a character that looks like me.

Sadly not, it was something we thought about but it was a lot of work and disnt actually make the gameplay better and we wanted to focus on the actual game.

but you could dress up as the skater? Then he'd kinda look like you?

I'm playing Olliolli2 on my VITA right now and I love it. But: who did the German translation for you? It's awful!

Really? Can you drop us a mail about that?

I'm a big fan of skateboarding games, back to when I started playing video games. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater has been a staple of my routine gaming since I played the first one, then Skate came out, and I've had that on rotation regularly. Then you guys came out with OlliOlli, and it's a refreshing take on the skating games.

So my question is, where do you think the future of skateboarding video games will go? Neversoft is no more, EA Black Box has been dissolved, but there is a gleam of hope with Tony Hawk working with Activision on a new THPS.

Good question. We didn't realise when we made OO how much love there was for skateboarding games, obviously we were huge fans of THPS and Skate and we had no idea OO would even begin to fill that void and we're honored when people mention us in that way.

Hopefully the future for skatebaording games and all extreme sports games is a focus on the skill and core concepts of the sport. Yes, in OO we had a bit of fun with the locations but its still at heart all about pure skateabording!

OlliOlli is just as good as Tony Hawk Pro Skater and you should know that.

<3 In my youth, if I wasn't skating I was playing THPS or Thrasher. It's a massive compliment, thanks.

I was interested in your game but I have many games to play currently. Why should I play yours and not something like counterspy or oddworld?

COS ITS RADICAL!!!!!!!!

Whether or not you like it, I think you'll find the OO2 controls very different to other games you've played before, that alone is worth a try!

Roll7!

Up until Tuesday I didn't know who you were, now I'm feverishly hooked on OlliOlli2. Thank you so much for putting this out at a time when there are no new skateboarding games to play. So first off, I want to apologize for not playing the first one, it was clearly a mistake on my part. Secondly, I have a question. What made you choose the Vita to make the first one on? It was a great choice, but not one a lot of developers make. Do you guys know what you're going to work on next?

Love,

Your newest fan.

P.S. At the rate I'm playing this I fear I may run out soon. Any word on a sequel or expansion pack? I'd happily pay for an extra 5 levels to get my fix.

Hey, thanks for the kind words :) Always nice to get new fans!

We had OlliOlliOlli initially as a prototype on iOS, when we showed it to Sony they unanimously thought it would work great on Vita. At the time we had never made a console game so the fact Sony were offering this opportunity was a no brainer. For me, OO2 plays best on Vita :)

We have the multiplayer mode Comborush coming soon so that should give you some more hours of gameplay!

Hey Roll7! I missed the chance to play your first title, and now i was really happy to get OlliOlli2 for Free on PS+.

I played the first few Levels on my Vita, and find out that the tricks are very difficult to make on the vita. I thinks thats because the Sticks on the Vita are not perfect.

As i missed the 3$ Sale of the first Olli Olli, my question is, do u think we will get first Title for a Sale again?

Thanks and Thumbs Up!

Not sure about any sale, but it's definitely worth keeping an eye out!

I think it is easier with the DS4 for sure. I love it on Vita to play on the go but the tricks are a lot more difficult to nail with the Vita sticks.

Really interesting to hear this reaction -- you hear it both ways exactly. Some people vouch by the Vita, others the DS4. They're both different, but in the end, they both work well, I think.

My friend and I tried out OO2 the other day, both being skate game fans but we were really roadblocked by the complicated controls. What was the thought process behind choosing not to go simplistic? In particular it was using the thumbsticks to jump but then having to press X to stick every landing. Our brains just couldn't process it quick enough.

Its a common question. The original game was an iOS prototype and you tapped the bottom left of the screen to trick and grind, and tapped the bottom right hand screen to Land.

It wasn't until we started testing OO1 that we realised that the muscle memory of pressing X to Jump was so ingrained in people! However, once you get used to it, it feels really satisfying. please stick with it, it will click!

What is your best advice for racking up high scores/combos? It seems like no matter how much I try to combo tricks together with manuals and spins, I'm always short of the goal.

GRINDSWITCH!!!!

Double Trigger grinds as well as single trigger tricks

Also make everything perfect that will add one to the trick/grind automatically

How many hours do you estimate went into Olli Olli before it launched on its first platform? How many hours do you estimate have gone into it after said launch (bug fixes, other platforms, etc.)?

I can't say for OlliOlli2, but I remember on OlliOlli1 I worked out that I did something like 17working months in the space of 12.

Started playing OlliOlli2 last night and I was really impressed, especially with the soundtrack. Was it a lot of work licensing such great songs? Is there anything you wanted in the soundtrack but couldn't get?

Also, who do I have to kill to get one of those awesome promotional OlliOlli Tech Decks I've been seeing online? ; )

We picked the soundtrack from artists we really liked listening to, we've actually een hugely lucky with the artists we've worked with. For the most part everyone has been up for getting involved, with only a few we didn't get. For the most part the people we've worked with haven't been signed to a label, which kinda makes things easier

I loved the first OlliOlli on Vita it was one of my favorite games. It was also the only game to routinely crash my vita and none of the updates helped. Is the new one running on a different engine or a little more stable?

Sorry for those crashes. The last patch should have made it far more stable. We have so far had no reports of crashes on Vita or PS4, we used a different engine this time round and got in some experts to help us with memory management!

Why did you guys change the "perfect" landing sound?!?!? It's sound weak now. Also skinny jeans? I love the first one. I feel the second doesn't have the same charm.

haha, I'm sorry you don't like it, Hope it hasn't ruined perfect combos for you! With regards to skinny jeans, I'm writing this while wearing skinny jeans. So, clearly I have a thing for them. That said, I'd look silly in baggy jeans, because I'm basically just bones with some skin draped over it.

I've been playing Helldivers, so I haven't jumped into OlliOlli yet, but I'm planning to tonight. I was a day 1 buyer of the original on Vita so I'm excited to play it. What's your single favorite change/improvement?

What other games are you guys playing right now?

Towerfall and Nidhogg are team lunch-time classics. I'm currently playing a lot of FarCry4 (late to the party), Rogue Legacy on PS4 has me hooked too. Other recent things that tickled me were pole riders on Sports Friends and Door Kickers on Steam

You've tackled skateboarding and will soon release a cover shooter. Are there any other genres you think could benefit from that Roll7 touch?

I like the idea of a Roll7 Touch! I'm personally a big fan of space SCHMUPS but I think Futurlab have got that area covered! Before we started crunching on OO2 and Not a Hero we had a few prototypes going which range from a local multiplayer arcade spaceship game and a Dungeon Crawler!

Are you thinking in OlliOlli3 at some point in the future or time to move on with Not A Hero and other projects?

Not a Hero is our sole focus now! Developing two games simultaneously has been crazy so it will nice to focus on just NAH for now!

Not sure on OO3, OO2 has everything we missed form OO1 and more that we wanted to add. Right now I'm not sure what we'd do with OO3, but never say never!

i was gonna pester you about this at pax, but whatre the odds at this point for a pstv/vitatv patch for the first olliolli?

asking as one of the six people who own one lol

Pester away, Si is currently living it up on a plane to PAX while we're answering questions! Sadly, just in terms of man-hours and time - the odds are very slim, dude! We'd love to, but we're still working on Combo Rush!

haha no worries, its way less of an issue now that OO2 is out

i assume it works on pstv but havent tried it yet

Yes, it does!

What was the first videogame you can remember playing obsessively?

Terry's Big Adventure on the Atari ST. I was like, 6 and that game was fucking nails hard.

Sensible Soccer!!! Can't remember which version, but I spent days on end just setting up leagues and cup tournaments, give me that on PS4 NOW!

OlliOlli, both, are better on Vita (or at least is the best experience for me). What would you say is best for Not A Hero?

Well NAH is going to be PC 1st and the current argument is Keyboard or Controller! (i'm keyboard atm)

I've not been able to play NAH on Vita yet so can;t answer that :(

Please explain touch and menu's on the Vita to me; the original OlliOlli on the Vita was touch-only. The PS3 and PS4 versions were button-only (that makes sense to me). Now the PS4 version of OlliOlli2 is still button only - that's fine by me - but the Vita version of OlliOlli2 is also button only - why? I'm not saying I want OlliOlli2 Vita menu's to be touch only, but why not both? I like navigating the menu's using buttons, but restarting by tapping on the top-left corner of my screen.

tl;dr Allow OlliOlli2 Vita menu's to be controlled with both touch and buttons, please?

As OlliOlli was a Vita Exclusive we wanted to use that feature, however it was a decision that was heavily criticized by many fans of the game, hence the decision to focus on button only. Also as OO2 is cross platform it didn't make sense for us to design two menu systems. We're a small team and have to stay very focused on what we think will make the game the best possible experience :)

Sadly OO2 Vita won't be getting touch screen :(

Thanks for doing this Ama! Olliolli is my favorite game since THUG. What do you think it is about skating/ rhythm games like olliolli/tony hawk/ etc. that make them so much fun to play compared to other games?

The fun in Skating games for me is the skill that is built into the timing of the mechanics. What we've tried to do is replicate what its actually like to skateboard, you fail 90% of the time but when you nail that trick you feel epic!

Loving the game on vita so far. Congratulations on the release! Apparently there is a new Tony Hawks Pro Skater coming this year. What are your thoughts on the things they need to so to really bring that series back in a big way?

I think Roll7 and Activation should talk ;)

OO3THPS10 ??

I'd give you a shot at it.

Also I saw you guys have your twitter and Facebook on the developer screen at start up and thought that was a great idea. Did you guys think of that yourself or is that a thing that I just haven't noticed before.

We totally stole the idea from our friends at FuturLab! It's good, though, right?! If someone has a something to say about the game, they know where to take it!

Will you ever give some love to those of us in the Xbox camp?

OO1 out today on Xbox!