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Recently, Siliconera got to speak with Finish Line Games co-founder Daniel Posner, about the upcoming Cel Damage HD. This is a racing game that will be available starting tomorrow on PlayStation platforms, and will then proceed to other systems in the future. Currently, Cel Damage HD is the only 4-player game on PS4.
The original Cel Damage was released for Xbox and Gamecube, and was also available as Cel Damage: Overdrive in Europe. Posnier touched upon this specific version of the game before we moved on to discuss the HD version.
“One of the things we were trying to do with the overdrive version was make it a little more accessible to a mainstream audience. We added a damage system, stunting, power-sliding, you name it,” he said. “We felt that it was more fun this way. We spent a lot of time tweaking the AIs, so they’ll become more difficult the more you win and less difficult the more you lose.”
So, why now? Why bring Cel Damage back after all these years?
“We’re in the indie era,” Posner said. It was a passion project for my business partner and I. This was [Rich Hilmer] and I’s first title in the industry back in 2001, and we’ve been meaning to bring it back for quite some time. Well, now, the time is right.”
“About a year ago, we met with a buddy of mine, Matt Robinson, and worked on this project part-time. Sony was particularly friendly, but, we’re not playing favorites—we’ll work with any console or platform out there, but it was just really to get signed up and get access to kits. That being said, we’ll be launching first on PS4, PS3, and PS Vita as a Cross Buy [game].”
The HD version, Posnier says, will feature a feature called stunting, which is essentially a jump-roll that can be used to dodge attacks, but aside from that, there are no major new additions to the game. “We still feel like the original vision of hero physics translates well, and it’s very easy to control. In general, you’re pretty much gonna land on your wheels all the time,” Posner clarified.
I asked Posnier if he’s interested in pursuing other titles in the future that aren’t racing games—other genres he’s interested in.
“If the game is well received, we’ll be able to add more content—but we can’t make any promises yet,” he replied. “As for other genres, I think that, for Finish Line Games, we’re most interested in fast pick-up-and-play style games. We’re not restricted to racing games, though—it could be a 2D side-scrollers.”
“Anything that’s fun, that you can easily get into, that speaks to our passion of games, is fair game, “Posnier continued. “One of the things we’re most excited about is bringing back couch play. Sony verified this—we’re the only 4-player game on PlayStation 4. We really want to bring back those days of sitting on the couch with your buddies, punching them in the shoulder when something goes wrong, things like that.”