Geometry Wars creator talks high scores, particle effects
by Ross Miller 
{ Mar 1st 2006 at 6:00PM }
Stephen Cakebread must be one popular fellow
around the Bizarre Creations offices. While his brethren spent their time focused on Project Gotham Racing 3,
Cakebread made an old-school shooter with simple mechanics, colorful visuals, and no ending. The result? Geometry
Wars: Retro Evolved, the biggest reason to own an Xbox 360 and use Xbox Live Arcade (and a game we have obsessed
over one too many times).Brian 'ColdForged' Dupuis got a chance to interview Cakebread recently, resulting in some insightful behind-the-scenes commentary on the development of Geometry Wars. Many of the little nuances of the game are discussed here, including the snake's tail and the small purple rectangles ("Satan's Own Miniature Deliverers of Evil and Consternation"). Cakebread expresses delight in his creation, albeit he admits its not perfect (sequel, anyone?). There is talk of the particle effects that, Cakebread laments, with some more time and tweaking could've been prettier and more abundant.
Cakebread admits his high score is only 2.1 million, so no advice there...but hey, what can you expect from a guy who openly admits to eating kittens for breakfast? (Scroll down to the halfway point to see the confession.)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
weaszel @ Mar 1st 2006 6:08PM
For those of us who don't have an Xbox 360 and otherwise have no way of playing this game, there's a remake of it at
http://www.incitti.com/Blitz/
I haven't played the original, so I can't say whether it's a good remake or not. But it's certainly a great game by itself.
tomato @ Mar 1st 2006 6:26PM
GridWars is great but there are some differences. Geometry Wars has more random spawning while GridWars is more wave based and they mostly spawn in the corners. Also, GridWars has a couple new enemy types that I don't think are in Geometry Wars (2 trianges connected by a line). In addition, you automatically recieve powerups, lives and bombs in Geometry Wars when you get a certain number of points. In GridWars, when you hit the point threshhold, a powerup/life/bomb is released into the arena that you have to go and collect. If ignore the powerup long enough, it turns into an enemy. There are probably a lot of other differences, but those are the ones off the top of my head. Both are great games though.
Will @ Mar 1st 2006 7:47PM
geometry wars kicks *ass
Haow @ Mar 1st 2006 7:55PM
It's kind of funny, kind of sad, that Geometry Wars is the Halo of the 360.
Dirk Dorkelson @ Mar 2nd 2006 2:30AM
It's only funny/sad if you haven't gotten how awesome Xbox Live is in the current generation. Think of Geometry Wars as a metaphor or symbol for everything M/soft did right with the Live architecture rather than just a $5 game. I doubt anyone with a 360 spends all their time playing GW the way people did with Halo on the Xbox.
gamer1 @ Mar 2nd 2006 3:10AM
I finally stopped played Geometry Wars last month after I got the "Survived 1 million" achievement. I walked away satisfied with the sense that I've gained a new video game skill. Totally work the five bucks!
Sloopydrew @ Mar 2nd 2006 7:55AM
I like Marble Blast Ultra and Mutant Storm better than Geometry Wars. GW is a great game, but it's no Mutant Storm or MBU. Marble Blast Ultra is the only game on XBOX Live that feels like it could have gotten away with coming out on a disc for $39.99. A statement I would agree with is that the only reason to currently own an XBOX 360 is for XBOX Live Arcade. But that's not a backhanded compliment. Arcade is one of the greatest things introduced to hardcore (and casual) gamers in years.
GamerZero @ Mar 2nd 2006 5:32PM
XBOX Live Arcade is a top trump idea.Mainstream Games had better get good to match these small,cheap,well developed downloadable games from taking over.