© EAThe real free battle, Apex Legends launches at Switch this week on March 9th, and we were thrilled to meet the master carriers; Panic Button helped the developers of Apex Respawn Entertainment with the mission.
For more information on how Panic Button works, the challenge of bringing Apex Legends to Switch, and to discuss the possibilities of Respawn’s past games coming to Switch, we sat down with the production manager, Dan Hernberg, and the technical director , Andy Boggs, a Panic Button. along with Apex Legends game director at Respawn, Chad Grenier.
Nintendo Life: Having worked in the ports of Doom Eternal, Wolfenstein II, Rocket League and more, Panic Button is known as the “Port Wizards” around the Nintendo Life office.
Dan Hernberg (Panic Button): I would like a cane and a coat!
Ha! We’ll see what we can do. How was the portability of Apex Legends to Switch different from anything you had done before?
I: One of the things that is always interesting when you play a game that lives, breathes and changes constantly is that there are always new challenges, new legends coming out and new maps. So I think you’re trying to build an aircraft and land it at the same time on a moving aircraft carrier. Towards the end of development, we are all in the same branch working together and if we make a mistake and break the construction, this will affect Respawn and vice versa. Many things are happening while you try to submit the first version to make sure it gets up and fixes any issues. Even more than in previous projects, the amount of changes Respawn makes to his games is far more than any other client we’ve ever worked with. Also, the fact that there are still more things in the world, this has been a unique challenge for this project.
If it’s a live service game, will you support Apex for longer than some of your other projects, like Rocket League and Warframe, or have the keys been returned to Respawn?
I: Currently, we will continue to support the project for the next two months. There is always the possibility that it will take longer or that we will deliver it sooner if Respawn feels confident. But for now, we will be fully committed to releasing all Switch day and date content with all other platforms with all seasons advanced.
© EAHas Panic Button been working with Respawn since the first day of developing Switch versions or after performing the service to get help?
Andy Boggs (Panic Button): We have been working on it for about 15 months. I think it was around the fourth season when we started talking to Respawn about what it might be like to bring this to Switch.
Had there been sacrifices or commitments to make Apex a Switch other than graphics?
Andy: Not really in terms of features or content, everything in other versions of the game should be in Switch. I think the big challenge for us is to always reach out and understand which parts of the game we can adapt, make changes and optimize and which parts are so essential that we have to leave them alone. I think eventually the changes we had to make will not affect the players ’experience with it. It’s still a great experience and you want to play Apex.
Cross-Play has been confirmed for the Switch version, but will Cross-Progression also be available?
Andy: Cross progression is not supported right now.
Is Cross-Progression a plan for Apex?
Chad Grenier (Respawn): It’s planned, but I think we’re a way out for not being able to offer it. I love it very much as a player myself, so I feel what our fans are saying and I totally agree with them. We are working to try to make this happen, it is a complex challenge of several existing accounts for various users that we have to solve or combine, there are legal and contractual things to navigate with the purchase on other platforms and have these changes and also some challenges technicians. So it’s not just something we can activate, but we’re working to have it and the team is passionate about delivering it at some point.
© EAHow do you feel developing a game where you not only have to make the game itself, but you have to run the store, coordinate the cross game, and so on? These are not the days of the Super Nintendo where you just have to make the game and send it.
Chad: Certainly not that easy. In a way, it’s a nightmare, but it’s a fun problem to have. When you have a popular game, crying over it is like a first world problem, right? We will take on the challenges any day and we are happy to fight, solve problems and get things going.
Being this the first game Respawn has released on Switch, does Apex work with a new engine for Switch?
Andy: We used the same engine that the other versions of the game use, so much of the work we did was add support for that engine. The engine and Respawn game are a thing of their own, so it’s the first game to run on Switch on that engine.
Now that you have this engine running on Switch, is there a chance we’ll see any of Respawn’s previous work on Switch? Titanfall 2, for example, may not have seen the commercial success it may have deserved, but could the Switch give it a second chance?
Chad: The team that is part of Apex is part of the team that created Titanfall and Titanfall 2 and it is something we are very proud of. I think if I look back on my career, this campaign is one of the best things we’ve done and I think a lot of people on the team can feel the same way. I think you see a lot of Titanfall content making its way into Apex. So our mindset is not necessarily about getting people to play Titanfall 2 again, but how we can bring all the fantastic things about Titanfall 2 to the Apex world and present them to our Apex fans.
© EAWill Apex have any new features in Switch?
I: Yes, I think something important that has the Switch that other consoles do not have as a gyroscopic lens. We’ve done it in previous titles and we’ve learned it every time. We have modified our formula and modified it differently depending on each game. Sometimes it’s best to have a gyroscope that moves more slowly, sometimes you want a faster response. So we’ve worked closely with Respawn to make sure he has that “Apexy” feel.
How does Panic Button decide which projects to work on? Let’s imagine your inbox is constantly flooded with potential opportunities.
I: We have many different teams here at Panic Button and we always combine who’s on which team and dedicate them to individual projects. We also usually have between three and five projects at a time, but we always talk to potential clients about different opportunities. For every 10 to 20 opportunities that come up, we usually work on just one of them. We see who we want to work with, if they form good partners, that we believe the title is something we like or that is appropriate to attach our name to, and we want to make sure time and resource sources work. . The stars have to line up as we are only a studio of 50 people. When we go online and read the forums, we see endless lists of games we should work on, and many of which we would love, but you know everything has to work for a game to get here and I think that’s a real testament to Respawn and Apex. Not only did the stars line up, but a lot of people needed a lot of work to get it, as we are developing the Switch version while the live version is being built. This is a resounding way of saying “it’s very difficult”, haha. Sending any game is a miracle and any port of a live service is a true miracle. It really takes a lot of dedication on the part of everyone involved to get out the door.
Speaking of having two different teams working together remotely on a project, how has it been different in a world impacted by COVID?
I: So when it comes to production, I sometimes feel like I see people from Respawn on Zoom more than my wife. We’re in constant communication thanks to Slack and Zoom and we’ve always worked remotely with other studios before COVID, as we’re in Austin, TX, and Respawn is in Los Angeles, CA, so we had a few. down already. Development during COVID had a big impact on us as a studio, most are not set up to work remotely. Our hardware is in the studio and we have a lot of secure data and information we need to safely reach our computer so they can use it. You can set up a VPN, but it all takes longer. Our engineers, production and quality control team are in communication and we really need to be an extension of the Respawn team for this to work.
© EADo each of you have a favorite legend?
I: I play what is left of legend!
Andy: I really like Bangalore, but that’s mostly because I’m really bad at the game. So if I find someone I can kill, I will use it the rest of my time with the game.
Chad: I usually find myself playing the last legend or anything else that Legend received a buff or a nerf. I’m playing around a bit with the latest trend to make sure I’m aware of the goal and what people are talking about, so I make a big leap. If all goes well and we’re really not working on anything, by default it will move to Lifeline. I like the easy combat revival and I can call the attention pack and get some free loot.
When you worked on a project, did you hide any secrets or Easter eggs for fans to discover at Apex or any of your past work?
Andy: I don’t think we’ve done anything about something that would be a secret or some kind of content change. We always want to see if there’s anything special we can do for the Switch audience. I think in the past we’ve done custom skins or things like that. Unfortunately, I think the days of Easter eggs are over.
Chad: We always put Easter eggs in our games and sometimes as a game director, I don’t even know. It’s actually a lot of fun! Most of the time a team leader cleans them up to make sure they don’t do anything harmful. Many of them are as amazing to me as they are to others. It’s good, there’s a human element to making these games and people like to put things like that. We had some that were found by the public. The Nessies hiding in Kings Canyon if picked up in the right order would summon the giant Nessie out to sea. We also had a Nessie shrine with a Nessie mother with all these candles around. I have no idea what it was about, but designers like to have fun and put things like that. There are probably some things that have yet to be found that I don’t even know about.
If everyone had the chance to bring a game to Switch, what would you choose?
I: I’m not sure if this is my “game selection,” but right now I’m playing too much Valheim and I would love to bring this to Switch.
Andy: Transmitted by blood.
Chad: Right now I’m playing a lot Dyson Sphere Program. It is a construction game that takes place on several planets and consists of gathering resources. I was on vacation recently and couldn’t play and would have loved to take it to my Switch.
© EAA huge thank you to Andy Boggs and Dan Hernberg of Panic Button, and Chad Grenier of Respawn Entertainment to take the time to chat with us! Apex Legends will be released on Nintendo Switch on March 9th.
Be sure to let us know if you get into the game by the end of this week.