Welcome back retro heads, it’s me your humble and passionate retro brother Jorge “Social Gamer” Murphy. I must admit it’s been a while since I’ve been so excited about a new product. In the last few days I’ve been in talks with James Booth the project manager over at Reminiscent Interactive on their current project the Axiom I (modern retro gaming console). Let’s take a look at the current status of the project as the team was gracious enough to answer a few questions for our retro community here at OSJ.
I would like to start out by thanking you for your time and hope that Old School Junkie continue bringing a voice for passionate retro enthusiasts around the world.
We spoke briefly over Twitter and I’m personally intrigued by the idea of a modern day “retro console” built from the ground up, instead of just another NES or Genesis clone. What we love at OSJ is original retro and indie related projects and offer the internet an honest and trust worthy place that our community can feel secure in knowing that our information is direct from the source and not just word of mouth or rumors.
I’ve worked really hard to spread this mantra and provide original retro and indie news that showcase passionate individuals as well as small companies that don’t have a huge corporate backing but still put out a quality product through sheer dedication to their projects, goals and fans.
“Keeping the classic style of gaming that made this thing we call the gaming industry which is now the biggest entertainment industry in the world true to our roots.”
Sometimes it’s tough sifting through all of the game publishers and really getting down to the few gems that in my opinion deserve that extra push to the front of the conversation. I’ve read your entire Blog and I’m shocked that a project like this is even being conceived in 2011. That’s the kind of dedication that OSJ strive to shed more light on. I have a few questions that I feel would be a perfect fit for our Old School Junkie readers as well as questions that will shed some light on your ‘Axiom I’ project.
OSJ- I think the best thing to do firstly is introduce yourself to the OSJ community.
RIDT- My name is James Booth and I’m the Manager of Reminiscent Interactive. We also have David Harrison (Primary Coder & Hardware Architect) and Stephen Waudby (Games Management) joining us.
OSJ- With the trend within the gaming industry that some companies jumping on the retro bandwagon what do feel is your vision for the Axiom I console as appose to just making an indie game for, say iOS or Android?
RIDT- James: If you’re an Indie game developer, making a game that will get noticed in the big bad world of consoles or the iOS is hard. If developers want to make games, there are a few factors that need to be taken into consideration. Firstly, you have to pay a fee to develop on a platform such as iOS. Secondly, there are a large number of games on the iPhone; as a result, it’s quite hard to get noticed.
We will allow Indie developers to have complete freedom when it comes down to Intellectual Property control, marketing, distribution through other platforms and so on. In essence, we’re creating a foothold in the gaming industry that allows small Indie companies with good ideas to actually have a go at developing – For free. It also allows Indie developers to create some darn good 8 and 16-Bit games!
OSJ- While viewing concept images of the Axiom I, I see a small resemblance to the second model SNES which we have in house here at OSJ. Can you tell us who is designing the overall design of your console and did any of our favorite classic gaming consoles influence the design queues of the Axiom I?
RIDT- James: At the moment, the exterior shell of the console isn’t our primary concern. As a result, I was the one to put that design together. I designed it with the intention of combining elements of modern consoles (curves, sleek surfaces etc.) and the harsh edges of the older generations of consoles. It’s true that the SNES was somewhat of an inspiration, however I found myself glancing towards my PlayStation 3 more often than not, to show – through just the look of the console – that we are both in the realms of nostalgia and the developments of the modern era that have made gaming flourish. Depending on the production costs and whatnot, the design may be overhauled in the future; these are simply concepts at the current moment.
OSJ- Got it, the images are basically an initial starting point to then tweak as your vision and needs evolve.
OSJ- So far I’m very excited on the fact that the Axiom I is going with the digital directional pad with the select/start four face buttons and L/R shoulder layout as the perfect control pad for 8 and 16 Bit gaming. No Analogs needed here. Do you think that the classic shape that is shown in your concept images will stay or will you be trying other shapes? I loved the SNES layout but liked the Sega Genesis controller shape, which to me was more comfortable for long gaming sessions.
RIDT- James: Analogue sticks are a great element in modern controllers – the ease of movement really shows when they were implemented. However, when you are working in what is essentially 2-D space, it’s easier to interface with the environment via a D-Pad. I’m sure that most of us remember the ease of using the SNES or Mega Drive controllers. However, ergonomics for the controller will come into play later in development.
OSJ- Agreed, analog sticks are perfect for 3D gaming, but, when playing 2D games I have to have a perfect digital pad for pixel perfect platforming.
OSJ- Now that just about the entire world is connected to the Internet, I saw that your goal of integrating some online features such as multi-player, achievements and downloadable content. Do you think that by adding these features that the console will be prone to hacking and cheaters? I see this running rampant on today’s current consoles.
RIDT- David: For the most part, preventing cheats is up to the game, or often the software running on the server it connects to. Since the player doesn’t have access to that, they can’t modify it; however, we are looking at ways to help combat this using the console.
For example, we are probably going to have the console connect to other consoles through our server (at least to make the initial connection), rather than directly. This makes it easier for developers making multiplayer games, as they wouldn’t need to purchase and maintain a server of their own (Also, the player wouldn’t need the IP address of who they want to play with). This has positive implications cheat-wise; it brings our server software into the running of the game, which gives us a lot more access to check for cheats.
As an example, we could get the Axiom to send a checksum of the actual binary file for the game, to check for modification. Of course this method alone isn’t 100% foolproof, but there are a lot of other things we can do too. We can’t really go around giving details or we’ll be helping people to find workarounds that will let them cheat!
What we will say, however, is that preventing cheats is usually an ongoing battle. Cheaters work out how to get around the measures in place and Developers work out how to block them again. As such, any anti-cheat system we develop will be actively maintained in order to minimize (and hopefully eliminate) any cheating.
OSJ- Your right about everything your pointing out about cheating and hackers. I guess what I meant was in the line of bugs that make online multi-player games. I truly wish your team the best of luck in creating a solid and strong anti-cheat system. But, I guess that’s a battle to fought forever.
OSJ- I’ve owned just about every console ever made and at least played on everyone at least once. I know I want an Axiom I console when it becomes available no question about that. I would like to know for our fans and the world. Will the Axiom I console be targeted to the obvious retro collecting gamers like myself or do you want to reach a larger audience that can entail this generation’s casual and hardcore crowd as well?
RIDT- James: Our target audience is 18 – 35; the group of people who grew up with 8 and 16-Bit gaming, and those with a nostalgic eye. This will act as our primary target audience as they will be the individuals who are interested in such a project. Of course games released by 3rd Party developers could include ‘hardcore’ and ‘casual titles’, but an interest in retro will be our biggest selling point.
Although we are based here in the UK, we aren’t limiting ourselves to the UK. Already, we are considering installing a PAL/NTSC converter in the console, allowing people to use the console in the US. Whilst this in the far future, we are preparing for international interest.
OSJ- Sounds to me like you have your work cut out for yourself. I’ve already spoken to a few of my close friends and colleagues that love and collect retro games about the Axiom and they want it no matter if it has to be imported. In today’s global marketplace, I would think that everything should be created for a global market in order to capture as many markets as possible for a greater chance for success. I’ll be watching this aspect closely as progress continues.
OSJ- I’m in the U.S. and if I can’t get my hand on the Axiom I’ll have to buy a power converter and import a television just to have your console here at OSJ. I’m speaking of course from my teenage mind/heart. I really hope that your team is able to produce an international console.
Also, who doesn’t like a bit of retro gaming?
OSJ- I agree who doesn’t love retro gaming..!
OSJ- In your latest Blog post, looking at the component images I couldn’t help to act like a child in a candy store. I get a huge nostalgic feeling like I had when I bought my TurboGrafX or Atari Jaguar consoles of yesteryear. You must forgive me, I live and breath all things retro gaming. Would you be able to elaborate a bit on the Axiom I specifications and capability goals as of right now?
RIDT- David: The Axiom I will have one main processor and two coprocessors. It will also have an SD card port, two USB ports and an Ethernet port. The main processor will run the main part of the game; It is clocked at 64MHz, which makes it about 3 times as fast as the SNES’s main processor. The main processor will have direct access to the system RAM. There is 512kB of system RAM, which is 4 times that of the SNES. This means that games should run pretty fast, because a large chunk can be loaded from the SD card at a time.
One of the coprocessors is the Graphics Processing Unit. This processor will deal with the graphics side of things – manipulating images, generating effects and showing stuff on the television to name a few. The other coprocessor is the Sound Processing Unit. Both of the coprocessors have 32kB of dedicated memory (Audio RAM and Video RAM). The use of dedicated memory instead of system memory means that the coprocessors have what they need right there, accessible at any time, rather than having to wait for the main processor to let them use system RAM.
We looked into several ways of storing games and saves. The use of online content delivery means that removable storage isn’t strictly necessary, however we opted to use an SD card. SD Cards in general can be used to store quite a large amount of data. However, when you do run out of space, you can simply swap cards.
The prototype we’re building at the moment doesn’t have Ethernet as we want to get the core system absolutely perfect before we move our attention to online services. The planned features for Internet connectivity include online gaming and an online ‘store’. Developers are able to submit their games so that anybody with an Axiom can download and play them. It is unconfirmed whether or not we will verify every single game, but we aim to at least verify all paid games so you know what you’re paying for will work.
In addition to all of this, we are looking into adding an expansion port. If Developers start releasing games that really push the Axiom, we can release an expansion pack to fix this (such as by containing more RAM or another processor). The last thing we want is for creativity to be stifled due to hardware limitations!
We also plan to offer downloadable firmware updates, which will allow us to fix any bugs that arise or introduce new features.
OSJ- I can already envision an exclusive Axiom RPG title sold in a special collectors box set, think of this. A cool cloth map, soundtrack disc awesome graphics on an SD card with exclusive extra content found only on the SD Box set. Just a thought. I know I’m getting ahead of myself. I can’t help to get excited about the Axiom.
OSJ- With the ever changing/evolving gaming industry, I’d love to know how this entire idea came about and wonder, Will the Axiom I be able to evolve through software system updates if you decide to add new features or patch the OS if needed? Having a solid platform requires a constant need to fine tune problems that might have been overlooked. Do you plan on doing heavy testing in-house until all of the bugs have been ironed out?
RIDT- James: The idea for the console has only been around since June 2011. I was discussing the current state of the gaming industry with fellow students at the University of Lincoln and the idea just came to be. Yet, the idea only came into its stride once people like David and Stephen joined us; their input helped shape the ideas within the console.
RIDT- David: The Axiom I’s main purpose is to revisit the style of old, but produce something new in the process and not just run old games. What if game studios back then had access to today’s communication infrastructure (E.g. The Internet)? What if there weren’t such strict memory limitations?
By giving developers complete freedom to develop for the console, we expect a lot of interesting and fun games to be produced. All the development tools will be free and there will be no licensing fees or charges for developers. The only things we get out of it is a percentage of the profit of the actual games (the exact percent to be confirmed), and if any developers require server space we can provide that for a cost.
As such, we do feel that many gamers who aren’t interested in this style of gaming would be missing out on a ton of great games, in the same way that we feel they are already missing out on a ton of great games of old. But, if they aren’t interested, they aren’t interested. We strongly believe that playing games should be fun, and what people find fun is very much personal taste. The Axiom will always remain a tribute to the past, and a platform for cool games!
RIDT- Stephen: Members of the company will test in-house games rigorously before being released. In the event of a bug within a game, we shall either release a newer version of a game or simply have it update on the console via the Internet. However, we shall make sure that bugs are minimalized before anything is distributed.
OSJ- Wow.! Free developer tools and no licensing fees. This is already sounding like the true modern day retro console without trying to be gimmicky. I don’t see why an independent developer wouldn’t want to create games for the Axiom I console. No initial cost to the developer, a no brainer.
OSJ – On a final note. Would you like to say anything to our OSJ community that I might not of touched on in this Q&A?
RIDT- Stephen: Just to finish, I’d like to speak about game development for the Console. While the emphasis of the Axiom will be to focus on getting 3rd party support from Indie developers, that doesn’t mean that there wont be 1st party development contributing to the hopefully expansive library of games.
We already have ideas and concepts flying around the place, with pre-production already starting on a number of games designed for launch.
OSJ- This is very good to know. As most of us within the gaming industry know. All of the great hardware and tools for a console don’t mean much if their aren’t any good games to play on the console. It’s a must for any console that some exclusive 1st party games be released as an incentive to by the console.
I’ve met many great independent publishers, developers and retro game retailers throughout the years. Here at Old School Junkie I hope to grow our friendship in helping spread your current and future updates from Reminiscent Interactive from this point forward. I’m honored to be able to have this initial Q&A with you and be able to watch this project evolve from the beginning to the end and beyond, before any of the big corporate sites.
You can rest assure that what ever we do to promote the Axiom I or RIDevTeam will be because we truly believe in your modern take on the retro gaming console. You have a fanboy in the making. After all I’m a gamer before anything else. I wish the entire RIDevTeam the best of luck and hope to be a loud voice for you here in the West.
Thank you so much for your time and with that end it here for now.
Keep It Retro..!
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