Dan: Do you need a Band-Aid? 

For those who aren’t familiar with Alien Hominid, could you give us the scoop on the storyline?

Dan:  No.  Oh, I mean yes.  You are a little yellow extra-terrestrial who just so happens to crash front and center of the FBI headquarters.  Your ship is in good condition but they dismantle it and take off.  Now you have to go get it back, darn it!  The problem is everyone wants to kill or dissect you while you’re trying to do this.  (But their problem is that you can fully digest skulls.) 

One word describes the original flash version of AH:  Mayhem!  What kind of curve balls are Behemoth throwing for the console version to make it even better? 

Dan:  The alien and his opponents have much fancier footwork.  The alien does more than twice as many actions.  That makes a HUGE impact.  It’s like he’s this William Wallace ninja collaboration type thing.  Our Hominid is forced to follow his captured UFO through more environments and countries.

The effects came out amazing this time around and look prettier than pretty can be.  Smoke and fire hangs around sometimes and makes for more visual chaos on top of the already more complex chain of events.

Also, there are some allies this time around.  Fat kids all over the world believe in you and decide to help you in your quest.  I mean, they were around when the initial problem broke out.  You make several other friends of a different nature, but if I told you who I would spoil the whole thing right now this instant!  That’s not fair so I won’t.

2D action games have become something of a rarity these days, especially on next-gen consoles.  What gave you the idea that Alien Hominid would be a winning retail video game?

Dan:  We just make stuff and see what happens.   We’re all fans of retro so that’s what came out I guess.  When we saw that Alien Hominid’s online version had over millions of views we decided to make an even neater version.

Tom: The original web version was a lot of fun to play, and the characters were completely unique and entertaining. When you see the hand-illustrated visual style translated to a big TV screen, it looks completely fresh and new compared to everything else on the market. AH is breathing new life into an old genre, without compromising the classic 2D aesthetic!

A lot of industry types seem to think a new game can't be made if it isn't 3D - one publisher even told us our visual style was "irresponsible". That's like saying a painting isn't art because it's not a sculpture!

You are currently in the process of finishing development on the console version of Alien Hominid, but isn’t it true that aliens don’t exist?  What are you hiding?

Dan:  We’re doing the exact opposite!  We brought the Hominid to the San Diego Convention Center to take pictures and sign autographs. 

What’s a game without ear-drum-pounding music and sound effects?  Who is doing the sound for AH?

Tom: The music and a large number of sound effects are by Matthew E. Harwood. He was selected from a large pool of music composers who responded to our request for proposals. The music is an orchestral / electronic combination that you just have to hear. It has a lot of oomph! 

How hard has it been balancing your time between AH, Newgrounds.com, and other projects?

Tom: It has definitely been overwhelming at times, but I’ve managed to maintain a decent balance. From the onset, I made a strict commitment to myself to not work on any other games until Alien Hominid was complete. As a result, I haven’t released a new game on Newgrounds in almost a year. I still maintain the site on a daily basis, but most of my life revolves around AH nowadays. It will be worth it when AH hits the shelves!

Can you tell us what kind of features we can expect in the game?

Tom: There are a large assortment of vehicles at your command – we are saving a lot of that as a surprise. Some vehicles have weapons, while others can be used to simply smash through enemies and obstacles. A lot of fun will come from the variety of things you can interact with, and the number of things you can destroy. Most of the buildings in the immediate background can be brought down with enough firepower! Your friend can even ride on top of a building as it collapses, or fly out of his car as you smash through it with a truck. He can stand on the roof of your vehicle while you drive around, or grab a seat in the back if the vehicle accommodates it! If the vehicle doesn’t include a weapon, you can still shoot out from the window. 

Most levels contain at least two bosses, so overall this game has more boss fights than many traditional 2D games. The bosses are completely insane, and have a lot of personality as well. We’ve even included the old favorites from the web version of Alien Hominid. They are badder than ever, of course! Just take a look at these comparison pictures of the original boss from the web version, and his new appearance on the consoles!

The Newgrounds community has built quite a fan base for flash/garage games.  How has the support been for the console version of Alien Hominid?

Tom: The NG users have been completely supportive, and many of them are dying to get their hands on the game when it's released. They're in for a real treat, because AH for the consoles will be way cooler than anyone ever imagined!

Dan:  The response has been wonderful.  The only negative energy we have ever received are from people who haven’t seen game-play trailers or tried out our demo.  It’s a really cool feeling to see pretty much everyone who has given it a fair chance coming out with a smile on their faces, shouting “GET HIM!  GET HIM!”. 

What kind of weapons/items can you wield in game?  How many different ways can the enemy die?

Dan:  You can burn them, freeze them, melt them, hit them with cars,  bite their heads off,  throw them,  slice them in half, pull them into the concrete,  blow them up,  shoot them,  and much more.   The percentage of the enemy’s animations have a vast number of deaths - since that’s what they get to do the most.

Tom: The web version of Alien Hominid had three weapon upgrades. This new version has more than twice that, as well as a charge shot and various other machine-based ways to dispose of your opponents. We even added grenades!  

Synj Industries is known for its creatively demented art techniques (that’s a compliment).  Did you continue the traditional, flash-based graphics in development?

Dan:  The entire game is hand-drawn.  I have lost countless weekends all year while slaving away at sprites.  I wouldn’t compare what we’re seeing here to my older 2-Dimensional work since this project BLOWS IT ALL AWAY!

Besides being one of the coolest flash games on the internet, AH was one of the most challenging.  How hard will the sequel be and what is the estimate game length/replay value?

Dan: It’s definitely still a challenging experience.  I’d say the game might be somewhat easier due to the fact that you get to use a controller and the Alien has more offensive and defensive moves.   As long as you’re utilizing them, you should have a thrilling experience.   If you’re hammering one button while moving forward, you’re probably screwed…but you’re likely to take a few down with you at least!

Replayability is estimated at a high I’d say.  The Alien’s moves alone make it for a much more interesting and consistently different action experience.

Our game is also seamless with single-player and multiplayer modes.  For instance, I could play the entire game through by myself and ask you to at any given time to jump in with me.  Or, we could both play through the whole thing together from start to finish.  It’s classic arcade style in that respect and adjusts accordingly. 

When is it scheduled to be released, what consoles/game devices will it be on, where can we find it, and what is the retail price?

Dan:  Spring 2004 is what you should have your sights set on.  It currently runs fine on all major console systems, but whether or not it is published on all major console systems is up to our publisher.  Price and all that stuff is still pending.  Lots of stuff pending.  Yes, yes.

What do you think makes AH stand out in the crowd? 

Dan:  We’ve got character features implemented that have NEVER been seen before, and I don’t just mean one.  We’re fully 2D with large amounts of parallax scrolling.   We’ve got a strong aesthetic that looks different than anything you’ve ever seen on a TV.  We’ve got revamped retro style game-play.  We’ve got fat kids.  Who else has all this?  Bring it on people!

Now that we’ve got through all the formalities, its time to ask the question everyone is waiting to hear…..Are there any plans to release a playable demo or in-game trailer?

Dan:  Goodies like those will be handed out on AlienHominid.com in a couple weeks.  When you see the green layout begins and the chicken is gone on that website, you are in for a treat!