Oh, Bubsy 4D. By the time this interview has been published, our review for the same game will already be out, and once again, I need to reiterate: it’s just shocking to realize that Bubsy, the mascot that has become the face of failed Sonic competitors from the 90s, the poster child of a (formerly) lambasted gaming franchise, is now the star of a pretty good game.

Throughout my playthrough, I felt like I should talk to the people behind Bubsy 4D‘s development and understand what led them to accept the project, design it, and ensure it wouldn’t be just a meme game based on a series known for being, at the very least, severely underwhelming. Fortunately, we were able to have a quick chat with Fabian Rastorfer, founder of Fabraz, the company behind this miraculous job.

WTMG: Congratulations on the release of Bubsy 4D! While it isn’t the franchise’s first modern revival, it is only the second fully 3D entry in the series, the first being, well, Bubsy 3D. What led to the decision to revisit Bubsy in three dimensions rather than taking a safer 2D approach? Did the added challenge appeal to the team from a creative standpoint?

Fabian Rastorfer: Thank you! It was initially Atari’s idea to make this revival a 3D platformer which, I believe, is also the reason why we were one of the first studios they reached out to, due to our experience in the genre. I remember being delighted seeing Demon Turf listed as one of their reference points in the RFP.

I think it was a smart move to pivot to a 3D platformer again! Not only because it helped differentiate from the previous revival attempts but also because it directly plays on the most infamous title in the series: Bubsy 3D! Doing a direct sequel to that game feels like a bold statement, don’t you think?

Bringing Bubsy back, poking fun at his legacy, but not treating him as a joke, was one of Fabraz’s main goals.

Bubsy has had a… well, “complicated” reputation over the years, which makes taking on the franchise a unique challenge. When you signed up for Bubsy 4D, did you feel any pressure associated with the series’ legacy? How did the team approach overcoming players’ preconceived notions about the series?

FR: I’m not sure I’d call it “pressure”, but there were some initial ground rules we established that were important to us:

1. Let’s not make an ironic sequel, keep making fun to previous games to a minimum and do it tastefully.
2. Ensure the game is faithful in its reimagining in a way that pleases old fans but also recontextualizes and invites in new fans.
3. Treat this like any other game we’ve worked on. Meaning our main goal is to make something fun and engaging.

With these steps we’re hoping that the genuineness of our efforts comes across! We’ll shout it from the rooftops: give this bobcat a chance!

How much of a motivational boost was the reception to your Steam demo last year?

FR: It was awesome! That, combined with the initial announcement reception, certainly gave us a high that we carried into the rest of development. We hope that the full game delivers on that same level of enthusiasm, we certainly gave it our all!

Bubsy 4D is Fabraz’s first game built around an existing IP, rather than an original one of your own. How different was that experience for the team? Did working within an established franchise create any creative constraints, or did it offer new opportunities instead?

FR: It is, but perhaps it won’t be the last! Working on a revival like this was a lot fun, and Atari gave us a ton of creative freedom with it, which was great. Even more “out there” ideas like the hairball mechanic or Bubsy’s redesign to a jacket & tie were all welcomed with open arms. This essentially allowed us to make a Fabraz game through and through. Anyone who’s played some of our games before will likely feel right at home with Bubsy 4D.

Now, I got a question for the readers: No limitations, what IP would you like us to tackle next..? I want to know!

Bubsy is fast, nimble… it’s almost as if he’s based on a bobcat or something…

Could you tell us a bit more about what it was like working with Sean Chiplock?

FR: Working with Sean is, and has always been an absolute pleasure. He brings an energy to the recording sessions that is really intoxicating. We’ve worked with him before (he’s the Demon King in Demon Tides) so it was also easy to jump right into it.

I remember when we first mentioned the role to Sean he immediately sent us a bunch of potential directions back. He slipped into the role as if he was born for it and a bunch of his improvised lines made it into the game too!

* (For further clarification: Sean Chiplock is Bubsy’s voice actor in Bubsy 4D, and is known for other performances such as Revali in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Spider-Man in Marvel’s Avengers, and Yuuki Mishima in Persona 5)

One of Bubsy 4D’s most unexpected (and bizarre) mechanics is Bubsy’s ability to turn into a ball and roll at high speeds, yet it ends up working remarkably well. Where did that idea come from? Was it meant to help set 4D apart from previous Bubsy games, or was it more about opening up new possibilities for level design?

FR: One of the first things we did was play all the previous Bubsy games to identify his “core moves”. This allowed us to put together a move-set that felt right for Bubsy 4D, but we felt like something was missing. Which is when I suggested the ball mechanic, which was an idea I had in my mind for a few years now. The concept of being able to turn into a very physics-driven ball to platform around.

What’s cool is that we were able to nicely tie that concept into Bubsy 4D by theming it as a hairball. It also felt right to have some sort of momentum-heavy move for a series that very much started off as a competitor to Sonic the Hedgehog! Now it’s hard to imagine the game without the hairball, as it’s become such an integral and fun part of his movement.

Bubsy traditionally hasn’t had a particularly expansive moveset, and in many of his previous games, he was relatively passive, with little ability to actively fend off against enemies. Bubsy 4D changes that significantly with the addition of a pounce, which not only lets players defeat enemies, but also serves as a momentum-building tool. What was the development process behind reimagining Bubsy’s moveset and making him feel more active and less frail?

FR: This was mostly driven by our own design philosophies. For a while now we’ve been pushing the term “Expressive Platformer” which we consider a subgenre of 3D platformer that asks one essential question: In how many ways can I cross the same gap? If there are several answers to that question, then that means the game allows you to express yourself through the movement. Whether that’s by combining moves in a certain order or figuring out different acrobatic paths across the level design itself.

So we took that design philosophy and applied that to Bubsy, and voilà, you’ve got yourself Bubsy 4D!

Bubsy’s slightly anime-esque looks are based on Fabraz’s previous work.

Finally, could you tell us a bit more about Bubsy 4D’s art style, which even features some very slight anime-esque influences?

FR: Our art team’s specialized in it at this point, after four years of working on the anime-inspired Demon Tides aesthetic, so some of it just naturally seeped into Bubsy 4D’s visuals. One thing we did try to do, however, is amp up the slapstick/cartoon aspects found throughout the series.

We wanted Bubsy to feel goofy and chaotic in his movements. His expressions are also greatly exaggerated like in Looney Tunes animations which the original creator, Michael Berlyn, referenced often in his Bubsy work.