I've read a few previews—Nintendo Power's was the one that made me first really sit up and take notice; I love the concept—but it seemed like most of the previewers found it pretty tough. Even your producer kept dying, IGN noted. Is it just that challenging, or is there a learning curve?
Etheridge:There is a learning curve to the game, but I think that it mostly has to do with getting that initial coordination down. You have to learn to use both screens and to keep moving and firing. Once you get that down, the game doesn't become too easy, but the controls become natural and you can focus on your tactics.

After that, the levels are set up to be incrementally harder (i.e. more enemies get thrown at you even faster), so it is a challenge. I think that people will really get a kick out of posting videos on YouTube of them defeating certain challenges or taking no damage in a particular level. I can't wait to see those.

Speaking of that producer, that was Joe Fletcher. He helped refine the game mechanics and pretty much wrote the entire list of challenges in the game. He is no stranger to the game, but in his defense, I will say that we have not shown the game with cheats enabled. He was basically trying to demo a really tough shooter game without any cheats while talking to the press at the same time... we probably should have just picked easier levels instead of ones that looked so pretty.


Heh, yeah, I can only imagine. I know there are some games that just demand so much concentration that having to show them off while playing them would be a recipe for disaster.

The soundtrack sampler you sent over ("Volume 1," it says—is there a "Volume 2" yet to be released?) is pretty cool stuff, electronic arrangements of classical themes. Tell us a little about those and the guys behind them.
Etheridge:I am really glad you asked about that! Creating the music for this game was one of the most fun aspects of the development. That said, I wasn't creating the music myself, so I shouldn't speak for the musicians.

We worked with 2 groups; one here in Los Angeles (Dekoder Music), and another group in Japan (Brainstorm Co., Ltd.). Dekoder has done a lot of remixes and some commercial work. Brainstorm worked on Lumines, Meteos and a number of other games. They each brought very different styles to the table, but also seemed to be challenging each other in the process. Dekoder really brought the aggressive sound that I was hoping to get out of the music, while Brainstorm experimented with completely different styles.

Both groups were phenomenal and really rose to the challenge. The challenge, of course, was to recreate these very popular classical pieces under some very tough constraints. For one, they had to be created in a way that the tempo never changed. That wasn't very easy given the complexity of some of these pieces. Also, each song had to be broken into 4 parts that could be played individually at any time and sound good. Lastly, we wanted them to make sure that the songs didn't sound anything like the original. At times, we had to go back and forth on a piece several times before it sounded right and played well in the game. In the end, I think we all got what we were after and no one blew a gasket.

It was smooth sailing in my opinion, despite the challenges. And I am very hopeful that I will get to work with both of these groups again in the future!

As for a Volume 2, I can't confirm that yet, but if enough people want a Volume 2, I'm sure we can work something out!


Now Meteos is a name I haven't heard in a long time; that was a game I really loved back when it came out—still do—and it had a very memorable soundtrack. If Dream Trigger is as good as Meteos, we're in for a treat.

So is there anything else you'd like to tell us?
Etheridge:Please check out the game online and "Like" us on Facebook to keep up to date and in touch! Also, if you have any questions or still just don't get the gameplay, drop us a message there and I will get back to you!

Thanks for your time, and best of luck with Dream Trigger 3D! I'm very much looking forward to it.
Etheridge:Thank you very much and thank you for your support!

Dream Trigger 3D is out in less than a week, on May 10. It's got 50 levels across 10 beautiful environments, a multi-card two-player versus mode, and it looks and sounds great. I'm hoping it proves to be something that really brings the 3DS into its own.