Groovin' Blocks is a rhythm-puzzle game released on WiiWare in 2008; our favorable review compared it to Lumines, Meteos, and Tetris, but set to a thumping electronic soundtrack that actually affects gameplay. Earlier this year, Zoo Publishing announced plans for an expanded retail release of the game on Wii and iPhone. We had a number of questions about this transition, and Empty Clip Studios were kind enough to answer.

Nintendo World Report: Did the WiiWare version of Groovin' Blocks meet your expectations, in terms of sales and critical reception?

Francois Bertrand, Empty Clip Studios: We're still amazed at the public and critical reception Groovin' Blocks got. Since the gameplay is so new, it could be dismissed as just another block game, and we were a bit worried that people wouldn't "get it". But on the contrary, people really got into it! It truly is the dream of any game designer to have most people, including reviewers, say your game is addictive! As far as the product itself, I have to say we are very excited to see a game we've worked so hard on to be on actual store shelves! As a small developer, we feel very fortunate to have that opportunity.

NWR: Has any feedback or suggestion been addressed in this new disc-based version?

Bertrand: One of our most requested features was more content. People really liked Mercer Friendly's and Soliton's songs, and because on disc we didn't have the restrictions found in a downloadable environment, we were able to pretty much double the amount of original and licensed content in the

game. We're really happy with this, as it doubles the number of stages in the game to over 50 (not including the hidden mode!).

NWR: Let's compare: what are the biggest differences between the WiiWare and Wii disc versions?

Bertrand: As I mentioned, the biggest difference is double the number of stages and content. We've also bumped up the special-effects, as well as some of the other visuals. Also, the extra time enabled us to balance the game a little bit better as well.

NWR: Who is responsible for all the great music in Groovin' Blocks?

Bertrand: [Managing Partner Matt Shore]'s background is in music so he had some good contacts to find musicians who would want to create original music for the game. After going through a bunch of groups and musicians, we found that we loved Mercer Friendly's style and thought it really fit well with the direction of the game. As for Soliton, he's an electronic musician I

always really liked. His music is a bit more hard-core, but has some creative and well-defined beats which worked really well with the game. Now this is one of the cool things about making a game like this, is that I thought "what the heck" and was able to approach him and offer him the opportunity of having his music in a Wii game.

NWR: Do you think Groovin' Blocks could work with other kinds of music, like rock or funk?

Bertrand: Definitely! Any music you can tap your feet to is fair game! It's really interesting, as you play the game, because you have to play in rhythm with the music, you can't help but start tapping your feet or shaking

your head with the rhythm. It's actually kind of funny to watch people play, because you can tell they're getting into it! Our "super beat" mechanic, where some climatic beats are worth a lot is very satisfying and would actually fit pretty well with power chords in metal or with climatic moments in other music types. The music does have to feature a pretty consistent rhythm throughout, though.

NWR: How were you able to squeeze a music game onto iPhone, and how is it controlled?

Bertrand: The iPhone is relatively powerful (for a phone!), so we didn't need to do a whole lot of squeezing, actually. The controls were interesting to explore though. After testing a bunch of touch/dragging controls, using a virtual control pad ended up being the simplest and most user-friendly solution. After all, it enables you to literally tap to the rhythm on your iPhone.

NWR: Do you think a Nintendo DS version is possible, based on your work on iPhone?

Bertrand: Oh yes! We are working on some DS games right now and already have scoped out how we would port Groovin' Blocks. We would redesign the graphics to give it a slick 2-D look, but other than that there really

are no technical limitations. To be honest, I think it's a match made in heaven. The DS is an ideal platform for a game like Groovin' Blocks: portable, bite sized music gameplay with a lot of replay value!