Boom Blox's Create Mode

Apr 30, 2008

EA's new Wii-exclusive puzzle game, Boom Blox, is set to arrive for the system in about a week. A new trailer can be found here. The Steven Spielberg hatched project is shaping up to be one of Wii's most addictive multiplayer titles in many months -- a multiplayer mode enhanced by way of WiiConnect24, as players can create custom levels and trade them with friends. During the next three days, IGN will be profiling different aspects of the game's ambitious create mode. In today's update, associate producer Joe Fielder focuses on remixing and creating levels in Boom Blox.

It's safe to say that we're starting the first of three game collaborations between EA and filmmaker Steven Spielberg off with a bang… Due out May 6th for the Nintendo Wii, Boom Blox is an explosive action/puzzle hybrid that's fun for both casual and hardcore gameplayers.

Designed from the ground up specifically for the Nintendo Wii Remote, Boom Blox sees players throw, grab, blast, and build their way through almost 400 levels full of action-packed, brain-bending challenges.

The levels and activities created by EA's team are just the start of what players can experience in Boom Blox. Not only can they update any level, they can create their own levels from the ground up and then share them with friends over WiiConnect24.

How does that all work? Let's take a look...

Remixing Levels

There are many different ways that you can change existing levels in Boom Blox. For instance, in the level shown below, you're given the explosive Bomb Ball to defend your Gem Blox against a horde of armored bears and thieving raccoons. But after playing it awhile and mastering it, you might decide you want to change some things around.

You could, say, change the level's tool from the Bomb Ball to a normal Baseball -- which would make this level pretty hectic. (You'd have to throw quickly and often to repel the attacking army.) Or you could switch to the Laser and blast your way clear or use the Hand Tool to toss green Chemical Blox at each other for explosive results.

There's even a little something we call the "Bowling Ball Hose" that you can unlock in the main game for use in Create Mode.

If that's still a little too easy for you, you can go into our Rules Tool and set a time limit, lower the number of throws allowed in the level, or change the requirements for earning a Gold Medal.

And that's still just the start. You can replace the Sheep out for Vanish Blox-destroying Kittens, the infinitely rescueable Baby Cows, or more than thirty other unique characters.

Or you might change the properties of some of the Blox so that some of the Chemical Blox are now Bomb Blox, which explode in a single hit.

You can also add your own Blox towers, choose from a number of premade structures like strong castle walls or functional catapults, add props like medieval ruins and tiki huts into the background, and much more.

Boom Blox gives you have the ability to change almost anything you want in a level and from there, you can send it to a friend who owns the game using WiiConnect24.

He might make his own alterations and send it back to challenge you. Repeat and serve!

Create Mode

Beyond updating existing levels in Boom Blox, you have the ability to create your own levels from scratch in our create mode. Let's take a look at some of the things we can do...

We'll start off by choosing the Good Castle stage as a background for our level.

Then let's add a castle tower, walls, and functional drawbridge from some of the premade set pieces… Then, let's place some Boots Beavertons and Skully McGill skeletons.

The skeletons like to go after other characters, so let's place some guys in who can defend the Beavertons -- like the Buster McGruff dogs. They throw projectiles at skeletons and drop Bomb Blox.

Now let's hit play and see what happens. First the Buster McGruffs take out all the Skully McGill skeletons...

Then they start throwing Bomb Blox at the base of the drawbridge. This prompts the Boots Beavertons to set off the Bomb Blox, which causes a chain reaction and drops the drawbridge down to the ground.

That illustrates a few things that you can do with characters in create mode, but you can also use some of the premade structures to create a large mouse trap-like device for cows, complete with long strings of Blox dominoes, explosions, and fireworks.

But let's try making a challenge level now like we show you in the game's create mode advanced tutorial movie.

First, let's add some Blox to the scene and create a tower-like structure.

Then, let's use the paint tool to change the properties of some of these Blox so that they become Gem Blox.

Let's add some Baby Gert gorillas to the top of the structure and switch to the Grab Tool.

Now we have a level where the player must pull away all the Gem Blox without toppling the tower over and sending the Baby Gerts to the ground.

Not challenging enough? Let's click on the rules tool and add a time limit of 10 seconds.

Again, now you can then take your newly created level and send it to a friend over WiiConnect24. He may even have some tweaks he'll want to make to it and then pop it back to you to try out.

There you go! Now you can see how you can use Boom Blox's create mode to create structures, place characters, alter properties, set rules, and much more.