Burn Zombie Burn developer interview

Ollie Barder, Senior Designer of Burn Zombie Burn, talks to PlayStation.com about bringing the undead to PlayStation Network.

Which movies and games influenced Burn Zombie Burn?

Burn Zombie Burn was influenced by and references a lot of great zombie movies, although we'd like to leave some of the references for players to discover themselves. For example, the Woods level resembles the cabin in Evil Dead and the Military Base hearkens to Day Of The Dead. As for games, each team member's favourites are different but we took a long look at great arena shooters, old and new.

Where did the ideas for the weapons and the enemies come from?

Many of the weapons are classic zombie icons, others reference great movies, and there are a few unique ones we came up with ourselves. The zombies themselves are the products of our quirky sense of humour.

Is the main character influenced by anyone?

Yes - someone who likes to use his boomstick on the undead and thinks that chainsaws are groovy.

Can you explain the role of fire in the game?

Each zombie you set on fire adds to your score multiplier. So if you set large groups of zombies on fire, you can score high. However, there's a risk attached to this; flaming zombies chase you more aggressively and do more damage if they hit you. Staying alive and keeping enough zombies on fire is where the real skill lies.  Whether a zombie is on fire or not also determines which items they drop.

Do you have any advice for those players wanting to top the leaderboards?

Kill non-burning zombies for TNT and kill burning zombies to increase the range and type of explosives available. These allow you to kill larger groups of zombies - preferably burning - in one go, which will send your score skyrocketing.

How many zombies can you fit on screen at once?

Approximately 120 at any one time.

What makes a good zombie?

One hungry for brains and ostentatious dance moves.

What's the highest score achieved by the development team?

It's in the region of 230 million but that's only possible on the first challenge; for most of the other levels, it's between 15 and 16 million.

What are the advantages of publishing a game on PlayStation Network?

In terms of the process, we received a lot of help from Sony with the development and publishing processes. The relationship has been a good one; as a developer we're very happy to be exclusive to PSN and to add to the other great titles already available.