We are BumbleBear Games, creators of the 10-player arcade game Killer Queen. AMA

As far as using this game to practice for the arcade, is there any chance we can get just a blank map to fly around in? I would buy this solely to practice flying up and down, sliding into ledges, and all the rest of the flight tech.

We have been discussing a feature like this and would love to find a way to make it work. Doing ABS vs THE BLOOD QUEEN in such a short time means that some features might come later or not make the cut to ensure that we can launch on time. But as of now we're still brainstorming ways we can potentially design a freeplay environment with the right tools (enemies, map elements similar to those found in Killer Queen, etc) for players to use for practice.

-Jyro

If you make sequels, can you name them.

Sheer heart attack, and Another one bites the dust?

Bicycle Race

-nik

Why was Fyre map shut down?

Brian here. I’d like to address the Fyre map question as well. When I was in my masters program, I had very similar opinions for companies to allow home-brew modifications and opening up a tinker culture around products— specifically citing a robotic dog toy where Sony had sued developers for creating custom robotics modifications to add functionality to their toys. I think a lot of people don’t understand that our business model is different. We often find ourselves in uncharted territory. Unlike many game companies, our customers are not necessarily our players. Yes, keeping players happy is good for business and good for our customers. However opening the door to faux open source modifications on what is basically platform business model, not a consumer product, creates a strain on our existing customer relations with vendors and operators, creates additional work for our team in explaining what is going on, and an expectation of support. 

If Brass Tap in Austin offers Fyre map, Pinballz will also want Fyre map. Suddenly there is unfair competition in the platform we have not control over. How does it feel to other customers who paid $15K and are now not getting the "full experience." This is the direct business example, and doesn’t even touch on the user experience side. The side that players found and fell in love with to begin with. Seeing this big large cab, and playing a polished level with 9 other people— often strangers. Gaming is a tough industry. If someone has a bad early experience, they will never play again. A map on the Killer Queen platform, in our cabinet, with our names on it, playing something that is not created by us, good or not, affects our brand. People will always associate Killer Queen with their experience. Sure, yes, we could trust the community to explain to every person that ever plays with them what’s going on and the long and complicated history of how the modification exists, but the point is, it’s outside of our control. If some operator who isn’t constantly monitoring their game puts the hack on their platform and leaves it on, people are walking up to game that is not Killer Queen despite the advertising and floor space we share with our operators. 

Finally, there’s the issue with the timing. It was a total shock and surprise to us, and it was planned as such. Three of us were at a second back-to-back trade show when this hit. We were exhausted. We spent tens of thousands of dollars to be there plus our time. And we had to spend half a trade show day, where I could not be on the floor selling machines, holding some kind of fire drill. So Fyre map cost us a lot, directly. We love the community and things the players have done, but we need to be kept in the loop (even passively) if people are working on major home-brew features that will affect our products and platforms.

-Brian

Great feedback.

no u

-Chacko

Fyre map was particularly painful for us since it felt like direct intellectual property theft rather than a creative expression for a passion. Being protective of our IP means that we can create new experiences such as Abs vs the Blood Queen or maps that are commensurate with the broader experience behind Killer Queen. Unlike games like Mario Maker, which have tons of developers behind it and a completely separate code base from the classics like Super Mario Bros, this is the life's work of the developers and any exploitation is a serious hit to not only their livelihood, but also to their integrity as artists.

-Belia

For those of us out of the loop, could you explain what fyre map was and why it was IP theft?

As someone who’s seen KQ mentioned several times in the past but never had the chance to play it (I’m in Australia!), it seems that someone made a custom map for KQ and it wasn’t well received by BB?

I’m really split on how to react to this and my opinion really hinges on exactly what fyre map was.

I definitely support the ability of cabinet owners to be able to what they want to the cab though. They bought it, it’s theirs. What’s going to happen in 30 years when people own them as collectors items and need to service/update them with zero support? That’s not to say I support IP theft - I’m strongly against it, I just want to know how this was IP theft.

Without going into technically how it was done and the intentions from those actors, Fyre map was a bootable, playable game map on the Killer Queen system, hacked and bypassing our security. It used the game engine and our code, and was debuted live on stream without our prior knowledge. Personally, I never saw the map, because I was too busy with trade show tasks-- and the content didn't matter.

Killer Queen is a special game, we are so happy that it has touched and changed so many people's lives. It is important to our company and our business strategy that everyone has the same Killer Queen experience. It is part of the KQ brand identity, and we value that shared community experience. From the physical construction of the machine, to the hardware interfaces, to the software, visuals, and audio. When people hear "Killer Queen Arcade," they have a shared image and experience in mind.

Believe me, I support tinkering and allowing buyers to enhance things they buy as they see fit, and sharing it will other people who own those products. The difference with Killer Queen is people are paying a fee to play what's housed in-cabinet, a cabinet that took a lot of effort in design and testing to work for the software. It's not just software, it's physical and experienced in a limited, location-based, arcade capacity. When a new customer pays a fee to play, they aren't asking their friend who owns the game permission to play, they are walking up to experience Killer Queen, and they will walk away with our brand. If they play a hack, will they even know what the source product was?

Arcade branding is important. Why don’t arcade bars just stack their entire floor with cabs that have 500+ MAME games in them each? Because the branding is what draws business in. I am skeptical (at best) of bootstrapping a business model predicated on a huge audience that crowdsources game content that can be experienced by the entire user-base at once, onto a niche, modern, arcade game that has limited distribution not only in the physically-dependent locale, but also on the whole. How many iterations of player-created mods did Starcraft/Warcraft need to go through before a good game came out of it, and how much garbage was created in total? How many bad Mario Maker levels have been created compared to good ones? In both cases, players have the option to not play it and move on. I have little evidence in our industry that this approach is viable.

tl;dr- If you can walk away with 2 things about Killer Queen and the business, it's:

1.) Arcade branding is the most valuable asset to an arcade game. 2.) Modding can be great, but it is unproven (at best) to be a successful model for a game with a limited scale of audience and distribution

Thanks for the summary and for taking the time to continue to respond to what is obviously a hot potato.

That’s a fair response, and I understand your position.

My main questions would be “was it intended for use in a public place (ie, accepting money)?” and “did they try to pass your work off as theirs?”.

If they went on stream and said “we made a hack for KQ, loaded it on our own cabinet, and we’d love to show it to you” then I’m all for it. An example of this being phenomenally successful is the rom hack scene for super mario world, which has revitalised the game and developed an entire community around it. Another success story would be dance dance revolution - I know some of the most fun I’ve had playing it is on custom songs on a privately owned machine running stepmania.

If instead they made the hack, put it on a public machine and just started advertising that they had a special edition (or something equivalent/similar overall) then I’m 100% with you. That’s misleading advertising and I respect the decision to shut that down. It’s your brand name at stake there.

There’s a fine line to tread with custom mods/hacks. On one hand it provides an outlet for the most passionate members of the community to give back, enriching the experience for everyone. On the other hand it needs to be done in such a way that it respects the original creators and the rest of the player base.

I think you’re trying to walk that line from what I can see here. It’s not easy, but it seems like you’re at least open to the idea of end-user content in future. I’d love to see the ability for people to load custom maps on the cab when it’s in free-to-play/private use mode for example. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.

Thanks for responding and for the AMA :)

I don't want to throw the Fyre Map gang under the bus. We love them. Ultimately, it would have been really cool to know ahead of time that it was being developed -- I think that the secrecy combined with unveiling it at a large tournament and on-stream was a powder keg that led to a lot of confusion, and to be honest there wasn't really much resolution after the fact, either. A lot of that was on BumbleBear's response, and people are right to have been a little miffed -- nobody (including us) really knew what to think at the time.

You're right in that it is a thin line. We simply want to be confident in our ability to work with the community on any sort of community content down the line, and that's going to take time, tools, and testing.

Thanks for participating and for staying curious. Hope you're having a great day and that you and yours are safe during these wild 'n crazy times.

Cheers,

-Chacko

Is there ever a chance players will be able to make their own maps for KQA? Separately, any chance you'll ever just give us a dump of prototype/old/gimmick maps in beta mode?

This is something literally every player would like and would bring in tons money, especially if there was a mario maker kinda thing you sold. At least giving us more optional maps seems to be 100% upside. The problem obviously is whether or not it's possible. The maker bit obviously has a big additional downside opening up code to the public.

Prolly not for KQA.

For Killer Queen Black, it’s really up to LiquidBit. KQA operates in a public space, part of it’s appeal is that it's highly curated. 

-nik

KQA operates in a public space

What about for private cabs? Or tournaments/league nights? Would you consider the possibility of having a flag that cab owners can toggle to enable/disable custom maps? That could allow seasoned players to have the ability to try out custom maps and have a much more diverse map pool to draw from, while still letting cab owners configure the machine in such a way that allows them to avoid the negative situations that have been described above.

Think about how frickin dope it would be for different scenes to have their own "home" maps that are only played during tournaments they're hosting! It'd add a whole new layer to going to an out-of-town tournament, and the hype of an away team beating a home team on their own map would be friggin nuts. Plus, it'd help breathe new life into the game for people who have been playing for a long time. I started playing ~4-5 years ago, but have gradually lost almost all interest in playing over the past year or so. Still love the community, but playing on the same 3 maps for 4 years means that the game has become extremely same-y (even with branching out to other positions). Community-created maps seems like a really great way to allow the community to keep breathing life into this game that we love!

I just want to be clear that I am with you 100% on the value of community mods. I think that over the years BumbleBear has given the pretty firm impression that we will NEVER entertain community content, but I want to go on record and say that it is by no means a firm commitment -- if we ever implement community mods we want them to be done with tools that we provide, in ways that make sense and can be distributed/approved via a formal process.

It will take time, absolutely, and that time might not be now, but it is by no means off the table entirely. Thank you for your dedication and love for the game. We want to continue to work with our community to keep the scene vibrant and alive (after all this COVID-19 stuff, of course...)

Again, thank you so much for the love and support.

-Chacko

Thanks, Chacko, love you bb <3

-<3 New Guy <3

oh HELL yeah I KNEW the vibes were good for a reason

This is how you respond to queries about mods. It’s the only decent response on the topic in the whole AMA.

Thanks Daneel, I think that it's easy to get caught up in the one specific instance in which this was a really hot-button issue (Fyre Map), and I think that it perhaps gave the wrong impression of our beliefs to the community. I know that people were confused and upset, and as we see in this AMA it's still an important topic for the community.

I don't want us to come off as adversarial; we think it's amazing that the community is so jazzed to design and share maps. For us as developers and designers, the topic has been complex and a subject of debate for years.

Regardless of the timeline on this implementation, I want us to be working WITH the community, and not giving the impression that we are AGAINST it. By that same token, I hope that our community can empathize with our positions as well and be patient as we work toward solutions that feel good for everyone involved.

Big love, friend. Stay safe and well.

-Chacko

This is probably not in the cards, for a couple of reasons. First is that arcade game need to be a highly curated experience. As it is, (for an arcade game) Killer Queen is incredibly complicated and intimidating for new players. Unlike a home game, it has no concept of state, or who you are. The maps we design are intended to work well for newbs and world-champions alike. Additionally, cabinets are generally owned by bar owners and operators, most of which understandably don't want their patrons tinkering with their equipment. We also don't have the resources to develop and support user-friendly tools. We're a very small team and we have to be very selective with the projects we take on.

As far as old prototype maps, I don't think we'll ever put them in Beta, but we started experimenting with something at BumbleBash last year, which we plan to continue at future events. We set up a dedicated cabinet for these maps. So come to BumbleBash 5, once this crisis is over, and play to your heart's content.

I should mention that a lot of old prototype ideas that didn't pan out in multiplayer happen to work great in single player, such as the scorpion, or jump pads. We're using a lot of these elements as our starting point for ABS vs THE BLOOD QUEEN.

-Josh

Pls just give me the scorpion, I neeeeeed it.

Patience, friend. You will feel the wind through your abs before you know it.

-Chacko

1) can we get a peek at the other fight stick configurations for the reward tier? 2) why is checkers the best character? 3) why is meat map the best map? 4) hats? 5) would abs vs the blood queen be a good single player trainer for KQ for bars that would like such a machine?

Hey Shamanic!

1.) Concept art for the other fight stick configs is in the works currently, and will be posted as an update on KS ASAP.

2.) Checkers is the best character for the same reason Luigi is better than Mario: real ones fly under the radar. Real ones move in silence.

3.) How much time you got?

4.) Stretch goals?

5.) Honing skills useful to Killer Queen Arcade is absolutely a part of AvBQ's design and appeal! I know there are a lotta KQ players that have plugged a full game's worth of credits into an empty KQ cabinet just to practice -- we're excited to provide a way more interesting and fleshed-out experience for those looking to keep the rust off.

-Chacko

Will there be online scoreboards?

Any thoughts on a sandbox or training mode?

What's everyone playing at home?

I've been playing Fox in the Forest and Fox in the Forest Duet. They're both excellent two-player trick taking games.

- Josh

Fox in the Forest

Josh, I saw Vast in the background of your tweet for the AMA. When things settle to the point where you can play 5 player games, you should look at Pax Pamir. It was designed by the same guy who did Vast and has an interesting mechanic that your tableau has a max card size so you're constantly swapping cards in and out.

-napalm

Hey Napalm! Yeah I love Vast. I actually got it after a conversation with the designer about asymmetric games like Vast and Killer Queen! We even played it as a team with a bunch of the BumbleBear crew. Thanks for the recommendation. I will definitely check out Pax Pamir. I've been meaning to play Root as well! Let's play next time we're in the same city together. Hopefully soon?

-Josh

Yes, there will be online scoreboards.

Also, Spiderman, Tiny Metal, Death Road to Canada

-nik

Should I get Death Road to Canada? (Angela)

absolutely

-nik

Any update on the Xbox version?

Brice says they're workin' on it!

-Josh

I was wondering, what was the tipping point to allow 8-player local play for Killer Queen Black?

Originally it seemed like BumbleBear due to being protective of the arcade experience (understandably) was down on adding 8-player offline local multiplayer to KQB. But eventually it landed in a patch, along with even a version supporting Steam Cafe licensing.

So what lead to opening this up? Feel free to get all businessny on me, as that's mostly what I'm asking, seems like as business owners you had an assumption that you revisited, which is interesting to hear about for me (as a business owner of a non-video-game-software-company).

I was probably the most vocal opponent to local multiplayer on KQB, my fear was that our customers who just bought a $14K machine would have competition by the bar down the street who basically bought 8 controllers and a switch and put a banner outside their door declaring “we have Killer Queen too”.

Unlike many arcade games, KQ has alot of players who come to the arcade solely to play our game and it just seemed unfair for us to jeopardize our customers in that way. As time went by it became clear that that was not really going to be a threat and by putting it on Steam Cafe, and making the price steep, we would ensure that there was some real investment on the part of the bar running the game across the street.

Another big part of it was that KQB created its own audience that wasn’t super interested in playing the game in a bar, because all of the framing for the game lends itself toward home play.

Time will tell if we made the right decision.

-nik

What is your favorite dinosaur?

Anklyosaurus. It's the perfect combination of cute and badass. Plus it has a morning star built into it's tail! I have a rubber anklyosaurus in my shower, that I've had since I was a little kid.

-Josh

Will there ever be more on the lore for the universe? The backdrops in KQB really set something up there!

The first thing Blake Reynolds asked me when we started working on KQB was what was the lore of the game, I started laughing. I’ve said this before, but the lore of KQ is the lore of our community, we try to keep things very vague and open to interpretation. My least favorite part of our new game is we actually gave him a name, which saddens me quite a bit.

-nik

Isn't that character even being called Abs something the community came up with though?

Yes, but  according to my calculations there have been at least 4 generations of KQ players, plus all kinds of shadow scenes, what would future players  have called him? his fate is now sealed.

-nik

I call him muscles, look at them shoulders!

In that case let's call 'em Trapz #trapgang

-Chacko

Have there been any new discussions on making a new version of KQA cabs that are easier to collapse and transport?

As a tournament organizer, I'd probably say not being able to bring in additional cabs for larger events is one of the biggest bottle necks for growth in the KQA community.

Hey Nathan!

This is a conversation that I'm pretty committed to keeping on the table. We revisit it about once a year.

The team knows that a "travel" cab is possible. A barebones, functional skeleton/travel cab is absolutely a thing that we've slowly been picking at conceptually for years now.

However, as I'm sure you know, it's not without its caviats -- if and when we finally do roll it out, we want it to be in a way that makes sense for both us and the customers. Currently the concept feels like somewhat of a Pandora's Box that we don't want to open until we have a lot more prototypes and research under our belt.

I agree with you completely though, that the simple reality of a cabinet can be preventative for large-scale events and cab density within scenes. It's being workshopped and I promise I won't let it slip outta sight. :)

<3,

-Chacko

Hahaha, "once a year" is a very BB/KQA development timeframe. <3

No lies detected.

-Chacko

This kickstarter came out of the necessity because of COVID.

Has BB discussed possible long term plans for how the company would change if COVID creates a kind of "post-barcade" landscape where arcade growth is stunted for a few years rather than a few months?

I think part of what has even made this Kickstarter possible is that we're a very flexible group of artists. We've never been afraid to change things up or respond to new challenges. I don't know if I can say for sure exactly what that "post-barcade" landscape would bring us but I can assure you that we'll be doing everything we can to keep bringing our fans new and inventive games for as long as possible.

-Jyro

What has surprised you the most with Killer Queen as the years have evolved?
And related, how do your hopes for KQ in 2013-14 compare to where it is at today?

I was the IT guy at FunCo the first few years you were working with them. In my time there, KQ was by far my favorite project!

I remember you! you created the inventory spreadsheet we used for quite a while :)
for me personally, I never expected the game to be as competitive as it has gotten, but also that the community would retain a genuine and friendly nature while continuing to grow.

-nik

Haha, I wondered how long you were using that monstrosity!

Watching from the sidelines, it has blown me away seeing how the community has grown! A have had a few opportunities to watch groups play in the arcade, there is nothing like it in the arcade scene!

I miss playtesting all the cabinets! Thanks for having KQ Black and the upcoming AvBQ, for those of us who live hours away from the nearest cabs, its nice to get that fix!

<3

Seriously, did Nik have some childhood trauma with hats or something?

no, I don’t think hats belong in KQ. I have no problem with them being in KQB or ABS. I generally don’t wear hats, but it has nothing to do with my many childhood traumas. Get me drunk, I’ll tell you stories.

-nik

Will we ever get the ability to just load up a bonus map? It'd be nice to have the OPTION to just pick one and play it.

We know this is a popular request but a really big part of what makes bonus maps special is that you don't know just when they'll be popping up. So no I wouldn't expect to ever see that option.That being said, there just might be plans to have a special Bonus Maps Only cabinet at the next Bumblebash. So if you're really a bonus map fan, that might be your best way to play a bunch in a row!

-Jyro

Why do you think the fan base has resisted adopting Meat Map (Twilight) so hard? Dusk had a period of resistance as well, but nothing as severe as what Meat is going through.

What's your favorite bug that became unintended tech?

Are we ever getting the stats site back?

Holy crap you got Nik to call it "meat map!"

-Josh

When we were working on KQB, we had to take a little break from making content for KQA, I think in that time, scenes got really used to there being only 3 maps. Tournaments are structured around 3 maps and players know those maps very well. Meat map has a different feel to it than the other 3 and maybe it will never be adopted into competitive play, but as we roll out more maps, I think it will be harder and harder to ignore new maps for competitors which i think is good.Prolly crown scraping is my favorite bug,Yes, we are actively working on a way better version of stats. I think you’re gonna like it, truth is we came out with stats too soon, I regret that, but nothing we can do about it now.

-Nik

Why didn't you do this on a Wednesday, my dudes?

ₐₐₐₐₐᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃᴀᴀᴀᴀᴀaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Does this graph from KQHivemind hurt you as much as it hurts me?

https://imgur.com/a/Vg7UEgc

Honestly the only thing it makes me think of (besides, y'know, how terribly sad this all is) is... candy corn.

Yeah. Candy corn.

...It's been a long AMA.

-Chacko

When will the ROM be available in MAME?

When the federation is created, sometime in the 22nd century.

-nik

Which of the following is allowable for graffiti in AvTBQ (please respond for each)?

• It's Wednesday, my dudes

• They don't think it be like it is, but it do

• Sometimes it be like that

• My real name is Ribs, don't believe the propaganda

• Ya hate to see it, but ya gotta love it

1.) "Wednesday" -- despite the immediate problems that playing the game on any other day might create, I think it's acceptable to keep players on their toes. Is it actually Wednesday??? You tell me.

2.) "They don't think it be like it is, but it do." -- honestly more people need to hear this.

3.) "Sometimes it be like that" -- I would love to see this right as I got killed (in-game of course, but honestly IRL would probably give me a laugh too), it would be absolutely poetic.

4.) "My real name is Ribs, don't believe the propaganda" -- boi what do your ribs look like??? do you need medical attention???

5.) "Ya hate to see it, but ya gotta love it" made me laugh out loud. I don't know why I never thought about simply combining my two most-used phrases into one powerful mega-phrase.

-Chacko

Snickers or 100 grand?

Bit-O-Honey 

-Josh

(it actually physically pained me to post this response, and I apologize on behalf of the company -- Chacko)

reese’s pb cup for the win

-nik

Who says "for the win" anymore?

-Chacko

You leave Nik alone!

Absolutely not.

-Chacko

On your arcade machine, during the attract video, why do you have images of people playing the game? Why not have tutorials showing how to play the game? I had to spend 4-5 plays just to figure out what the hell is going on. Why not open the game up for more users by better explaining the game and rules?

The videos of people playing are there to attract people to play it. If you see people having fun playing something, you want to see what the fuss is all about. This came about as a direct response to observations of the game in arcades in its infancy. To be specific, we noticed that the game had a hard time getting going, but once a few people started playing, it was likely to keep going and build up momentum, attracting more players throughout the night. Obviously we can't ship a few attractive players with every cabinet, as much as we'd like to, so the best we could do is show members of our community having fun. It's also a way for us to feature them. I wish we had good footage of everybody!

All that said, the next version of Killer Queen actually has longer versions of the in-game demos that play during the attract mode. This was in response to players saying that they needed more time to be able to explain the game to new players during this screen.

We've settled on the balance of letting the attract screen primarily attract people, and then once they have put in their quarter, the instructions and experimentation help you learn all the details at your own pace.

Teaching the game has always been a huge challenge, and we're continually looking for feedback on how to improve that! Feel free to send us ideas. We're always listening.

-Josh

Besides KQ, what are each of your favorite competitive multiplayer games?

I actually play a lot of Hearthstone. I usually reach Legend most months.I'm also silver trash in CSGO

-Jyro

I've been playing Golf With Friends with up to 12 homies as often as I can.

It's... decidedly not competitive, but y'know, be the change you wish to see in the world...

-Chacko

Advanced Squad Leader

-Josh

Smash brothers. I like ultimate but there’s alot of visual noise in it unfortunately.

-nik

I’m a father of a large family in Southern California that would love to have a Killer Queen in his home. What’s the best way to acquire this masterpiece of a game?

The best way to purchase Killer Queen is to reach out to [sales@bumblebeargames.com](mailto:sales@bumblebeargames.com) We are actually running a limited sale right now as we have a large amount in stock and understand folks may not be able drop $15K. E-mail for details!

-Brian

Which of these three words would you use to describe working with Liquid Bit?
1. Amazing
2. Incredible
3. Phenomenal

All of the above.

-nik

None of the above. <3

-Josh

When are you going to launch more maps for KQB? I'm addicted...

Also, what is Black Team?

Glad to hear you're enjoying it! We're about to release a new Killer Queen Black map very soon. I'm very excited about it. It feels fresh and exciting, yet it still feels like the game we know and love.

The Black Team is a feature that's still in the works. There is a single Black Team in the entire world at any time, and they'll be streamed on a special Twitch channel. If you get matched with the Black Team and defeat them, your team becomes the Black Team--for as long as you remain undefeated!

-Josh

Will there be scorpions in AvtBQ?

What was your favorite moment from Bumblebash last year?

there will definitely be scorpions, don’t care how I have to squeeze them in, they’re going in. Favorite moment from BB5 would be awarding Andi the Charles Pratt award, she’s an amazing person and it really moved me how many people recommended her for the award.

-nik

When are you releasing Pixel Prison Blues for the Switch?

As soon as we can get the rights for the game back! We would love to do more with Pixel Prison Blues but it was made as a work for hire.

- Josh

What was the biggest challenge porting Killer Queen to Switch in terms of maintaining the hectic arcade environment?

The biggest challenge was dealing with network latency. In an arcade, there is an immediate response from the machine. But when you play online, you're dealing with the laws of physics, which dictate additional delay. We purposely designed the game to work better in a high latency environment. The most interesting example of that, in my opinion, is how the attacks work. In Killer Queen, you automatically kill people by hitting them from above. In a high-latency environment, this occasionally gives you unintentional kills, when players are closer to each other than it may appear. So in Killer Queen Black, we decided to make the attacks triggered by hitting a button. In that way, since the attacks are intentional, you never accidentally get a kill. This also allowed us to take advantage of the fact that we have more buttons available on the joycons and pro controller than we do on the arcade cabinet.

-Josh

Imo, you guys are arguably the best indie developer in the arcade space and otherwise. Thanks for making KQA and for keeping up with it all this time. I think it goes without saying just how impactful the game has been for the majority of the community given the current withdrawal we're all experiencing. But COVID can't kill the queen. Speed COVID on the other hand... let's hope not.

Questions on the competitive future of KQA:

1. Has Bumblebear ever considered sanctioning an official KQA league, similar to Blizzard's WCS (now EPT) for Starcraft II, or Riot Games' LCS for League of Legends? The scene already has elements of a league with Minors, Majors, and a Championship, but no official structure or standings.
2. Regarding the stats, are there any ideas currently on an active player registry where stats from "official" tournament play could be referenced?
3. Will Meat Map receive justice and be injected into tournament play as a counter pick map?

thanks, really appreciate the praise! Please stay safe during this trying time.

1. The community seems to be doing well crafting a “league” of sorts, what I’m personally interested in is developing more tools to help them do that. The tools need to be  reliable, tested and fully integrated into our games. Challonge Integration is a good example of the kind of stuff we plan to do to help our players run tournaments.
2. The last answer connects to this answer, which is stats are being reinvented in a big way. We’re working very hard to create a suite of tools, that help players, scenes, and arcades. I don’t want to talk about this too much since it’s not fully baked and will change over the course of the year, but rest assured we are working on it.
3. As much as I would like meat map to be part of the regular rotation, I don’t think anyone here wants to cram it down player’s throats. When the players and the map are ready it will come, maybe that’s never, but in the meantime, we’ll keep working on new maps and dare I say it, new games :)

-nik

Challonge Integration

Oh I just remembered I have a request with this! Can you tweak the font used for the Challonge URL? We had one that had a digit that was just a straight line. We had issues telling if it was a 1 or I. O and 0 probably, too.

Oh great feedback, thank you! I just added it to our Trello to look into.

-Josh

How do you feel about the reception you've received bringing Killer Queen Black to PC and consoles?

Will the game be available on Xbox Series X?

We have been floored by the reception! We're excited that the community is a mix of players that play the arcade game, but also a lot of new faces too. The xbox series x is backward compatible, so yes it will by default. -Josh (with an assist by Matt)

-Josh

If you were to make another KQB related game after this one, what genre would you go for?

We have been working on a game called Killer Queen Tactics, which is a turn based adaptation of Killer Queen. It has a lot of unique ideas in it, new moves, new strategies, etc.

-nik

Are we going to see any further major revisions for KQ:A or are we sort of at the end-game for it? Wondering about new maps, different ways to win, maybe new 'characters' or team colors..

I wouldn't say Killer Queen is at all in the end-game. In fact in some ways we're just getting going.

That being said, additional content like new maps are always on the table, whereas major gameplay or design changes such as different ways to win or team colors will likely never happen.

We need to balance bringing in new tech while keeping what makes KQ magic intact.

-Jyro

Is there an aspiration to port the new game to an arcade machine ala KQ to have at public arcades?

It's not just an aspiration, we are actively designing this game from the very start to be both a home game and an arcade game. You can see a concept of the arcade cabinet on the Kickstarter page.

-Josh

Are there any COVID-19 deals on used cabs currently? Looking to add one to my hangar, so I can create real “flight school” videos...cab placement

Reach out to [Sales@BumbleBearGames.com](mailto:Sales@BumbleBearGames.com) for information!

-Belia

I love playing your game at the barcade whenever I go. So I am curious to know a few things:

1. What was the creative process like for designing the fluidity of the game and how did it come to fruition?

2. Have you ever considered porting it to consoles?

3. How do you all feel knowing your game is successful in arcades/barcades?

1. Our process is iterative, we don’t really know what we’re making until we start making it. We usually come up with some concept and constraints and then move forward from there. In the case of Killer Queen it started off as a “field” or “street” game, much like tag, We kept refining it as we moved to video game forward.
2. We did, sorta, it’s called Killer Queen Black, go play it :)
3. Still waiting for that big check, I got promised at the success seminar. ;D Seriously though, it feels amazing, KQ changed my life and I think Josh would agree.

-nik

What measures will you be taking to improve communication with your customer base in the future?

We recently brought on another salesperson Rich, to help us manage demand. Now with additional sales staff, we have also started rigorously using a CRM (FreshSales) to manage our customers and to attempt to keep as much communication in one place as possible.

-Josh

I think that the biggest gap in communication for our company has traditionally been through the manufacturing and delivery process.

It's taken years for us to refine the workflow. People have come and gone, systems have been implemented and replaced. We've shifted from making cabinets to-order to creating inventories. It's been a wild process for lil ol' BumbleBear.

Not only that, but the protocols and flow within our own company have been an ongoing project.

A lot of different phases of our operation were being bottlenecked by me being primarily responsible for almost all communication between our team and our customers.

What resulted were various multi-layered games of telephone, where something would change in Manufacturing, then a Sales correspondence would change or evolve, and that information would need to get passed to me, which I would then need to pass on to the customer. Then it would go back and forth, and if at any step in this process there was a communication breakdown, then there would be confusion or radio silence.

I think one of the easiest ways that we are addressing this issue is to empower the people in our respective departments to directly communicate with the people they're interacting with, rather than passing information on to me to pass back to you. We've consolidated the communication process within our company so that we can consolidate the communication process with our customers.

Thank you for your patience and your feedback. We appreciate you!

-Chacko

What was your favorite KQA build/version and why?

Honestly I came into the game before EZ Hover was developed, and I was an absolute god for literally no reason at all. I was tripple-tapping and unstoppable.

Also, the way that old corners used to work was brutal -- you could get kills by forcing units to hover in the corner and clashing against them over and over.

Youngins have it easy tbh. *shakes fist at clouds*

-Chacko

My favorite version is always the newest version!That being said, the first beta featuring the original Meat Map artwork will always have a special place in my heart.

-Jyro

Are you going to use an engine or middleware that supports Linux or are you going to develop the game and figure out the port later?

AvBQ is developed in Unity which has the ability to build for Linux without too much hassle. It's something we've already done for other projects so we're confident that we'll have it feeling great on all our intended platforms.

-Jyro

Any way we can get younger audiences into KQA, cabs at schools?

I don't think it's logistically or financially feasible to put Killer Queen cabinets in high schools, although we really want to get more on college campuses. I personally play most often at the NYU Game Center and it's an amazing place to play the game.

However, I think Killer Queen Black definitely has a place in high schools. Check out what the Esports Edu Lab is doing! They put together a starter kit to help teach sprite animation, programming, cooperation, team-building, and wellness using the game. They're actually giving away a Switch and some other goodies to educations right now. You can enter the contest here: https://www.esportsedulab.com/events-1

Also check out this amazing KQ-influenced arcade game, Galactic Nemeses, made by a few young kids in NYC. The game is really fun and brings interesting ideas to the genre:
https://twitter.com/galacticnemeses?lang=en

Here's me and Nik with the devs:
https://twitter.com/nmikros/status/463740058429042688

-Josh

What is the state of the modern arcade cabinets?

Did you ever develop games for real arcade machines?

What hardware is used in the machines and how hard is to develop for them?

Modern arcade games seem to fall into three camps, Raw Thrills, Namco, ICE etc are focused mostly on Family Entertainment Centers, places like Dave & Busters, Chucky Cheese etc fall into this type of venue. It’s a much more casual experience, without much emphasis on repeat play. Play Mechanix, a subsidiary of Raw Thrills makes Big Buck hunter and focuses mostly on the bar market, along with Pinball manufacturers like Stern and Jersey Jack. We seem to be more in the arcade bar market with Killer Queen, along with Deathball, Cosmotrons, etc. and of course pinball. We’re trying to slide into the bar market with Black Emperor, and hope to push hard in that direction when covid-19 settles down. I’m old but not old enough to have worked on classic arcade games, which was basically a standalone circuit board that was a game and operating system rolled into one where the game was baked directly into the hardware, those games are very difficult to patch and no one makes arcade games that way anymore. The most low level games I did were for the Nintendo Gameboy Advance, I loved it, definitely my favorite platform to develop for. No operating system, nothing to get in your way and some hard limitations that made developing games for it fun and fast paced. That was a combination of C/C++ and Assembler programming. It especially appealed to me because I was a huge fan of the platform being a typical New Yorker spending so much of my time on the subway. Advance Wars forever!!! For our games, we use linux and custom I/O boards, for Killer Queen we use the RIO board developed by Raw Thrills but are phasing into using an I/O board of our own design, more tailored to our needs.

-nik

Even if the stretch goal was not reached for a switch port, would you still consider it down the road?

I would personally love a switch version as it’s my console of choice, but it’s really a financial decision. Porting can be expensive and time consuming and we are 3 developers doing programming art and sound.  So if you want that switch version, please share the link to the Kickstarter campaign with any friends you think would appreciate the game :) (shameless plug here, sorry)

-Nik

Hi BumbleBear! Thank you for all the wonderful games you've released over the years! I'm curious, have you considered building a scaled down home consumer version of Pixel Prison Blues? It looks like it would be an awesome couch multiplayer.

Although it's already been mentioned that we don't own the rights for PPB itself, I would love to bring the core gameplay/mechanics of PPB to a new title. This is something we've talked about internally and although it's not currently on our immediate roadmap it could make an appearance in the future if the time is right.

-Jyro

Would love to make a home version of Pixel Prison Blues, unfortunately we don’t own the rights, Warner Bros does, we’ve tried to acquire it but it’s fallen on deaf ears.

-nik

Are you guys working on any new original arcade games not related to KQ? Anything you can tease about it? SP or MP?

Yes, we have a few prototypes in the works. Two of which were really starting to take shape just before the shutdown. Since they're local multiplayer games, we've unfortunately had to put their development on hold since we can't playtest them. One of the ideas is a cooperative exploration games in the vein of Gauntlet. Another is a cooperative shooter. Our design process is incredibly iterative, so both of these games will likely evolve into something completely different by the time we're finished.

-Josh

When you play, do you go for economic, conquest, or snail victory? Next time I play I want to be able to pitch a dev-approved strategy

The only developer approved win condition is Teamwork!

(or Snail)

-Jyro

Was it complicated creating an 8-player game for the Switch? It must’ve been pretty complicated testing the game with eight controllers.

Well, it wasn't actually as complicated as it might seem. It was based on our 10-player arcade game, so the team dynamics were largely figured out. We also had previously designed a 30-player arcade game called Pixel Prison Blues, so we're no strangers to large number of players. One of the hardest part is getting together enough people at the same time to test, so with an online game like Killer Queen Black, the logistics actually got easier.

-Josh

Would you guys consider modifying the design of the cabinet for KQA to accommodate webcams?

It would be nice if there was a recessed section above the LCD were a nicer camera could be mounted easily. As it stands, streamers have limited options for cameras (only one I know of has the wide enough angle and it's garbo) and have to use janky taping solutions to mount them.

It’s actually something I’ve been thinking about alot lately, I actually think it’s a good idea at least as an option. I don’t think we could retrofit it for older machines as I think it would have to be recessed into the panel under the marquee.

-nik

Do you think there's a market in the West for the card-based RTS games that are popular in Japanese arcades? I'm thinking of 戦国大戦 and Lord Of Vermillion 3, where you get cards every time you play, and move physical cards about to control your RTS units.

I saw this in Japan and loved it. American arcade audiences are a bit different than their japanese counterparts though. Games like KQ which have more complexity may nudge arcades more in that direction but then again, I really can’t see playing those games while drinking in an arcade bar and that is the way these establishments make money--through the sale of alcohol, where as taito station makes its money from the games.  All that said, maybe a simplified version would make sense. Pikmin is one of my favorite RTS games, and proved yes, you can make a strategy game on a console that was fun, you just need to tailor it for the platform, so who knows?

-Nik

In AvBQ, will you be able to play/practice queen mechanics? Will queen play be available? or will it just be drone/warrior?

https://giphy.com/gifs/U2Le9RYm4EaiCoKGpw

Yes and Yes. You'll see the Queen(s) in one form or another.

-Jyro

So, it's "Joust," but ... with bees...?

It's a well known fact that Joust is a Killer Queen clone

-Jyro

I played Joust in the early '80's and Killer Queen didn't release until 2013? Unless I'm missing a dry joke here I'm confused.

Oh we were just havin' a razz, friend. Joust is absolutely an inspiration for KQ, not the other way 'round.

Look what you did, JYRO. >:3

-Chacko

That's definitely one way to put it! Joust is a very important and deliberate influence on Killer Queen.

Our initial version of Killer Queen was actually a field game, in the vein of Capture the Flag, and a major part of the fun was running around outside. When we decided to make a video game version of it, we obviously lost that visceral fun of running around, so we thought about a type of interaction that was simple and fun and you couldn't have done in real life. Nik and I both love Joust and so it was an easy choice.

-Josh

Why were spawn kills removed from the game?

Turns out the KQA community has some sort of thing against coin-flips????

laughs in BB1

-Chacko

What is a 'Blood Queen'?

Yes.

-Jyro

What language do you code in?

edit: (Follow up since Nik is popping in - Do you use any prebuilt frameworks or libs with yoru unity coding)?

We use a bunch of tools, languages and frameworks from start to finish for developing our games. As for the vast majority of coding specifically. our projects are primarily done in Unity which uses C# so much of my personal time is spent in that language. Occasionally we also build stuff in other languages or frameworks to handle data management (VBA, XML, JSON, etc).

We also build our own tools/OS for our cabinets and hardware. Nik is more qualified to talk about those so I'll ping him for his input there.

-Jyro

on the os level, we’ve built libraries and tools in C,C++ and C#, as well as bash and other unix tools. I’m building some new tools in golang currently.

-nik

Would you ever be open to an "Anniversary collection" where the cabs can boot versions of the game from each BumbleBash instead of only Release and Beta?

Oh, also forgot to mention that this is going to be a feature that we are working on in the new BumbleOS -- eventually you're going to be able to pick your build from the Operator Menu. :3

-Chacko

Yo!

Yes, this was actually an idea we were planning for BB5 -- a legacy tournament in which each round was played on a different build of the game. :D

I think once we compile the different versions, we could make the package available for operators to install.

-Chacko

Still hanging with the Bigbuck HD crowd?

Swapping between BumbleBash 1 and the Buck Hunter World Championships in Austin, TX is still one of my favorite KQ experiences of all time.

Unfortunately back home the Buck Hunt scene is pretty far outside of the city, so I don't get to kick it with the Buck homies anymore. One day, I'm sure we'll meet again.

-Chacko

How did you guys get into game development and what game do you think is genius when it comes to how they design their games? Any games you are looking forward to?

I have always loved games of all types. I think many kids that play video games go through a period of thinking they might want to develop them. I took some programming classes in highschool and immediately started making simple games in Visual Basic and just never really stopped.

I think Nintendo is the definition of genius with their game development. They understand how to make games fun and beautiful and tell amazing stories. They have so many hit series and they know when to keep them tight and innovative (Breath of the Wild) or loose and playful (Mario Kart). They appeal to all ages and have some of the most inspiring design and artwork I've ever seen. And when a product is Nintendo you know that even if its not your favorite, it works and it's to a certain standard of quality.

That being said, I'm looking forward to Breath of the Wild 2.

-Jyro

I was an arcade rat growing up, my brother and I used to play Cinematronics Space War - a lot. We pooled our money and bought an Apple IIe and tried to make our own version of it. It wasn’t exactly the most robust implementation, but it sorta worked. I went in and out of video games as a player until I was 27, then Warcraft II came out and I was obsessed with it. I think my brother and I strung up an ad-hoc network in our house and proceeded to spend the next 72 hours grinding on the game. We were living together and working on a drawing and animation tool called “Talisman”, we basically said “fuckit” abandoned that, and started making games. He eventually went into AAA and I went Indie(ish), but we still love games and making them is a pretty sweet gig.

-nik

Hi, I was curious if this 2008 comic from Cyanide & Happiness was the reason for the company logo and name (BumbleBear Games)?

http://explosm.net/comics/1313/

I love C&H, but no, it's totally unrelated. The company name is based off the characters from Killer Queen, which look like bears but act like bees but are actually ants.

-Josh

Is there a reason the steam achievements don't seem to play nicely with KQB? And is there a fix for that in sight? I wondered if it was just me but according to this, almost no one playing on steam has ever unlocked a trophy for the game. https://steamcommunity.com/stats/663670/achievements

Oh wow those are public already? That's an upcoming feature. Shhhh... :)

-Josh

When will KQA go esports?

I think that the KQA community has done a fantastic job of taking the game and presenting it in an increasingly professional, enticing way each and every year.

Looking at the first BumbleBash, then looking to BumbleBash 4 (and everything inbetween), the polish, professionalism, and drive from the community's movers and shakers has been proof positive that the game is an interesting, marketable, and continually evolving experience.

For all intents and purposes, KQA IS eSports. What comes next is a matter of time (and, honestly, finding shadowy benefactors to inject hundreds of thousands of dollars into the game and community. :3 )

-Chacko

KQA is already a full on esport, making everyone an official ...ethelete? We don't anticipate filling any stadiums in multiple countries any time soon, but the nationwide tournaments are a testament to that potential in the future!

-Belia

What can the current online community for the multiplayer do to best promote the game? Is it just word of mouth? Are there other ways to get it out there that you'd recommend? I have a hard time describing the game to my friends even though I think they'd enjoy it lol

For now you can tell them to play Killer Queen Black and ABS vs THE BLOOD QUEEN. Both those games will give them a taste of the arcade game in different ways, and help support us as a company during this difficult time.

Once arcades are back open again, I think the best way is just to tell them to meet you at the arcade. If they don't like the game you can always just hang out and have a beer. 

-Josh

How you all doing? Need anything right now?

I need a gate!

-Josh

Doing alright tbh. I already worked from home before COVID-19 really hit, but now working from home and then... staying home. It's been a bit of a trip. But I'm grateful for my health, my community, and my friends. There's something equally beautiful and terrifying about the reality that we're all going through this thing together. I hope you've been doing well, too.

Uh, honestly right now I would love another monitor because AMAs are wild! But that's definitely a "me" thing, haha. Stay safe, friend.

-Chacko

How will the Snail be incorporated into this new game?

Who said her name is Winston?

But yes you can ride the snail in ABS vs THE BLOOD QUEEN. It's a high-risk move, that's worth a lot of points, as you have to do it under the pressure of an oncoming undead horde. You'll also be able to ride the scorpion.

-Josh

I was listening to an interview with Liquid Bit and they were asked about the snails name and that was their response. I was under the impression it was canon, but must have just been the name they personally used.

Oh, I understand the confusion. Every session of Killer Queen generates a unique instance of the snail, each with a different unique name created by a random seed generated by a quantum computer embedded in the gold side of the cabinet. (In Killer Queen Black it's a similar technology, but there's just a single quantum computer on the server.)

-Josh

Which specific location do you feel is the best place to play KQ?

I think your local arcade is the best place to play.

There are so many great Killer Queen locations out there, including some private and traveling/temporary cabs, that I personally have the most fun trying as many as possible.

I'll tell you the worst place to play though was when we had a cabinet in our (not so spacious) office for a few months.

2/10 -Jyro

Hello, long time fan of Killer Queen here. Love the game. Does the snail have a name?

nope.

-nik

What kinda wine pairs best with Killer Queen?

Mead

-Jyro

marijuana

-nik

Wine shots

-Belia

whatever fits in the Wine Bong ™

-Chacko

Caviar or Cigarettes?

Escargot and blunts.

-Josh

Do you have plans to release Killer Queen Black for Linux in the future since you are supporting a Linux release for Abs vs. the Blood Queen?

Nah, they're completely separate codebases. Plus, Killer Queen Black is way more complicated because it's multiplayer.

-Josh

Is there any gunpowder and/or gelatine in the game?

yes, hard to see it, but it’s definitely there. you have to squint.

-nik

Will we ever get something close or identical to the arcade version of the game on switch? Black is cool but I wish I could play the arcane version at home.

Prolly not. We could have done a clone of KQA for home but it would not have felt like the arcade version, there was a lot of code written to compensate for lag and other factors in KQB that don’t exist in KQA. Releasing a non networked version ala Towerfall, doesn’t make sense for us financially. If covid continues into 2021, well then who knows, but who would you even play with?

-nik

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capt13Pog