Cracking the Code to Level Design in Rubber Bandits, Coming To Xbox December 2nd

The party brawler is coming soon on Xbox Game Pass. We take a look behind the scenes Rubber BanditsBo Strandby (level designers) and Noel Toivio (gameplay and level designer), welcome to Flashbulb Games’ world of game level development.

The Concept of What Did You Choose? Rubber Bandits?

“Rubber BanditsIt began as an identical ragdoll controller to QWOP”, says Strandby. “Players had to independently move their arms and legs to pass each level.”

“We developed in different stages, from rampaging Godzilla-style through a tiny city being shot at by tanks, to a physics-based brawler where characters smashed environments and fought with proper weapons.”

“It was originally going to be a knight-themed brawler called Only A Flesh Wound, like Monty Python’s ‘Holy Grail’movie”, adds Toivio.

“That’s true,” laughs Strandby, “Then Lasse (Middelbo Outzen, Lead Artist at Flashbulb Games) came into the office really excited one day and announced, ‘We’re going to call it Rubber Bandits, and it’s about cops and robbers.’ He came up with the idea of collecting loot, and we built it up from there.”

The Design of Levels: How did you get started? Rubber Bandits?

“We had five levels to start with,” Strandby begins. “We had a dodgeball level, a hurdles level, and one where players had to rush gold bars from a tank to a truck.”

“The level is supposed to be a canvas for the gameplay,” says Toivio. “While we had some level design ideas already, we wanted the themes to come second to the gameplay.

“The team decided it would be more fun if you could interact with environmental elements in the game, like cars. So, we created the ‘Streets’ city level with high-speed obstacles to avoid.”

“We had to be careful with Rubber Bandits, though,” Toivio continues, “as many popular games have these big shifting levels, like factories, that didn’t work with the theme of bandits.”

“I mean, who’s trying to rob a factory?” laughs Strandby.

“Exactly!” agrees Toivio. “If it didn’t correlate strongly with the theme, we just didn’t use it. Instead, we adapted this into an airport level, which uses conveyor belts, luggage, and jet engines as obstacles instead.”

How did design aspects change the most during development?

“Previously, we used a countdown for remaining players when one player escaped the level,” explains Strandby. “Then, Mikkel (Thorsted, Creative Director at Flashbulb Games) had the idea of re-introducing players as cops to take down other bandits.”

“Noel  was skeptical,” Strandby continues, “but then it helped to enforce the cops-and-robbers theme. Sometimes you imagine it differently in prototype, and then it makes more sense when you play it.”

“The cops aspect also plays into the players’ instinct to protect their own win, and take down their friends,” explains Toivio. “People It is really want to win, and they don’t realize just how much.”

Which were the biggest obstacles to creating the? Rubber Bandits Levels? “We struggled with telling people that they’re still playing, even if they think they’ve finished,” says Toivio, regarding players’ changeover from bandit to cop. “We tried to keep attention with UI, text elements, countdowns, and other ways to hold attention to the character.”

“We learned to create a fun level design that doesn’t ‘take over’. If your character swings a weapon, you don’t want too many tight spaces. If the space is too tight, your weapon will collide with the surrounding environment rather than the opponent. Frustrating!”

“And we didn’t want to fatigue players,” Toivio continues. “There’s a few ‘breath of fresh air’ levels to the gameplay per theme. The breaking floor level in the Museum is ambitious and needs lots of new stuff, but also keeps players on their toes.”

What were Some of Your Favorite Levels that Didn’t Make the Full Game?

“We got rid of the hurdles,” says Strandby. “That was one of the hardest levels to kill for me.”

“It’s difficult to know when to stop as a developer,” agrees Toivio. “Hurdles were there before the Rubber Bandits idea even came about. But it didn’t fit the theme.”

“Some levels are cut-out remnants of the old hurdles level,” Strandby continues, “so at least it lives on.”

Which was your favorite level of design?

“The trucks level,” says Strandby. “Movement is an illusion – only the trees are moving properly, so you’re constrained to throwing stuff at other players, or catching what they throw.” “I liked the Bouncy Castle level,” laughs Toivio, “but all 25 of them were fun to make.

“My favourite is the Bank hatch level. To flip the bridge, flip a switch. Players fall. You will find it unique because of its interactive features. Rubber Bandits.

“Plus one super secret spicy level at the end of Arcade mode…”

—Rubber BanditsXbox Game Pass and Xbox Consoles will be available starting December 2, 2021.