• Forums
• Watch Videos
• Contact Us
• TK Store

For those of you unfamiliar with TAG Games’ Car Jack Streets, Wikipedia it, Google it or YouTube it. It’s currently one of the must-own titles on the App Store, not just because it’s one of the only GTA clones you can buy but because it excels simply in its cartoon-like visuals, top notch soundtrack and a pick-up-and-play mechanic easy to get into. Last week I got to sit down with Paul Farley, Managing Director of TAG Games.

Coincidentally, he was also an original level designer for the original Grand Theft Auto working alongside Rockstar. With an extensive list of impressive merits, it’s hard to refuse a game he was heavily involved in. CJS has already earned its stripes in the iPhone and iPod touch community, gaining critical appraise from various heavy hitters such as AppGamer and iPhone Game Network. If you haven’t picked it up yet, it’s currently on sale for a limited time in the App Store for $2.99. For those either convinced or unconvinced, you’ll want to read the interview. Paul Farley talks about a Car Jack Streets sequel and his experience working with talented, up-and-coming musicians from the internet. Hell, for those of you interested in getting your music out to the App Store, take some notes because this might help you out a little.

[Editorial: For those slow, TK = The Koalition and PF = Paul Farley]

TK: First of all, we at The Koalition would like to say congratulations and thank you for speaking with us. We know a little about you and Tag Games, but we really haven’t scratched the surface yet. Before we discuss how Car Jack Streets came to be, how did you actually end up with Tag Games?

PF: Before setting up Tag with my two business partners I spent five years at mobile publisher I-play as head of design. Before that I worked as a lead game designer for two prominent, but sadly deceased, Scottish console games developers Vis Entertainment and the legendary DMA Design. I was fortunate to work with very talented people at all these companies on great games such as the Grand Theft Auto series, State of Emergency and mobile hit My Dog.

TK: Do you think working with Rockstar in the past helped to create a more refined sandbox experience on the iPhone and iPod touch? What do you think CJS excels in that other games don’t in the done-so-many-times genre?

PF: It’s a difficult genre to work in because whether you like it or not you’re always going to be compared to GTA. To be fair to Rockstar they have developed the GTA series superbly and Chinatown Wars is simply stunning. Working with those guys at the start really inspired me personally, their energy, commitment and attention to detail is second to none. I think for Tag though working without the benefit of a large budget or big team we wanted to take the core elements of what makes games like GTA fun and add our own twists and innovations. That’s where real time play comes in and designing the game with the mobile device and mobile player in the forefront of our minds.

TK: Now that the 1.1 update is being pushed out of the shed, can you tell us more about it? What new features are going to be included now that you know what to work on?

PF: A good game is a like a piece of art, it’s very hard to know when it’s finished and ready to go out the door. With iPhone we have the opportunity to work with our customers listening to their feedback to make changes and improvements in future updates so perhaps that aspect is more relaxed! We have listen very closely to the constructive feedback of the CJS community and have a number of key additions in 1.1 these include a map on the GPS, the ability to carry more than one weapon, a safe house where you can store weapons, ammo and your vehicle, a new steering wheel control method, better responsiveness from the virtual buttons, a few key bug fixes and lots more!

TK: As you may have noticed, The Koalition is one of the largest Urban Gaming site on the internet; and we get ourselves wrapped in music practically 24/7. What sort of sound were you looking for in CJS? How vital was it that the radio stations were as diverse as possible?

PF: You know I remember the day we got the first couple of radio stations and the first couple of sound effects into the game, it was like the game suddenly jumped off the screen and came to life! I’m a firm believer that game audio is equally as important as the visuals. Sure good visuals draw people to the game but the audio helps to immerse them and keep them there. To that end we wanted the audio to embody the general approach to the game – all out action, over the top explosive game-play and a sense of humour.

TK: How did CJS come across the outstanding audio ensemble? Do you think the App Store has created an avenue for many talented musicians out there on MySpace or YouTube to submit their music to different developers for their games?

PF: Variety was important and due to that (and lack of a audio budget!) we decided to see if we could find some unsigned music of suitable quality in the genres we needed to fill. I have to say we were stunned at what we found. Every single track in the game would stand up to radio and MTV play in its own right. I think in Atom tha Immortal, Smudge and Laurelyn Carter we may also have uncovered some future global stars! Certainly a high profile game like CJS gives an artist a great platform to expose their music to a wider audience – you never know who could be playing! It’s a win-win situation from both sides – the game developer gets some great free music for their game without the licensing issues of dealing with a major record company and the artist gets to put their music in front of potentially millions of people!

TK: Most people have played Car Jack Streets and have enjoyed it (including me); is there any word on the confirmed CJS 2 yet? If anything, will a storyline be more prevalent in the CJS sequel?

PF: Right now we are weighing up a number of options in terms of taking the title forward but yes you can certainly expect a follow on! First of all we have a couple of updates and Car Jack Streets: Survival (a free taster mini-mission game)to finish and once those are done we’ll consider the next
steps.

TK: With the increasing trend of more hardcore/serious action games being available in the App Store nowadays (e.g. Assassin’s Creed, Terminator Salvation); how did you manage to balance the appeal of CJS for both the casual and hardcore gamers?

PF: This is perhaps the most difficult design aspect to the iPhone as it caters to both traditional and casual gamers. Addressing this issue is where we as a studio probably have the most to learn. CJS actually seems to have a very steep learning curve for casual players and that can hinder their enjoyment of the game. The problem we have is ensuring that the game becomes more accessible to new players but at the same time ensuring we don’t dumb things down for more skilled players.

TK: Last but not least, what would be your favourite game music theme of all time and why?

PF: I’m kind of biased but I think the original GTA 1 soundtrack still stands out to me as the best collection of original game music. The songs still make me laugh after 15 years – the DMA Design audio guys were a very talented team!

Thank you for your time Paul, it’s greatly appreciated. We at The Koalition wish Tag Games the best for the future and look forward to the upcoming updates planned for Car Jack Streets.

Thank you!

[Editorial: For those of you who are interested in getting your music out to Paul Farley or TAG Games for that matter, please contact our Australian editor Jeff Effendi either via his e-mail (jeff@thekoalition.com) or his Twitter here and he will pass it on directly to the creators of CJS.]

You’ve heard the man yourself, so for those still not playing Car Jack — what are you waiting for? The 1.1 update will be released very soon with major updates and this is currently the best time to grab the game for the lowered price. If you’re still searching for a sandbox-style game for your pocket, this one may be it.

Written By Jeff Effendi

A games journalist writing for various editorials such as AppGamer and MS Xbox-World, Jeff also contributes to big-time magazine 'Australian 360'. Being the first Asian-Australian to join The Koalition, he's unfortunately subject to a wealth of jokes in the office, just ask Edward.

1. jojo piney says:

   May 14, 2009 at 1:21 am

   great interview…look forward to what tag makes next

   Reply

This site supports Gravatars, The globally recognized avatar system. If you do not have one, click here to create one.
Twitter and Facebook users do not need too do this.