IncGamers recently caught up with Darren McGrath, VP Creative Development at InLight Entertainment to find out more about their bizarrely titled DS game
Teenage Zombies: Invasion of the Alien Brain Thingys! which is due for release in Europe spring 2008.

First of all, can you tell us a little bit about Inlight and the development team working on the game.

InLight Entertainment Inc. has been a wholly owned Canadian company since its inception in 2002.  A great number of us have worked together in various configurations for over ten years – and on some very high profile brands.  Our team is really top notch!

So what is this Teenage Zombies game? It all sounds a little bizarre to say the least. What's the story behind the game?

Here goes… Imagine that the earth is under attack by hordes of aliens that just happen to look like, well… brain thingys. Humans, having succumbed to ray guns, mind-control, and shiny flying saucers, have failed to defend their planet and let it fall into the clutches of the Big Brain and his marauding armies!

The only hope for mankind is three Teenage Zombies that have arisen from a nearby graveyard. Disturbed by the alien invasion, he undead Zombie trio ignores their usual human victims in favor of the pulsing pink brains - all the while being lured to the ultimate lunch: THE BIG BRAIN!

The Big Brain quickly realizes that he’s overlooked this Zombie super-race that inexplicably resist all of his usual defenses and devour his Brain Armies!  Somewhat flustered by this unprecedented turn of events, the Big Brain refocuses his efforts and resources to battle the Earth’s greatest champions: The Teenage Zombies!

How exactly does the gameplay fit together? The game has been described as a cross between a puzzler/brain teaser and scrolling action.

This platformer, is very much puzzle based.  As such, the platform aspect of it is more of an adventure – consisting of exploring the environment and figuring out ways to get from point A to B while smashing, eating and avoiding Alien Brain Thingys, while collecting body parts!

We’ve also got over 30 comic book pages that really serve as the main story through-line.  From this construct, the 8 mini-games and the Big Brain Challenge collection of micro-games are all encountered enroute and help to drive the story forward. That said, the platform game itself quite unique in that you have the ability to switch between different zombies at anytime to achieve your goals. What really stands out are the characters, the story and all of the different play patterns – these aspects really go far beyond the constraints of a typical platformer.

The game is A comic book retro-styled game, how have you used the DS to help bring this comic feel to life?

I’ve always really enjoyed horror and sci-fi - even as a young kid. Applying a comic book twist to the campy B-movie horror and sci-fi genres really felt like a great starting point.  In keeping with this, we’re treating the DS itself like a comic book. During the comic sections of the game you actually get to turn your DS on its side and read it – like a comic book!

Brain training games on the DS have done rather well, not only capturing the imagination of the DS fan but also the more casual gamer who has never even experienced something like the DS before. Teenage Zombies is obviously trying to attract some of that market with game elements such as the The Big Brain Challenge mini-games. How exactly will these work in the game?

The Big Brain Challenge (BBC) is offered as a chance to build points and outsmart the Big Brain himself.  This series of micro-games are fast paced and require some quick witted thinking on behalf of the Player.  The BBC itself is situated between various chapters of the adventure and will be encountered quite naturally as the Player move through the worlds.  As each challenge level is unlocked it will also be accessible from the main menu.

Inlight have been quoted as saying the game has been created to capture the casual game market so how much appeal is there for the more hardcore DS player?

I agree that this game will appeal to the casual game in so far as the story and characters are very appealing and that it offers accessible game play but I also think that the puzzle based nature of this game will offer lots of replay value for the hardcore gamer too.

What cool features have you added to the game to make use of DS specific features such as the stylus and touchscreen?

 We think that this title is a perfect fit for the DS.  The characters, story and the games puzzle based aspects are really consistent with the control mechanisms of the hardware itself.  We’re making really good use of the stylus and touch screen technology – all of the mini-games as well as the Big Brain challenge are off unique use of the stylus.

Is there anything you else you want to tell the readers about the game?

We’re really pleased with how unique this game is.  I haven’t seen anything that looks quite like it.  We really took time with the characters and background treatments to ensure that they felt consistent with the comic book approach that we wanted from the start.  Also the gameplay itself is quite novel – this is not your average platformer.

Teenage Zombies: Invasion of the Alien Brain Thingys! will be released in the UK spring 2008.