Kalypso Media have been making some considerable waves thus far in 2009. Having released a string of entirely enjoyable PC games, including the highly entertaining Ceville, the publisher is now turning it’s attentions to the console market, with the latest in the Tropico series arriving on Xbox 360 later this year.

            The Xbox 360 release of Tropico 3 is being developed by Haemimont Games in Bulgaria, who are also responsible for the development of the PC version for Kalypso Media. Since 1997, Haemimont Games has developed eight original titles with numerous add-ons, including the very much respectable Grand Ages: Rome, also under the guiding hand of Kalypso Media, earlier this year. With this in mind, Electronic Theatre got contacted the studio for a little bit of insight as to the decision to bring Tropico 3 to console formats, and any issues that might have developed along the way. Boian Spasov, Designer of Tropico 3 at Haemimont Games, was on call to answer all of our inquiries.

Electronic Theatre (ET): As the highly-anticipated sequel to a succession of successful PC releases, how does Tropico 3 progress the formula?

Boian Spasov of Haemimont Games (HG): The genre of the game is not changed and Tropico 3 is still a construction and management simulation game. The new game is the successor to the original banana-republic Tropico and offers the player the part of El Presidente - the all-powerful authoritarian dictator governing over a remote island in the Caribbean. We revisited all the proven gameplay mechanics that made the original Tropico a hit and added a bunch of new features such as election speeches, player avatar, road transportation, and petroleum industry.

ET: Electronic Theatre has been privy to much commentary from the series’ fans, mostly discussing the balance of fantasy and reality. How closely will the tasks in Tropico 3 be based on real-life circumstances? Have you had to use a “poetic licence” with regards to certain areas or events?

HG: Tropico 3 is inspired by real-world events, but it does not claim to be a historical game. Although people will recognize tongue-in-cheek references to real-world events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, our main goal was not to recreate them, but rather to depict the fate of a fictional banana republic during the Cold War.

Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, Augusto Pinochet, and other real-world personas are present in the game as pre-made characters, but the game does not depict their real lives or deeds.

ET: While there’s an avid fanbase awaiting the release with open arms, every developer would of course like to increase the popularity of their products with each successive release. What steps have you taken to ensure Tropico 3 appeals to the widest possible demographic without turning-off the fans?

HG: There is no game that appeals to everyone - when we are making a strategy management game we aim to please the people that like such games, or are at least willing to give them a try. So we haven't changed the genre in order to appeal to wider demographic, but instead tried to make Tropico 3 as beautiful, interesting, funny, and accessible as possible.

ET: Will Tropico 3 be accommodating to newcomers, or is the release of Tropico Reloaded acting as a training ground for those new to the series?

HG: As stated above, we tried to make the game as accessible to newcomers as possible. We don't assume that the players will have any experience with previous Tropico titles, although veterans will certainly feel very comfortable with the new game. For newcomers we have prepared a comprehensive tutorial and in-game hint system.

ET: With Tropico 3 having just been announced for an Xbox 360 release, mere months from its expected arrival at retail, can we expect the same quality from the console version as that of the PC release?

HG: We are very excited about the Xbox release of the game and we had put as much effort in it as in the PC version.

ET: Have there been any difficulties in mapping the game’s control system to the Xbox 360’s Control Pad? If so, what kinds of adjustments have had to be made?

HG: We had to remap and rework the controls several times for the Xbox version. One reason for this is that there are very few similar games on the platform so we had to "invent" many controls from scratch. In the end we came with an easy to use control scheme that we are pleased with. Although the Xbox controls are very different that the mouse-and-keyboard PC controls, they offer the same set of possibilities.

ET: The Xbox 360’s Marketplace offers a variety of opportunities for game add-ons and other related products. Are there any intentions to deliver Downloadable Content (DLC) for Tropico 3 through the Marketplace?

HG: We have no comment on downloadable content at this time.

ET: Haemimont Games is a well respected as a developer of PC Strategy titles, are we likely to see any of your back catalogue arriving on Xbox 360? Perhaps a conversion of Grand Ages: Rome, the warmly received City Management title from earlier this year?

HG: At this time we don't have concrete plans to convert any of our old titles.

ET: As a final note, many of the regular users at Electronic Theatre have frequently discussed their addiction to Xbox 360 Achievements, could you give us a taster of the kind of objectives and rewards Tropico 3 will deliver? We expect there are some pretty interesting activities that could be incorporated for those with a GamerScore hunger…

HG: Here are some planned objectives for the achievements in Tropico 3:

-         Win an election with at least 80% of the voters on your side

-         Establish a Secret Police

-         Deal with a Hostage Situation

Electronic Theatre would like to thank Haemimont Games and Boian Spasov for taking the time to answer some of our questions.

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