Cracking clean Gromit! We hope you’re ready for a grand day out to clean up the world of Aardman’s endlessly inventive duo, in the new PowerWash Simulator Wallace & Gromit Special Pack, available today.
We worked closely with our partners at Aardman Animations to faithfully recreate the world of 62 West Wallaby Street in PowerWash Simulator. In the special pack’s five new levels, you can explore the nooks and crannies of their garden, kitchen and dining room and basement, before blasting into space to clean the Moon Rocket.
Grab the cheese and crackers while FuturLab’s Mark Ginbey, who writes PowerWash Simulator, and Animator Alannah Meek, who works on the game’s charming animations, take us behind-the-scenes of bringing the pack, and the WASH LAD, to life!
Get Cracking!
A key part of designing any PowerWash Special Pack is deciding why everything got so messy in the first place. In the case of the Wallace & Gromit pack, things have gone a bit pear-shaped over at 62 West Wallaby Street following a mechanical malfunction – the biggest disaster since the cracker catastrophe of ’89!
“Creating the story for such beloved creations was quite a daunting prospect, but luckily they’re a mucky pair who effortlessly find themselves in all manner of sticky situations, so ideas flowed as quickly as porridge from a malfunctioning AutoChef,” says Ginbey.
“There was no need for any convoluted over-arching narrative, we just needed to put the pair in a series of familiar environments and ask ourselves ‘what could possibly go wrong here?’ Then it was just a case of letting the dirt tell the story.”
“Incredibly, we were also helped by Aardman’s amazing writer Finbar Hawkins to finesse the script and give authenticity to our ideas.”
Well Done, Lad
The WASH LAD is all charged up and ready to assist you in your cleaning escapades, along with their very own industrial washer.
Based on Wallace’s existing LAD (Labor Assistant Device), that first appeared in Wallace & Gromit’s World of Invention, the WASH LAD has been adapted in a couple of different areas to better suit this niche task. From the original, we changed the arms to hinge at the elbows – crucial to provide the elbow grease needed to slough off the muck in the pack. We switched out the wheels for legs, to give our WASH LAD the full range of motion to reach up, crouch down and clean every crevice.
“We created a brand-new character model for Wallace and Gromit, keeping as many elements from the original LAD character as possible,” says Meek. “This was then skinned to the PowerWash Simulator character rig, and a new set of animations were created to better match the LAD character, mainly focusing on making it feel more robotic than the PWS character.”
As you pilot WASH LAD’s stout and sturdy frame, you’ll notice a distinct height difference from the usual PowerWash Simulator character model, as well as the metallic sounds of the hydraulics powering the small bot. It’s also particularly fun to team up with your friends to tackle the filth as a small robot army.
Level Deep Dive
Before we all settle in front of the TV with some cheese and crackers, let’s take a look at our inventive pals’ cosy home, starting with the Dining Room and Kitchen.
Wallace & Gromit’s Dining Room & Kitchen
You’ll be able to spot references from throughout the brand’s history and interact with moving elements such as the train set to immerse yourself within the action.
“The toy train was a challenge to set up animation for!” says Meek, “Washable objects in PowerWash Simulator can’t use the standard animation set up so we had to devise a new system to animate the train and make sure all the carriages follow the train tracks smoothly with a spline curve. Hopefully players will have fun riding the toy train around the circuit!”
Wallace & Gromit’s House
Soak up the serenity of sleepy British suburbs in this level, where you’ll hose down Wallace & Gromit’s quaint front garden and front façade of their classic two-up-two-down. Here, you’ll also walk in the pawprints of an icon as you stoop your way into Gromit’s kennel and have a snoop through his belongings, all in the name of cleaning, of course!
As well as a couple of iconic inventions, like the Soccamatic and Shopper 13, you can also flip the pond to complete the driveway, just like in A Close Shave.
The Knit-O-Matic
The Knit-O-Matic’s in a bit of a tangle, requiring some TLC (tender-loving-cleaning). Head down to the basement to scrub up the infamous contraption – there’s ‘knot’ a moment to lose!
Power up the goliath machine to give it a thorough service, and don’t forget to check the technical (and-not-so technical) drawings!
Meek adds: “Animating washable items, like the Knit-O-Matic, really breathes life into the scene and adds an extra layer of detail for the players to have fun with!”
This lofty space is one to settle into, with high ceilings, heavy machinery and heaps of basement-dwelling odds and ends. When you’re done, give yourself a round of applause by powering up the auto-wash machine! Pfft, automatic washing is over-rated!
Wallace & Gromit’s Vehicles
A rare rain-free day in the usually drizzly English climate can only mean one thing – time to give the car a hose-down! Not one for normalcy, however, Wallace’s collection of vehicles is far from your average hatch-back.
Everything from the Snomanotron to the Top Bun bakery van is caked in filth, even the iconic Techno Trousers need some soapy assistance – just don’t put them through the wrong spin cycle!
The Moon Rocket
Restore the Moon Rocket to its former brie-lliance in the final level of the pack. Covered in more than just stardust, the duo’s space craft has seen better days. Blast off the muck coating its bodywork, before venturing inside to revive the cosy cockpit.
Oh, and there’s also the aftermath of a certain extra-terrestrial picnic that could do with a quick spritz while you’re up there.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this access-all-areas look at our new Pack. See you at 62 West Wallaby Street for a cracking cleaning adventure – I’ll stick the kettle on!
Xbox Game Pass members can play the base game, PowerWash Simulator, as part of their membership. The Wallace & Gromit Special Pack is available today for a separate purchase on the Xbox Store (a copy of PowerWash Simulator is required to play).
The post A Cracking Clean-up: Peek Inside The Home of Wallace & Gromit With The PowerWash Simulator Devs appeared first on Xbox Wire.
