Previously on Formula Bei, we have discovered the creator of Beyblade and the products which preceded his greatest franchise. We have introduced the Beyblade revivalists, their inventions and the crucial role they played in further developing one of the greatest games of its kind. Yet, it has been some time since our last Beyblade product release - so this week, I will recount how I discovered one of the greatest Beyblade engineers of our time; and how his work is shaping the evolution of blading.

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I saw my first live robot fight in 2010 as part of the Robowars Nationals in Brisbane. At the time, I was working on a robot fighting boardgame and had been testing my ideas with housemates and work colleagues. We had made good progress toward the ultimate goal: miniature robot combat. So it was only natural I investigated this curious live-action event with some trepidation - as if I somehow knew it would reform my appreciation of the subject.



The contest was divided in two sections, according to weight. The heavier featherweight robots fought in a huge polycarbonate box. They were the main attraction. But I noticed lengthy gaps in the program between fights - the engineers spent more time fixing damage in the pit than fighting in the arena. When the fight finally began, it would either last just a few seconds - with an instant kill - or until the maximum time limit - with neither robot receiving fatal blows. In either case, the audience's attention quickly faded.

The lighter antweight robots fought in a smaller polycarbonate box mounted on a table. These were especially diminutive creatures; imbuing an air of wicked cutesiness. But I particularly noticed how much more actual combat they performed during the fight. Rather than simple knockouts or ineffectual stalemates, these robots genuinely fought to the death. Even the lesser machines inflicted damage on a scale comparable to the strongest featherweights. Each encounter was a genuine and dramatic struggle.

It seemed clear that if I were to investigate robot fighting myself, the smaller classes would be a better choice. They were much more effective even though their circuitry seemed simpler. Many of the antweights on display used simple construction methods and materials found around the home. In addition, the little guys just seemed to exude the feeling of a better game - one in which people of all skills could participate and enjoy without too much to lose. So I tried building my own.

To my dismay, this was the most monumentally comprehensive failure of my life. At complete odds with my initial impressions, the learning curve was so steep the very idea began to feel pointless. It became obvious the entire hobby was just for people who already knew about machines and electronics - not people wanting to learn from scratch.


In practice, the real problem was how learning without explicit instruction led to mistakes. Mistakes meant a high expenditure of materials and eventually this began to feel like a waste. I am not the right-minded person for wasting anything, let alone time, money and materials. Those are my favourite things!

Even if I had discovered a design I could actually build, my living conditions at the time really didn't suit the hobby at all. I had a room in a share house with almost no space for anything creative, let alone manufacturing a combat robot. I didn't know anyone in the field who might teach me or supply me with materials. It was a lonely prospect.

The largest part of the waste in robot-building appeared to be electrical malfunctions. The electrics were perhaps the hardest part of the design to get right - and when they failed, whole sections of the construction would be wasted. Piece by piece, it became clear that electrics were the first and greatest barrier to entry in the sport. That needed to change.


I began working with spring motors, building autonomous robots based on the classic shufflebot design; perhaps a more truthful representation of traditional robotics than the actual combat robots themselves. Inspired by the Chico windups, this was a much easier endeavour than I had imagined. Physically programming behaviours into these little wire robots was not a chore - it was fun in itself. Best of all, they were made of simple wire: cheap, abundant, easy to manipulate and available in a wide variety of different gauges and materials to vary strength, weight and elasticity.


But there was a disappointing hitch. The most entertaining antweight battles all lasted between 60 and 90 seconds. My windup robots could not operate for any more than 45 seconds; much less in an actual fight. The concept of spring-powered robots seemed promising - but the spring motors themselves were not strong enough to inflict any real damage or operate for the length of a good battle.

Beylon Wrote:By a coincidence I didn't recognise until much later in my research, I had taken my spring motors from the modular Battle Deck series designed by Kenji Horikoshi of Takara-Tomy. I searched the entire world for more powerful motors in the same weight range - to no avail. Takara-Tomy, it seemed, produced the best miniature spring motors on Earth.

But the year was 2011 and by some alignment of the cosmos, Beyblade had just reached the shelves of Australian stores. I had completely missed the original Beyblade craze as a teenager and had no real idea what these things were. When I discovered what they were capable of, it was like seeing my first robot fight all over again.

Thus began two years of gyroscopic study. It was obvious these spinning tops were the solution to my challenge; I had simply never considered them as a type of motor before. All around me in my everyday life, I found abundant materials - anything from hardware washers to decorative plate finishings; things widely available for very little cost. With plentiful materials, my efforts primarily concerned methods of construction. I explored various ways of matching pieces together - devising locking systems to prevent them exploding under the extreme forces of rotation.


But my study gradually spiralled into a quest for (what I came to recognise as) magic items; constantly detouring through hardware stores and bargain basements, searching and hoping for pieces that would just "magically" fit my designs. I was kidding myself. In the wake of the 4D Series, I finally concluded that Takara-Tomy really did make the best spinning top components in the world.

I created many fighting machines based on the Beyblade system. My work continued in this vein for years. It was clear that building a miniature mechanical robot should not be about gambling on magic items; it should be a logical process focussed on collecting data and deliberately redesigning to suit. Beyblade only facilitated this within the limits of its own unique system and I felt as though something were missing; as if I were permanently subscribed to powers beyond my control. I needed a new avenue of inquiry.




I first saw Lowen93's work in the Homemade Beyblades thread on the WBO. He was producing weight disks for vintage plastic designs by drilling, cutting and filing stainless steel sheet. It was a curious method which attempted to address a major issue in blade-making: forming complex shapes.


This was the first instance I had seen of someone tackling this problem in a replicable way; that is, without using a lathe. I have always been suspicious of lathing because it so wholly relies upon the crafting skill of the operator to yield a quality result. Lowen93's method could theoretically be achieved using just a drilling jig and file. It was a more efficient solution.

Some time later, Lowen93 showcased his CAD design work in preparation for a batch of laser-cutting. He had obviously learnt from the drawbacks of his drilling method and decided to embrace more complex technology via outsource. This was an "alarm bells" moment for me. I had previously investigated a similar method using CNC milling instead of lasers but had given up on my endeavour because of the huge cost involved. Lowen93 claimed to have overcome this problem with an alternative technology.


In the subsequent months, Lowen93 expanded his range of designs, committed to various test batches and demonstrated practically that his production process was not only valid but also efficient.

Having struggled to build blades from renewable components for years, this was an exciting time for me. It was obvious Lowen93 had developed the skills by which to accomplish his goal - metal reincarnations of plastic Beyblades - but would he be altruistic with his skills? Would he sell his designs to others? Maybe even take commissions? Having witnessed the rise of this young talent, my biggest fear was that he might suddenly "disappear" before seeing the process through.

Then came the opening of his Silver Tops store. He began to list components for sale and at a price significantly lower than I had been able to manage through my own methods. Most crucial of all, he was accepting custom requests. I needed to know if this was real. I constructed a 3D model (of a design I thought would be particularly difficult to produce) and sent a brief to Lowen93 via the forum messaging system. This is the brief I sent:


I explained that I was not sure of the necessary measurements and that I wanted him to make my design "cooler" than it seemed on paper. Within the week, he returned with a CAD version of my design. I was beyond impressed. My professional life in game design often had me dealing with outsource work and in all my years doing that job, I never saw anything to the degree of quality and commitment Lowen93 displayed in that first submission.


Nonetheless, I was becoming accustomed to what he could achieve and began to request changes to his returned submission. He responded to the suggestions without complaint and after three or four back-and-forth submissions, I was happy. In fact, I was very happy:


Lowen93 had been working on other designs for other clients during our back-and-forth and had been updating his showcase and store with his newest works. By this time, I was becoming a serious fan of his work. I had originally commissioned him because of my never-satisfied drive for perfection in blade-design but now I just wanted a few examples for "collecting" purposes.

Just as we were finalising the order, I surprised him with a much larger request. Two full metal plastic Beyblades, one which he had in stock (Dranzer F) and another he would have to design from scratch (Driger G) with a bearing core in the latter. It was a huge and unexpected back-flip from me but he took up the request without complaint.

The original order had taken just under a month to fully flesh-out and complete from design to production. Likewise, the two additions would add another month - the first being from stock. Including postage from the United Kingdom to Australia, the entire order took about two and a half months. If I had my time again, I'd just pay the extra postage and do each order one at a time. The wait is just too nerve-racking.

Finally, the order arrived. It was packaged in multiple layers of bubble wrap - though it probably didn't need to be, spare to protect anyone handling the package:


Apart from their amazing appearance, the first thing I noticed about these was how sharp they were. Picking them up, I could feel the cutting edges on my skin. The blades are not "dangerous" to hold but I would think twice about picking them up mid-spin without gloves for protection.

Beylon Wrote:I became convinced that Beyblade was the way forward when I lost a fingernail to a spinning Poison Serpent. This was the first time a miniature mechanical fighting machine had ever inflicted real pain upon me. It was exactly the kind of power I needed. Since writing this, I have damaged my thumb with the Silver Tops Driger G - drawing blood. Morbid as it may seem, this is precisely the kind of power I always wanted from my robots: real power!

[Image: 12FormulaBeiSilverTopsWounded.png]

The second thing I noticed was how precise the work was. All the pieces fit together snugly. Often when producing something in layers, the layers themselves can be a little out of place; not so with the Lowen93 designs. All the layers fit together great; even the rollers spin with a surprising degree of freedom.


My original design stipulated the rollers should be made from 3mm ball bearing cases. Lowen93 explained why they should be solid steel instead - they simply needed something stronger. In this case, stronger also meant cheaper. Not only was Lowen93 able to produce my design; he made the design itself better.


The final "BC01 JAWS" design is a testament to the power of Lowen93's professional crafting method. He was able to explore new features in this commission and executed them with flare. Even now he continues to expand his methods, having recently branched into CNC milling with his own personal mill. With quality results like these, I hope to work with him on many more innovative projects in the future - blades and beyond.


But the design itself stands for more than just the craftsmanship of one man. It is a physical testament to the future of custom blade design. It is proof that WarShell has begun. For all my years of trying to make this work, Jaws demonstrates how miniature mechanical robot combat is a real phenomenon - and it is happening right now. It shows that waste is not necessary in building combat machines; the whole process can be executed cleanly, cheaply and efficiently.

Children are always taught to accept reality; but as we grow into adults, we begin to recognise the value of those who help us realise our dreams. Lowen93 is one of those people. Watching robots smash each other to pieces four years ago, I never thought I would be outsourcing similar work to the United Kingdom - it just shows how opportunities so often arise in unexpected places.

Each iteration of Beyblade has established greater standards of fighting performance: stronger, faster, heavier machines. As technology advances, it is only natural that performance increases to match it. Which is why I consider the "Limited Format" such an interesting phenomenon in the world of Beyblade. We have discussed the makers of Beyblade and the rise of custom design - so this week, we shall examine how the Beyblade community itself has taken control of the game and what that means for the immediate future of gyroscopic combat.

th!nk Wrote:For a lot of us, [the Limited Format] was almost a direct reaction to the power creep that began with Hell Kerbecs and Basalt Horogium, which made [many] older parts useless.

When we refer to power creep, we are talking about basic product marketing. It works by building a competitive metagame then releasing a product which dominates the competition. Participants must purchase the new product if they wish to remain competitive. Once enough money is made from the dominant product, a new product is released which dominates the last... And so on in perpetuity.

In economics, this kind of power creep is better known as a Ponzi scheme. It essentially involves an ever-inflating product value which eventually reaches a limit, bursts and instantly loses all its accumulated wealth. By releasing evermore powerful products, each new release becomes more valuable than the last - based on the depreciating value of those previous products. There's a little more to it than that... But you get the idea. In economics, running a Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent crime.

But the laws for protecting monetary investments do not apply in the world of game design. In the absence of any governing body to protect consumers against such brutal marketing schemes, what can we do to avoid falling prey ourselves? Well, the truth is we are already doing it. The above quote from th!nk shows what happens when the willing masses are thrust into a doomed cycle of Ponzi consumerism: they revolt.


In the specific case of the WBO Limited Format, the most influential participants in the community have determined specific rules to curb power creep. To the wider forum, this is an innocent enough gesture toward building a better game. Personally I feel the format holds a lot of promise. But the affects of Limited run far deeper than that...

What I most admire is how the Limited Format holds the game designers responsible for their work. If a particular design is not good enough, if it does not fit neatly into the existing game, it is excluded entirely. In theory, this limits the designer's ability to make money from advantageous meta-mongering. If a designer abuses the system, their designs are simply banned.

Perhaps inadvertently then, the Limited Format insists manufacturers only endorse products of a certain quality - to benefit the game as a whole - rather than overpowered individual designs intended to make money out of hype. I do not believe anyone truly hates the Standard or Zero-G formats - but I do support the accountability of Limited.

What many participants did not understand at the time Limited was announced, is that almost all of the original power creep designs were engineered by just one designer: Kenji Horikoshi. This guy began the cycle which would eventually result in the heavyweight synchrome designs of Zero-G.


Horikoshi originally worked for Takara. He specialised in wheeled vehicles and electronics, winning multiple awards for his Choro-Q designs. His time during the Takara-Tomy merger years (2005-06-07) was spent working on B-Daman designs. By mid-2008, he had single-handedly engineered the award-winning Battle Deck game for Takara-Tomy; fusing Choro-Q with collectable combat toys. With his work on Battle Deck complete, he was free to join the Beyblade design team.

• Battle Deck System
  
• Battle Deck Construction Frame
  
• Battle Deck Interactive Track Piece
  

Horikoshi's 2010 arrival in Beyblade appears to coincide with the departure of veteran designer Hisao Nishimoto, who designed such blades as Burn, Flame and Galaxy. Nishimoto left the team specifically to work on the Transformers revival and it is likely Horikoshi was his replacement. This change also coincided with the creation of a new and revamped WBBA blog - in which Horikoshi regularly features under the name Beynuma (2012) and where he showcases his more recent Zero-G and B-Daman work.

Horikoshi's first major work in Beyblade was the BB94 Tornado BeyStadium - an obvious choice for someone with a background in electronics. He also designed the innovative five-point Tornado Herculeo; which was initially a limited-edition release with the stadium. He would later design the BB-120 Ultimate BeyTa Stadium and corresponding Proto Nemesis blade.

This was only the beginning. Over the next year, he produced Forbidden Ionis and followed up with designs for the Maximum Series - Hell, Screw and Basalt - before moving on to 4D designs such as Scythe. Obviously his trademark was in extremes. It was Horikoshi who introduced power creep in the 5 Layer Series - engineering three of the four competitive Maximum Series blades.


Whether this power creep was his own intention or whether he was under orders is not entirely clear. One might reasonably suspect his purpose was to smooth the public transition to 4D design. The fact remains: he engineered Hell and Basalt while his partner, Haruhisa Ujita, produced the impressive but entirely acceptable 230 track component.

What is clear from his previous work is that "balance" in game design has never been Horikoshi's strongest asset. His Battle Deck game, in which wind-up cars attack each other head-long, is characteristically flawed in this way. The car with the lowest plough always wins - so Takara-Tomy originally released the highest plough first, the lowest last, before the game "burst" and fell into obscurity.


To be entirely fair, the Battle Deck game itself was well constructed and innovative for its purpose. Factors beyond Horikoshi's pay grade forced the project to be cancelled before his second-generation designs could be manufactured. The second-generation was engineered in partnership with Takeaki Maeda (of Beyblade revival fame) and was set to be the 4D of Battle Deck. Below is an example which was never produced: a slightly modified chassis with a curious spring-loaded flipping ram which triggers on contact with an opponent.


As cool as it looks, it still does not solve the basic "balance" flaw of the game. It is just another bigger gun. Perhaps this is why the second-generation was never released? Being lost to the design backlog at Takara-Tomy, we may never know the truth for certain. Whatever the case, Horikoshi's work on Battle Deck was a noble enough effort - even if it played poorly and failed commercially.

Most would agree his early efforts in Beyblade were equally noble: he made some really performance-driven designs. What differs is his reception. Battle Deck may have passed away unnoticed but Beyblade had amassed a worldwide network of loyal fans. On the one hand, Horikoshi's blades were unquestionably powerful - the glorious peak of gyroscopic blade technology at the time. On the other, his designs made large sections of the existing and beloved metagame redundant.

It may only have been a short string of creeping designs before 4D was fully established - but the effect was real, far reaching and irreversible. Any of Horikoshi's Maximum Series blades were capable of beating all Nishimoto's previous work on the same series.

For the longest time, the WBO had stipulated only "official" Beyblade components could be used in competition. This remains a legitimate rule to prevent fans building their own crazy designs and ruining the metagame. But with Horikoshi, we saw a string of power creep designs which, for many players, essentially performed that same function: degrading the metagame. In a sense, the WBO had freely promoted Beyblade for the longest time only to be betrayed on a basic design level by Horikoshi's power creep.

If the WBO Limited Format really was the culmination of a drawn-out revolt against power creep in the metgame, then it could also be seen as a direct protest against Horikoshi himself: the man who started it all. Horikoshi's intention was to create the most powerful blades ever, a large section of the community unknowingly shirked him for it, the Limited Format is now in full swing and there's no going back!

Sure, this all happened years ago now - and it sounds melodramatic when I write it that way - but it demonstrates how fragile the metagame can be at any point in time. Which raises what I consider to be the most important question concerning the future of the sport: is Beyblade a game or a hobby?


From a design perspective, these are two very different concepts. A "game" is a complete system with artificial rules obstructing artificial goals. When we "ban" certain Beyblade components, we are creating "rules" that say we must not use those components. These rules are "artificial" because there is no physical reason for us to obey them. The WBO cannot physically stop us using whatever parts we like - it can only penalise us within its own system.

A hobby is different in that its "system" exists in a state of perpetual construction. It is never complete. When a hobby involves artificial rules obstructing artificial goals, it is assumed the participants will form their own system by which to achieve those goals. If our goal is to own the last blade spinning, anything we can do to achieve this goal is reasonable.

A "game" has set-in-stone rules
while a "hobby" is expandable at the whim of the players.

As an example, Chess is a "game" because its system of rules and goals is complete and absolute - both players are equally bound, every move they make has been made before and will probably be made again. By contrast, Warhammer is a "hobby" because it allows players to choose the rules they desire; thereby creating their own system. Players build their own armies whichever way they like, execute their own strategies and achieve goals by the most efficient means available to them. Is Beyblade more like Chess or Warhammer?


Supporters of the Limited format just want a balanced game. For them, the Beyblade line of products is merely a vehicle for their own enjoyment. They are the proverbial Chess camp. They like to fully understand the intricate capabilities of every single component in the game. They desire universal balance above all else. Others, who unceasingly buy every new power creep design, approach Beyblade more like a hobby. For them, owning and using the best blades available is enjoyable in itself, regardless of the metagame; a very "Warhammer" way of thinking.


This reveals a deep schism in the communal perception of Beyblade. When we subscribe to the marketing whims of uncontrollable commercial entities, but we also want a fair and balanced game, we are setting ourselves up with a series of double-standards. We must only use "official components" but we also decide what it means to be "official" in the first place. This is a very dangerous road for the longevity of any game - it leaves the rules open to contradiction.

The WBO addresses this danger in the Limited Format with a "changeable" ban list which constantly evolves over time. This may be a very workable system at present but whether it is enough to take the format into the future remains to be seen. Sure the ban list is rightly driven by community input... But it still relies on just a few select individuals to write the actual list itself.




WarShell takes a very different approach; more like a hobby. It recognises that the Horikoshi designs exist now - and they cannot be undone. Rather than banning overpowered designs, it provides a fair and balanced vehicle by which to upgrade older designs which may have lost their zeal.


Uniformly, older Beyblade designs become less useful as newer designs gain weight. But what if the older designs gained weight too? WarShell allows players to achieve better results with their existing blades by modifying older designs - upgrading them. Custom upgrades allow older designs to remain useful without limiting innovations in gyroscopic blade technology. While upgrades are only a small part of the WarShell universe, simple allowances like these help the "hobby" to grow beyond the metagame trappings of "official" Beyblade designs.


In this way, WarShell is essentially the opposite solution to the same problem addressed by the Limited Format. Where Limited selects only the most balanced components of the official product line, WarShell opens the doors to custom technology and thereby overcomes the limits of that same static product line. Both methods, above all, provide fair and equal competition.

WarShell is still a work in progress - unendorsed by the WBO - and whether the new formula is enough to sustain an evolving metagame also remains to be seen. But even now, as we examined last week, we are witnessing a trend toward custom and crafted blade design. Technologies like 3D printing, laser cutting and CNC milling can be accessed online by amateur designers with no workshops of their own - and for the approximate cost of a new Beyblade at release. This new era of custom designs are not just one-off creations: they are a whole new product-line in their own right.


As the original Beyblade demographic grows older, acquires more worldly skills and better appreciates the value of design and technology, this trend may evolve into something much deeper and more powerful than we can currently comprehend. As that happens, WarShell will be there to provide a fair and equal environment for innovative design and competition.

Over the coming weeks, Formula Bei will examine various facets of the WarShell universe. We will cover construction guidelines, weight limits, performance qualifiers, popular building methods, materials, physical programming, the process of design, customs houses, artists, engineers, history and most importantly: the combat itself.

In the first part of this double-post, I explained how "real-life" had dragged me away from Formula Bei for a month... It has now been two months! This experience really drove home the delicate nature of this project. What if I had not come back? What if I had stopped writing completely? What would happen to WarShell in my absence - in my neglect? So this week we'll be looking at what happens when a product we love dies - and how we can learn from the mistakes responsible for those deaths.




There's been a few rumours lately concerning the return of Beyblade. Beyond the rerelease of the Legends line from Hasbro, the theory is that ongoing official Beyblade events in Japan are paving the way toward a resurgence in the franchise - as Asia slowly climbs out of its toy-sales mire. The sales situation in Japan today is a historical repeat of the early 90s market crash brought about by the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Video games killed toys then - and they're doing it again today.

We have previously witnessed Beyblade inventor Osamu Mashimo describe how the "boys" division of Takara was very nearly decommissioned in the face of such a downturn. Companies like Takara and Bandai ultimately survived the toy-market collapse by feeding on the popularity of those very products responsible for destroying the market in the first place: video games. This survival strategy has not changed. All over the world today, just as it was twenty years ago, toys are buying into larger brand identities - in turn driven by the very forces which are killing the market: movies and video games.


Although the Hexbug brand from Innovation First International has gone relatively unnoticed by the combat robotics world at large, the fact remains they have held a monopoly on miniature digital robot combat for years - with their Nano Bridge Battle set and later Warriors line, followed by their more recent Battle Spiders - based on Jamie Mantzel's Attacknid. Now, as the toy market of the world crumbles under a downturn of popularity, we see the Nano and Warriors toys adopting the Transformers brand in an attempt to stimulate sales. At long last, a direct link between the fighting robots of the Hexbug line and the makers of Beyblade - albeit mediated through Hasbro.


The situation today simply demonstrates how toys must evolve to survive. Without product evolution, toys die. The exact reasons for a toy line becoming stagnant are numerous and complex - but one fact above all is obviously beyond disrepute: when toys stop being made, entire toy lines die. If a toy line is to survive, it must continue producing toys! If this means adopting a more popular brand name - or delving into the cruel world of power creep - then so be it.

Beylon Wrote:It's a mystery why Transformers were relegated to Spin Fighters clones instead of being incorporated directly into the Hasbro Beyblade line. Now we see that creepy and unrelated "Cyborg" spin-off emerging... And for what? I mean, what were the Stealth Battlers if not the perfect Transformers platform? Somebody missed the train on that one!

Beyblade itself has proven particularly resilient to product-death following its final release. Years have passed - yet a community of dedicated followers still carry the flag of loyalty. This resilience is perhaps due in part to the game's complex modularity - where building new combinations "simulates" the release of new toys to satisfy players. Such engrained features of a toy line enable players to form their own metagame and rules by which to play: such as the celebrated WBO Limited Format.

Much can be learned from the success of Beyblade - yet the franchise is approaching the brink at an alarming rate. If Beyblade does not produce something new soon, even with its built-in modular resilience, then total product extinction looms large in the same sad tradition of its competitors. I hope the rumours are true - that something new is indeed coming - but only time will tell for sure. Until it does, we are on our own.



[Image: 04FormulaBeiDeathandImmortalityBattleStrikers.png]


Beylon: Mega Brands is known for their "alternative" versions of popular toys - how did the company end up with Battle Strikers?

Bey Brad: That call was made long before I joined the company, but I can guess - Beyblade was a smash hit, but the series was currently on hiatus. It seemed like a great time to fill that position in the marketplace while also introducing a novel gameplay concept - magnetic control.

Beylon: What exactly was your roll at Mega Brands and what duties did you perform as part of the Battle Strikers team?

Bey Brad: I was originally flown out there just for a day - there was no expectation of receiving a formal job offer. I worked as a consultant on Series 2 and Metal XS - primarily the latter - in addition to trying to build the type of community for Battle Strikers like I did for Beyblade with the WBO.

What they probably didn't expect is that the WBO went so smoothly exactly because I wasn't beholden to anyone else. I could run a contest without consulting a legal department. I could change the rules whenever I felt the game could benefit from it. The WBO is certainly a grassroots effort, but I think that's what made it so compelling. It wasn't possible to replicate that within corporate confines.

Beylon: How did you land this job? Who called who?

Bey Brad: They started posting on the WBO to promote their product and get feedback. We were decidedly unwelcoming towards them! But the marketing coordinator messaged me and told me the team really wanted my feedback, so I went out there and gave it to them.

Beylon: You joined the team after Series 1 was released - at the time you arrived, what was the general design direction the team was heading in?

Bey Brad: What shocked me when I arrived was that the team there had very little knowledge of Beyblade. Even though MFB was on the market in Japan then, they weren't regularly importing releases and studying them. This was particularly strange since it was basically a preview to what Hasbro would release within a year or two's time. That kind of competitive foresight is basically unprecedented - I was blown away at how they failed to take advantage of it.

During my initial consultation meeting, the system of Metal XS and Series 2 was only just beginning to take shape. MEGA Brands works on an incredibly tight development schedule compared to most toy companies. Development of a new product in a line could begin as little as six months before it went to market. Everything was always down to the wire. Because of this, maybe some designs lacked the attention to detail that they deserved.


Beylon: At its core, Battle Strikers addresses the issue of "control" in battling spinning top games - generally speaking, how many Beyblade players suffered from (or complained of) a lack of control?

Bey Brad: I don't think that many players complained about this. It was always a "wouldn't it be nice?" kind of thing. After all, in the anime - how most kids got into Beyblade - we see that the Bladers can control their Beyblades. There were always the Remote Control Beyblades, but I don't think anyone ever really liked those.

The magnetic control was a seriously innovative solution to what was not a problem, but a lacking gameplay element. It's easily the most compelling part of the toyline.

Beylon: The Battle Strikers team were mindful of being "too much like Beyblade" - do you feel this desire to be considered "apart" from Beyblade may actually have hurt the franchise in the marketplace?

Bey Brad: I don't think so. Keep in mind that when Battle Strikers launched, Beyblade was not on the market anywhere outside Asia. Any desire to be different from Beyblade was a desire to create something uniquely our own, and to deliver a great experience both from a gameplay perspective and from a role-playing perspective - you know, the really ornate and personality-filled Launchers and Strikers.

What proved to be difficult is that the team at Takara-Tomy really nailed a lot of the basics. They had a long time to iterate with Beyblade, and as a result they were able to distil the top's structure to its bare essentials. The Metal Fight Beyblade construction system is solid. I don't think the team at MEGA was able to create something better than that.

Beylon: A common practice among fans was to use Strikers in Beyblade stadiums - what makes Battle Strikers stadiums unique and why do you think so many fans migrated back to their Beyblade stadium roots?

Bey Brad: Was it really that common? That's a little disappointing!

The Knockout Arena is actually really dear to me, since I probably had more design input on this product than any other in the Battle Strikers roster. So many Beyblade stadiums are totally awful, even Japanese ones. Competitive play is still stuck to BB-10. I figured that I'd only get one shot at producing a good arena for Battle Strikers, so I wanted it done right.

I'm super satisfied with that arena, actually. We adjusted the exit height and width so many times for optimal knock-out play. If you watch some of my Battle Strikers videos, you'll see that knock-out tactics were really effective when played skilfully. The ridges that push the Strikers towards the centre of the arena were also my idea.

To get back to the original question, Battle Strikers is a much more mentally and physically demanding game than Beyblade. It's almost like sparring with spinning tops! If you don't feel like exerting that much effort, the Beyblade stadiums take care of the battling for you. It's easy to see the lack of control in Beyblade as a flaw, but it's not; it's a totally different gameplay dynamic. It makes the game way more addictive and accessible. There's a really nice feedback loop that doesn't transfer over to a game where you have so much control.

Beylon: As the franchise developed, metal weapons and ripcords were introduced - what influenced the adoption of these new features?

Bey Brad: With regards to metal Weapons, that was really the obvious path to take. Heavy Metal System had already come and gone, and Metal Fight Beyblade was ready to storm North America - metal was the way to go. It's so much more satisfying and, frankly, cooler.

As for the rip cords, it was just a cost issue. The Turbo Launcher worked well because you needed to keep your primary hand free to control the Striker. Integrating the Controller and Launcher together was a nice solution to a tough problem - how can we sell a Starter Set for less?

Beylon: Many fans consider Series 2 a speed-bump between Series 1 and Metal XS - what specific factors influenced the team's decision to push Series 2 in the lead-up to Metal XS?

Bey Brad: Cost, mostly. There was a meaningful cost difference between making and selling a plastic top versus making and selling a metal one. I wanted Series 2 cancelled, but there was no way it was going to happen. I don't think anyone has fond thoughts about Series 2, within or outside the company. Some of the cooler Series 2 designs were cancelled, their designs being used as a basis for some great Metal XS designs (Fangrir being one of them).

Beylon: The visceral designs of the Strikers far surpassed anything Beyblade offered at the time - how did "marketing" affect the visual design of the Strikers and how did you balance that "design" factor against performance?

Bey Brad: Products were developed pretty independently of marketing. There was a "brand manager" that dictated the overall feel of the brand, and the designers would do their thing designing the tops. We would start with the motif for each top, and the gameplay elements would arise organically.

Beylon: You were personally involved with the development of some of these Strikers - which Strikers bear your personal mark of influence and in what way?

Bey Brad: I came up with all of the motifs past the initial release of Metal XS, which was already largely finalized by the time I joined the MEGA team full time. So the three teams, and the motif of each top within those teams, and their names - these were all developed by me, though some of my cooler ideas ended up being reigned back. (There was originally a Bible-themed Tournament Set containing Leviathan Vs. Behemoth. It was a long time before someone caught onto what I was trying to do and ended up nixing it.)

I mostly provided soft guidance and play-testing and balancing to the designers, rather than dictating design mandates themselves. Fangrir's upper attack slopes and Masumai's overall attack ability were a big point for me.

One thing that's worth remembering about the first wave of Metal XS is that so many of the designs are two-dimensional; they look deep, but they're just hollow rings of metal with an ornate design on the top, and smooth sides. This led to some of the original wave of tops being accidentally overpowered, such as Black Widow. (That kind of worked out though, since it ended up being very rare.)


Beylon: Do you perceive a link between the brief popularity of Metal XS and the significant shift toward "art" based blade designs in Beyblade Zero-G?

Bey Brad: While I would love to think so, that seems pretty unlikely. I think they had their own thing going on over there.

Beylon: Battle Strikers Series 1 was released pretty much worldwide - why wasn't Series 2 and Metal XS released across a similar range of countries?

Bey Brad: Overstuffed channel, basically. Series 1 sold decently well, but the expectations for it were just insane - every store ordered more than they could sell, and we ended up eating a lot of money on it. Series 1 basically killed Battle Strikers, no matter how good any future release would be. Many stores didn't pick up anything after Series 1, or made such small orders that it was impossible to build any momentum.

Beylon: What factor most influenced the decline in sales across the franchise after Series 1?

Bey Brad: I think the lack of a TV show hurt us a lot. Most strong toy lines these days are built on the back of some kind of narrative, a world that kids can thrust themselves into. We worked briefly on a web-manga project that would have been written by me, but the writing was on the wall before we could get it off the ground. I still have the test sketches from artists.

Other than that, lack of product availability and a failure to build goodwill and momentum with the Series 1 release.

Beylon: Are there any Battle Strikers products which remain unreleased?

Bey Brad: Of course, like with any cancelled toy line, there is a lot of killer stuff that never saw the light of day. I designed a lot of new parts that we never had time to develop.

Beylon: Battle Strikers gear can still be bought online and particularly from Europe and Asia - are you aware of any remaining hotspots of activity for the sport?

Bey Brad: I think it's pretty much dead everywhere now.

Beylon: You were a key consultant for many of the design decisions in the team - if you had a magical opportunity to reinvent the franchise and call all the shots yourself, what would you change?

Bey Brad: I'm not sure I would ever develop another spinning top toy. The Beyblade team at Takara-Tomy does a stellar job. That said, there's one key element that MEGA forsook to launch the line that haunted it until it died: gameplay.

Series 1 is a truly, truly awful product. The control aspect was amazing, of course, but the only way to get any decent battles out of it were to use the absolute heaviest parts, because otherwise they would just sputter out almost immediately. In addition, there was basically one good combination in the whole game, but all of the parts were pretty undifferentiated.

They started with an idea, but an idea isn't enough. You have to nail the fundamentals. You have to know what kind of story you want to tell. And I don't mean like a story as in a TV show or whatever, but the gameplay story. What emotions should the player feel? What kind of thoughts should they have? You are writing the story for every player of your game. They didn't care about that story. And it's not out of negligence - that team really wanted to create a great toy. But they didn't understand what that meant.

Before doing anything, I would decide what kind of gameplay story I want to tell. If it's just Beyblade with a flat arena and magnets, then there's no point.

Some other things:

• Organized play and online community would be baked into the concept from the start.
  
• Try to solve the issue of two player's hands interfering during control. I'm not sure there's an easy solution to this.
  
• Pick a better name. Battle Strikers: Turbo Tops is exactly the kind of name you'd expect from a North American company ripping off a Japanese toy.
  

Beylon: Do you feel there is any possibility Battle Strikers will return in the future? Perhaps under a different guise?

Bey Brad: I don't know. I think MEGA feels pretty burned by the pretty poor results of the project. I'm not sure that's a door they'd want to open again. If they do, they should call me before they start developing the toy.

Beylon: Final comments for all us Battle Strikers fans?

Bey Brad: I'd like to thank everyone who saw the potential for what we were creating, even if we weren't able to fully realize our vision.

Beylon: Thanks for speaking with us Bey Brad. Your insights are a valuable glimpse into the harsh but exciting world of combat toy development.



So there you have it, folks. If the story of Battle Strikers tells us anything, it is that product-death is a very real phenomenon. Exactly why products pass away forever cannot always be easily explained. But where toys are concerned, one fact is clear: without new toys, toy lines die. If some philanthropist had purchased the entire Battle Strikers brand and manufactured the toys out of the "kindness of his own heart" then the game would still be alive today, regardless of its doomed beginnings.

To me, this reiterates the importance of customs designers like Lowen93, username2130 and TheMechanicPapa. These guys are the real philanthropists; they are producing toys where the big companies have failed and abandoned us. In turn, this reiterates to me the importance of the entire WarShell project: to facilitate product-evolution beyond the factory - to immortalise the game itself. WarShell is the key to a new era of blading and gyroscopic technology constructed around safe and fair competition. Through WarShell, we take control of our game without spiralling out of control entirely.



With all my monumental delusions of grandeur, it is surprisingly easy to forget the most important aspect of this project: actually finishing the book! And for that matter, not taking the whole thing too seriously. I make it sound like some grandiose enterprise - but the book is really just another cool way to have fun with your blades and spinning tops. It's easy to lose sight of that when I've been bogged down between work and playtesting for two months. So I've decided I need to try something new: I need your help!

As of right now, I am recruiting playtesters for the WarShell rules. Anyone can apply to be a tester - and successful applicants will get to see the rules (in digital "blanco" format) before anyone else in the world. For now, a maximum of eight testing positions are available and will be chosen on a "merit" basis. All successful applicants must PM me their email address so I can send them the rules securely.

There are three phases of testing applicants must commit to:

• First Reading: this is the "first impressions" stage where testers read the rules FRONT to BACK without skipping anything. They then re-read and check anything they didn't understand. Before playing a game or building anything, they PM me with their thoughts and worries about the text itself. These PMs don't need to be giant essays or anything.
  
  
• Play Testing: this phase requires testers to actually try the rules with their friends. You don't need to build your own blades at this early stage (unless you want to) but any fighting machines you use must fit the rules. Play should be conducted in at least ONE tournament - the more the better. Testers then PM me with the results, their thoughts and concerns.
  
  
• The Test of Time: testers must retain their copy of the rules and try them in another tournament, at least two weeks after their first reading. They can play as many games as they like in the mean time but there needs to be a tournament-style game played weeks after the first reading. This time the report should be retrospective - how did the later experience compare to the first?
  

Testers who complete these three phases (with at least one PM report for each phase) will be acknowledged in the text itself. I might think of some better way to reward you guys in time - but I'm not printing money here, I'm just working with what I have.



Just post in this thread (or PM me if you like) and explain why you think you should be a tester for WarShell. Let me know about your experience with Beyblade, any previous work you've done, tournaments attended or hosted, accolades, blog work or anything else that makes you look like a dedicated and trustworthy person. Age is no consideration - but effort in spelling and grammar goes a long way!

This won't be a hugely formal thing - just think of it as a good chance to revive your Beyblade collection and have some wild fun! Thanks for reading!