LEGO Rock Raiders (video game)

LEGO Rock Raiders is a 1999 video game developed by Data Design Interactive and published by LEGO Media International for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation. The game is based on and was developed alongside the LEGO theme of the same name. It features a team of space explorers mining for energy crystals on a hostile alien planet.

Gameplay

Windows version

The Windows version of LEGO Rock Raiders is a real-time strategy game.

Buildings

Building	Cost	Dependency	Upgrades
Tool Store	None	Rock Raider	2 Levels
	The Tool Store is the first building the player will start with in missions, and is required for all other buildings and vehicles. It can teleport down Rock Raiders and supply them with tools and construction materials, and stores any collected Energy Crystals and Ore. Rock Raiders can upgrade at it, allowing them to carry more tools. Upgrading the Tool Store to Level 1 unlocks the Teleport Pad. Upgrading it to Level 2 allows Rock Raiders to train as Explosives Experts at it.
Teleport Pad	8 Ore (2 Building Studs)	Rock Raider, Tool Store (L1)	2 Levels
	The Teleport Pad can teleport down Rock Raiders and Small Vehicles (except for the Rapid Rider). Rock Raiders can train as Pilots at it. Although it is the first building unlocked after the Tool Store, it requires power to function, and the Support Station must be constructed before it can teleport down the the Hover Scout, Small Digger, and Small Transport Truck. Upgrading it to Level 1 unlocks the Docks and Power Station. Upgrading it to Level 2 is required to teleport down the Small Mobile Laser Cutter and Tunnel Scout.
Docks	1 Energy Crystal, 8 Ore (2 Building Studs)	Rock Raider, Tool Store (L1), Teleport Pad (L1)	None
	The Docks is used to teleport down water-based vehicles. It must be built next to water. Rock Raiders can train as Sailors at it. While it can teleport down the Rapid Rider once it is powered, a Level 2 Support Station and Level 1 Super Teleport are required before it can teleport down the Cargo Carrier.
Power Station	2 Energy Crystals, 12 Ore (3 Building Studs)	Rock Raider, Tool Store (L1), Teleport Pad (L1)	1 Level
	The Power Station supplies power to all other buildings connected to it via Power Paths. Additionally, Electric Fences can be placed once it has been constructed. Upgrading it to Level 1 unlocks the Support Station, Upgrade Station, Geological Center, and Ore Refinery.
Support Station	3 Energy Crystals, 15 Ore (3 Building Studs)	Rock Raider, Tool Store (L1), Teleport Pad (L1), Power Station (L1)	2 Levels
	The Support Station refills the air supply in missions where it can run out. One Support Station can produce enough air for ten Rock Raiders. Rock Raiders can train as Drivers at it, and will also automatically go to it to eat when they are hungry. Upgrading it to Level 1 unlocks the Mining Laser and Super Teleport. Upgrading it to Level 2 is required to teleport down Large Vehicles at the Super Teleport.
Upgrade Station	3 Energy Crystals, 20 Ore (4 Building Studs)	Rock Raider, Tool Store (L1), Teleport Pad (L1), Power Station (L1)	1 Level
	The Upgrade Station can upgrade vehicles. Rock Raiders can train as Engineers at it. Upgrading it to Level 1 halves the amount of time it takes for it to upgrade vehicles.
Geological Center	3 Energy Crystals, 15 Ore (3 Building Studs)	Rock Raider, Tool Store (L1), Teleport Pad (L1), Power Station (L1)	2 Levels
	The Geological Center scans a much larger area than Rock Raiders and vehicles can. Rock Raiders can train as Geologists at it. It can be upgraded twice to increase its scanner range up to double its original scanning radius.
Ore Refinery	3 Energy Crystals, 20 Ore (4 Building Studs)	Rock Raider, Tool Store (L1), Teleport Pad (L1), Power Station (L1)	3 Levels
	The Ore Refinery processed Ore into Building Studs. Five pieces of Ore create one Building Stud. It can be upgraded three times to decrease the amount of Ore required to four, three, and finally two pieces per Building Stud.
Mining Laser	1 Energy Crystal, 15 Ore (3 Building Studs)	Rock Raider, Tool Store (L1), Teleport Pad (L1), Power Station (L1), Support Station (L1)	1 Level
	The Mining Laser is a turret with a laser that can cut through rock walls. Four laser blasts drain one Energy Crystal. Click on the building while it is already selected to enter or exit firing mode. Upgrading it adds a second laser.
Super Teleport	2 Energy Crystals, 20 Ore (4 Building Studs)	Rock Raider, Tool Store (L1), Teleport Pad (L1), Power Station (L1), Support Station (L1)	1 Level
	The Super Teleport can teleport down Large Vehicles (except for the Cargo Carrier). A Level 2 Support Station is required before it can teleport down the Loader Dozer and Granite Grinder. Upgrading it to Level 1 is required to teleport down the Large Mobile Laser Cutter, Chrome Crusher, and Cargo Carrier.

Vehicles

Vehicle	Cost	Dependency	Upgrades
Hover Scout	1 Energy Crystal	Rock Raider, Tool Store (L1), Teleport Pad (L1), Power Station (L1), Support Station	Engine (10 Ore), Scanner (5 Ore)
	The Hover Scout is a small vehicle that can move over land quickly for reconnaissance. Rock Raiders must be trained as Drivers to use it.
Small Digger	1 Energy Crystal	Rock Raider, Tool Store (L1), Teleport Pad (L1), Power Station (L1), Support Station	Engine (10 Ore), Drill (10 Ore), Scanner (5 Ore)
	The Small Digger is a small drilling vehicle with two chainsaw blades that can cut through rock walls faster than a Rock Raider. Rock Raiders must be trained as Drivers to use it.
Small Transport Truck	2 Energy Crystals	Rock Raider, Tool Store (L1), Teleport Pad (L1), Power Station (L1), Support Station	Engine (10 Ore), Scanner (5 Ore), Cargo Hold (5 Ore)
	The Small Transport Truck is a small vehicle that can carry resources faster than a Rock Raider on foot. Rock Raiders must be trained as Drivers to use it.
Rapid Rider	2 Energy Crystals	Rock Raider, Tool Store (L1), Teleport Pad (L1), Docks, Power Station	None
	The Rapid Rider is a small water-based vehicle that can be used to explore underground rivers and lakes and carry small amounts of cargo across water. Rock Raiders must be trained as Sailors to use it.
Small Mobile Laser Cutter	3 Energy Crystals	Rock Raider, Tool Store (L1), Teleport Pad (L2), Power Station (L1), Support Station (L1)	Drill (10 Ore)
	The Small Mobile Laser Cutter is a small vehicle with a laser that can cut through rock walls. Rock Raiders must be trained as Drivers to use it. Two laser blasts drain one Energy Crystal. Click on the vehicle while it is already selected to enter or exit firing mode.
Tunnel Scout	3 Energy Crystals	Rock Raider, Tool Store (L1), Teleport Pad (L2), Power Station (L1), Support Station (L1)	None
	The Tunnel Scout is a small flying vehicle that can travel over land, water, and lava at high speeds. It is the only vehicle in the game that can cross lava. Rock Raiders must be trained as Pilots to use it.
Loader Dozer	4 Energy Crystals	Rock Raider, Tool Store (L1), Teleport Pad (L1), Power Station (L1), Support Station (L2), Super Teleport	Engine (20 Ore), Scanner (5 Ore), Cargo Hold (5 Ore)
	The Loader Dozer is a large bulldozer that can clear rubble much faster than Rock Raiders with shovels. Rock Raiders must be trained as Drivers to use it.
Granite Grinder	3 Energy Crystals	Rock Raider, Tool Store (L1), Teleport Pad (L1), Power Station (L1), Support Station (L2), Super Teleport	Engine (20 Ore), Drill (20 Ore), Scanner (5 Ore)
	The Granite Grinder is a large drilling vehicle with legs instead of wheels. It can drill through Dirt and Loose Rock faster than the Small Digger, though it drills Hard Rock at the same speed. Rock Raiders must be trained as Drivers to use it.
Large Mobile Laser Cutter	4 Energy Crystals	Rock Raider, Tool Store (L1), Teleport Pad (L1), Power Station (L1), Support Station (L2), Super Teleport (L1)	Drill (25 Ore), Scanner (5 Ore)
	The Large Mobile Laser Cutter is a large vehicle with a laser that can cut through rock walls. Rock Raiders must be trained as Drivers to use it. Four laser blasts drain one Energy Crystal. Click on the vehicle while it is already selected to enter or exit firing mode.
Chrome Crusher	5 Energy Crystals	Rock Raider, Tool Store (L1), Teleport Pad (L1), Power Station (L1), Support Station (L2), Super Teleport (L1)	Engine (15 Ore), Drill (20 Ore)
	The Chrome Crusher is a large mining vehicle with both a drill and a laser. It can mine through all types of rock walls very quickly. Rock Raiders must be trained as Drivers to use it. Four laser blasts drain one Energy Crystal. Click on the vehicle while it is already selected to enter or exit firing mode.
Cargo Carrier	4 Energy Crystals	Rock Raider, Tool Store (L1), Teleport Pad (L1), Docks, Power Station (L1), Support Station (L2), Super Teleport (L1)	None
	The Cargo Carrier is a large water-based vehicle that can transport certain small vehicles across water. Rock Raiders must be trained as Sailors to use it.
Tunnel Transport	None	Cannot be teleported	None
	The Tunnel Transport is a large flying vehicle built to carry cargo and other vehicles. It cannot be used in the game and is only seen at the end of the mission Frozen Frenzy.

Creatures

Creature	Description	Damage
Rock Monster	A large humanoid? bipedal? creature made of rock that eats Energy Crystals.	Laser Beam: 110 Pusher Beam: 2 (20u) Freezer Beam: 5 (25s)
Ice Monster	Immune to freezer beams.	Laser beam: 110 Pusher Beam: 2 (60u) Freezer Beam: 0
Lava Monster	Can cross lava	Laser Beam: 1 Pusher Beam: 5 (60u) Freezer Beam: 40 (75s)
Slimy Slug	Giant slugs that suck power. Can crawl under Electric Fences.	Laser Beam: 5 Pusher Beam: 5 (60u) Freezer Beam: 0
Bat	Flocks of bats can be found in some missions. Bats are harmless, but will scare away nearby Rock Raiders.	None
Small Spider	Small Spiders are common, harmless creatures resembling large eight-legged ants. Rock Raiders will slip and fall if they step on one. Small Spiders will crawl around on the ground until encountering a wall, which they will enter, causing them to disappear. They also disappear when stepped on.	Getting stepped on

PlayStation version

The PS version is an action and strategy game.

Vehicles

• Chrome Crusher
• Hover Scout
• Large Mobile Laser Cutter
• Loader Dozer
• Rapid Rider
• Small Digger
• Small Mobile Laser Cutter
• Tunnel Scout
• Tunnel Transport

Alien lifeforms

• Spider
• Scorpion
• Slimy slug
• Rock monster
• Rock whale

Missions

Missions are divided into different screens (or "levels"), with each screen having five open missions and one locked "boss" mission. Completing missions will give the player a bronze, silver, or gold medal, depending on how many objectives they completed. When the player has earned enough points (a minimum of five bronze, four silver, or three gold medals) the boss mission opens, which will unlock the next screen when completed.

One-player mode has eighteen missions divided between three screens. The missions are completely different between the European and North American versions. The European version also has three bonus missions, each one unlocked by getting gold medals in all missions in one of the three previous screens. The European missions were designed by Data Design Interactive and David Upchurch, while the North American missions were designed by Gameworld 7.

Two-player mode in the European version also has eighteen missions, five original ones and thirteen modified one-player missions. The North American version only has one level of six original missions. Boss missions start off unlocked in two-player mode.

In total, the two versions of the game have fifty unique missions between them, and sixty-three total missions, listed below:

	Europe (PAL)		North America (NTSC-U/C)
Level	One-player	Two-player	One-player	Two-player
1	Easy Pickings Water Ways Rescue Mission Ore-some! Blown Away Crystal Crazy (boss)	Easy Pickings Air Racing Team work! Lava Jumps Rescue Mission Whale World	Jet's Mission Axle's Mission Docs' Mission Bandit's Mission Sparks' Mission Trapped (boss)	There and Back Again Departure Web of Fire Building Bridges Crystal Isles Heavy Weights
2	Hot Scoop! High Flyer Slug Lake Into The Spiders' Nest Rapid Rush Trapped! (boss)	Blown Away Into The Spiders' Nest Crystal Crazy High Flyer Water Ways Trapped!	Supply Base River Run Thawed Out Web Space Move On Up Hot Rocks (boss)	–
3	Express Delivery Dozer Daze Smoke On The Water Ring Of Fire The Maze The Last Stand (boss)	Formula 20,000 Hot Scoop! Hop To It! Ring Of Fire Ore-some! The Last Stand	Fire Canyon Fire Down Below The Lair of the Rockwhale Trouble Down the Mine Scarce Resources Last Man Out (boss)	–
4	Transport Crisis Whale Song Hop To It!	–	–	–

Development

For the first time in Lego history, children can play with the toy and then hop on the computer and play within the same Lego universe there. We hope that what they see and experience in the CG version will inspire them to go off and build and play with the toy, and vice versa.

Tomas Gillo, Computer Graphics World

LEGO Rock Raiders was the first LEGO video game to be developed concurrently with LEGO construction sets. The LEGO Rock Raiders theme followed a new policy where development of the construction sets and the tie-in video game would influence each other, creating a larger universe for both products. LEGO Futura, the product development division of the LEGO Group, co-created the theme's concept with LEGO Media International, the company's software publishing branch. Development of the game began in October 1997, shortly after the release of LEGO Island, when LEGO Media approached British video game developer Data Design Interactive to create the game. LEGO Media presented concepts for the then-upcoming LEGO Rock Raiders theme to the developers at Data Design, including ideas for the theme's characters, buildings, vehicles, creatures, and story. Data Design had recently finished development of Conquest Earth, a strategy game for Eidos Interactive, and decided that the LEGO Rock Raiders storyline would work best as a strategy game as well.

LEGO Media was heavily involved in the development of LEGO Rock Raiders. Tomas Gillo, the head of concept development at LEGO Media, became the game's senior producer. David Upchurch, a producer from LEGO Media, frequently visited Data Design for a week at a time to play through the game and give feedback.

The unified development process of the toys and game led to some design issues, according to head artist Rob Dorney. Early in the game’s design process, LEGO Futura would send storyboards and prototype LEGO models to the game developers, who would give feedback on what worked with their vision for the game and make suggestions when ideas didn't work. Both groups often did not receive finalised model designs from the other until late in development. Although the LEGO Rock Raiders sets took only eight months to develop, the game's design process ended up lasting for eighteen months, longer than usual for Data Design Interactive, as both groups had to adjust elements on their ends to create a cohesive product between the video game and LEGO sets. Despite these issues, the "parallel" development of the project was considered a success.

The developers at Data Design and LEGO Media both spent some time trying to balance the gameplay of LEGO Rock Raiders to be challenging and fun while still being easy and accessible for children to play. The inherent complexity of strategy games and the younger target audience of both the game and LEGO sets made finding this balance a difficult task. The game was designed to introduce the player to new features gradually enough that they could improve and prepare for later challenges without feeling overwhelmed. Levels start out being simple mining missions early on, gradually introducing creatures, natural hazards, and larger maps as the player progresses through the game.

The game's atmosphere was inspired by Scandinavian mines.

The developers could not make the game too creepy or violent, and made sure to not show any serious injuries. “We were very aware of the audience and of how violence is seen within the LEGO world,” developer Karl White said in 2021. Entities in the game have health indicators, and minifigures and vehicles are safely teleported out of the level and back to the LMS Explorer when their health runs too low. Despite this, players still felt a sense of attachment and a fear of loss, according to White. Creatures were also designed to never be killed or destroyed, and instead can be pushed away and will eventually leave. Many creatures were revised multiple times.

Art and graphics

A scene created using virtual LEGO pieces and characters

After LEGO Media International approached Data Design Interactive to develop LEGO Rock Raiders in 1997, the studio set up a sister company, Artworld UK, to serve as a dedicated graphics and animation team for the game. A team of twelve artists and animators at Artworld created most of the game's 3D models and animations with LightWave 3D, using a number of third-party plugins and running on high-end Windows NT workstations. Adobe Photoshop and Kai's Power Tools were used to create textures for the models. Rob Dorney headed the art department at Artworld, while Dave Garbett was head of animation.

An artist at Artworld recreating a LEGO model in LightWave 3D

The virtual LEGO models used in the game were required to appear identical to the physical LEGO Rock Raiders sets. Artists took apart physical LEGO models and recreated each individual piece in LightWave 3D. The completed virtual LEGO pieces were added to a database, which LightWave could access using a set of plugins created by Artworld programmers. The colours used in the LEGO Rock Raiders sets were also programmed into the database. When artists needed to create a virtual LEGO construction, pieces from the database could be selected and coloured as needed. Once all of the desired pieces for a model were selected, another Artworld plugin generated a LightWave Scene file containing all of the coloured LEGO pieces, which the artists could assemble in the scene like a physical LEGO model.

The LEGO Rock Raiders sets used in the game were designed at LEGO Futura in Billund, Denmark, as were parts of the LMS Explorer spaceship seen in the game's FMV sequences. While the sets were limited by the number of pieces that could be included and sold, the virtual world of the video game allowed for the creation of additional characters, buildings, vehicles, and environments. Artists working on the game designed a number of game-exclusive buildings and vehicles, using the same LEGO elements as the Rock Raiders sets did, to create a more in-depth gaming experience and expand the Rock Raiders universe.

The characters in the game each had unique animated facial textures and movements to give them all distinctive personalities. The animators initially found it difficult to make the inanimate LEGO toys feel alive, particularly due to the stiff nature of LEGO minifigures. LEGO Media reluctantly allowed the animators to deviate from LEGO toy design rules by making the virtual minifigures more flexible. Minifigures were given elbow and knee joints and torsos that could twist to allow for more realistic character movement.

As the completed 3D models each contained thousands of polygons, which computers at the time running the game could not have handled, simplified versions had to be created for in-game use. Artists created new models with lower polygon counts, and used extensive texturing to maintain the appearance of LEGO pieces. Reflections, shadows, and lighting effects were used to make objects and textures appear more detailed than they were. Once completed, the LightWave models and animations could be directly loaded into the game's engine. The game would still end up requiring a 3D accelerator card to run on Windows.

Prior to the release of LEGO Rock Raiders, Data Design Interactive also completed FMV animations for two other LEGO video games: LEGO Chess, which released in November 1998, and LEGO Racers, released in August 1999.

Sound and music

The characters in the game were voiced by Data Design Interactive employees. Chief was voiced by the game's project manager, while Jet was voice by the studio's office coordinator.

The three music tracks that play during levels were composed by Marl Boonyer and produced by Alan Boorman in 1998.

PlayStation revamp

In early 1999, six months before the PlayStation version of LEGO Rock Raiders was supposed to be submitted to Sony, the head of LEGO Media International decided that a real-time strategy game would not sell on the PlayStation. The game was ordered to be changed to an action game. As senior producer Tomas Gillo did not have time to rework the PlayStation game while finishing the Windows version, David Upchurch was made the producer for the PlayStation version in March 1999. Upchurch had previously worked as producer for LEGO Chess and early versions of what would later become LEGO Island 2.

...every night I’d retire to my hotel room, exhausted, thinking to myself “That was a good day, we made good progress… but the game’s still going to crap.” All in all, it was a depressing and demoralising experience that soured my attitude towards working at LEGO Media.

David Upchurch, dupchurch.com

After many strategy-focussed elements were removed from the PlayStation game, the developers were left with a 3D rendering engine that could deform terrain, some vehicle models, and small minifigure sprites. Upchurch enjoyed controlling the vehicles and suggested making the game a hybrid between Gauntlet and Blast Corps, where the player could complete missions either on-foot or in vehicles, and could construct vehicles and decide how to best use them to traverse caverns.

As the game's submission date approached, Upchurch spent nearly two months living in Birmingham while he worked on it with Data Design Interactive, playtesting and designing levels for it. After finishing work on LEGO Rock Raiders in August 1999, Upchurch left LEGO Media, going on to launch PlayStation World magazine for Computec Media in 2000. He later cited his negative experience producing this game as a major reason for leaving.

Release

LEGO Rock Raiders was first announced on 10 February 1999, along with LEGO Racers, LEGO Friends, and LEGOLAND. It was initially scheduled for release on Windows and PlayStation in September 1999, with a planned retail price of US$40–$45. In May 1999 all four titles were displayed at E3 1999 in Los Angeles, at the LEGO Media booth #1524 in the South Hall. A large LEGO model of Jet on a Hover Scout was built by model designers from LEGO Systems during the event. LEGO models of Rocket Racer's car and of PlayStation and Nintendo 64 controllers were also constructed before the event; the controllers were given to the winners of a contest involving the car.

Soundtrack

An extended play soundtrack, RockRaiders EP (originally titled RockRaiders Music), was released on Marl Boonyer's Bandcamp page "Temple Sound" on 23 August 2022. It was originally priced at £4 GBP, later lowered to £3 by December 2022, then made free on 18 April 2023. The album contains the original masters of the three tracks that play during missions.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Rock"	3:03
2.	"Ice"	3:26
3.	"Lava"	3:05
Total length:		9:35

Reception

The game received mixed reviews.

Legacy

Write something about the game's modding scene, with links to pages about mods and modding.

In 2012, Data Design Interactive founder Stewart Green announced plans to develop a Rock Raiders sequel.

Manic Miners

References

Sources

• McPhail, Jim (13 December 1999). LEGO Rock Raiders Instruction Manual (UK FRONT, BACK, I/F & I/B COVER). LEGO Media International. Serial: IB2G-ROC3 2299598.
• Data Design Interactive (last modified 25 September 1999). Main Lego Config File. File path: Rock Raiders\LegoRR1.wad\Lego.cfg.

External Links

• Lego Rock Raiders at Wikipedia
• LEGO Rock Raiders for Windows at MobyGames
• RockRaiders EP at Bandcamp