367 lines
13 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
367 lines
13 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
connected
|
|
-----
|
|
# Quantum Of Solace interview with Garrett Young
|
|
|
|
By Tom Hoggins 12:05AM BST 18 Oct 2008
|
|
|
|
[Comments][1]
|
|
|
|
**With the latest James Bond film, Quantum Of Solace set to hit UK screens at
|
|
the end of October, the release of the movie-based videogame isn't far behind.
|
|
Tom Hoggins talks to Garrett Young, Executive Producer at Treyarch, about the
|
|
challenges of adapting Bond to the videogame format, and how the designers
|
|
went about avoiding the usual pitfalls associated with film tie-in
|
|
videogames**
|
|
|
|
* ** [Video: making the Quantum of Solace videogame][2] **
|
|
|
|
* **Quantum Of Solace will be available on PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, and
|
|
Xbox 360 and from October 31**
|
|
|
|
**What made you take the decision to make this latest 007 game a FPS?**
|
|
|
|
Our game is actually a blend of first-person and third-person camera. Because
|
|
Quantum of Solace is the first 007 game on next-gen platforms and the first
|
|
007 game from our company, we wanted to do it right. When we looked at how we
|
|
wanted to re-launch the Bond franchise, we asked gamers what they wanted in a
|
|
Bond game: do they want a first-person camera or a third-person camera? What
|
|
they told us is that most of them wanted to "Be Bond" - to play in a first-
|
|
person camera - but ~30% said they wanted to see Bond on-screen (third-person
|
|
camera). After some long talks with our Engineers, we decided to do both!
|
|
|
|
In QoS we created a seamless transition between normal first-person gameplay
|
|
and third-person Cover Combat. This blend of gameplay allows gamers to make a
|
|
choice: they can run in with guns blazing, or they can take cover and assess
|
|
the situation to stealth their way through many areas in the course of their
|
|
mission.
|
|
|
|
**Any James Bond game, particularly an FPS, is going to face comparisons to
|
|
Rare's Goldeneye. Are you aware of this pressure and how did you go about
|
|
addressing it?**
|
|
|
|
We all have very fond memories of GoldenEye. There is actually a guy on our
|
|
team who got into game development because he had so much fun playing that
|
|
game with friends when he was younger. We owe a huge debt of gratitude for the
|
|
trail blazed by the Rare guys on Goldeneye - as do all developers making
|
|
first-person shooters on console. They showed that FPS's could expand beyond
|
|
the realm of PC, and the genre has exploded by leaps and bounds ever since. It
|
|
is pressure, but it's a good pressure. We want to live up to the high
|
|
expectations gamers have of this franchise, and that motivation gave us energy
|
|
when the work-days started to get long ...
|
|
|
|
**So, what was it like for you to be awarded the 007 licence? Are all the team
|
|
Bond fans?**
|
|
|
|
It was very exciting - we are all very big Bond fans. We've seen all the
|
|
movies and read all of Fleming's books. Bond has such a rich history, so it's
|
|
not hard to get immersed in his world. It's a dream come true to be entrusted
|
|
with such a big title, and it motivated us even more to do a great job with
|
|
this character in our game.
|
|
|
|
**Quantum of Solace is using the Call of Duty 4 engine. What advantages does
|
|
this have for the development team? **
|
|
|
|
****The Call of Duty 4 engine is one of the best engines for first-person
|
|
gameplay. It is amazing technology, and the tools and content pipeline allowed
|
|
us to build levels and iterate much faster than if we had built our own
|
|
engine. Because of that, we were able to spend more time on things like adding
|
|
a persistent character for our third-person Cover Combat, building all of our
|
|
environments, and creating a new more "villainous" AI system.
|
|
|
|
**Are there any disadvantages?**
|
|
|
|
No. ;-) Honestly, COD4 was a 94-rated game - that engine provides a great
|
|
baseline for us to build a great Bond game. 6. Have you had much contact with
|
|
the Call of Duty 5 team at Treyarch, sharing ideas and advice? We hang out
|
|
with the COD5 team all the time. There are people on my team who came from the
|
|
COD team, and they really know how to build FPS games. We also are constantly
|
|
trying to outdo each other - they look at how we do dramatic lighting, we look
|
|
at how they're doing FX and fire, etc. They're all really good guys, and there
|
|
is a healthy competition between teams.
|
|
|
|
**Movie licences are notoriously difficult to develop, often ending up with
|
|
sub-standard products. Why do you think this is?**
|
|
|
|
That is true historically, but I couldn't tell you why. Maybe it's because the
|
|
team isn't excited about the game, or the schedule is too tight, or the team
|
|
doesn't have a strong relationship with the filmmakers. In our case, I'm very
|
|
proud of the results this team was able to achieve in this game. We were all
|
|
excited about the opportunity we had to build this game - to do create an
|
|
entirely new game for the company, with no preconceived expectations on
|
|
exactly what was in the game. Even though the schedule was tight, we made a
|
|
big single and multiplayer experience within our schedule. And Activision is
|
|
known for strong relationships with filmmakers, and we worked really closely
|
|
with them to make this game; the synergy between the movie and game creation
|
|
process helped make this game great.
|
|
|
|
**What challenges did Treyarch face in taking on such a huge movie licence and
|
|
how did you go about tackling them? **
|
|
|
|
We had many challenges over the course of the project: Bond is a great
|
|
character with a really rich history in movies, so we very much wanted to
|
|
build a game worthy of James Bond. We would not have been able to overcome
|
|
these challenges without the great people on this team. These guys did a
|
|
tremendous job taking on everything that came at us, and we had great support
|
|
from our Management and the filmmakers as challenges arose.
|
|
|
|
** Bond has never been just about straight shooting. How did you go about
|
|
incorporating the series' character and nuances into your game?**
|
|
|
|
Bond is an Action Hero, so Quantum of Solace is definitely an action game. Of
|
|
course we have shooting, but we also have a balance of combat vs. stealth -
|
|
letting gamers choose how they want to get through an area/event - and we have
|
|
a Takedown system where Bond can melee opponents in hand-to-hand combat. This
|
|
game also has wide variety in the visuals of each level. Since we were able to
|
|
choose playable scenes from two movies, each level looks and feels very
|
|
different from the last. Bond movies have always been known for visiting a
|
|
variety of exotic, international locations around the world; we wanted to
|
|
continue that history in this game.
|
|
|
|
**Have you had much contact with the filmmakers to make the game a close
|
|
representation of the movie? **
|
|
|
|
We worked very closely with the filmmakers to design the levels and
|
|
cinematics. They did a great job of supporting us with reference and assets:
|
|
we got our first draft of the movie script for QoS over a year ago, we got to
|
|
visit the set four times, and we got 1,000s of photos from the set. We took
|
|
photographs and 3D-scans of all the major actors, and also recorded hours of
|
|
their voice for the game. It was great to meet these guys, and they were all
|
|
very supportive of our vision and goals with the game. ****
|
|
|
|
** Did you have full access to the movie's script from the very beginning of
|
|
development?**
|
|
|
|
The 1st draft of the script actually wasn't written until we were already a
|
|
year into development! Thankfully we got it early enough to design, build, and
|
|
playtest those levels fully. ****
|
|
|
|
**Care to share any secrets?**
|
|
|
|
Not right now - I like my job too much ;-) ****
|
|
|
|
** Did you work closely with Daniel Craig to capture his version of Bond?**
|
|
|
|
I thought it would be difficult to get time with Daniel due to their shooting
|
|
schedule for the movie this year, but we actually met with him many times and
|
|
he added his own flair and guidance on how Bond should look and sound in the
|
|
game. As the star of our game, we wanted him to look great. After we
|
|
photographed him, we spent months working on it. When we were ready to show
|
|
our results, he and the filmmakers were really impressed. Daniel was also very
|
|
helpful in making sure Bond sounded very "Bondian." We brought our original
|
|
voice-over script to him, and he was very helpful reviewing and providing his
|
|
insight on the right lines. It really makes a difference in the sense of
|
|
immersion in the game.
|
|
|
|
**How would you feel about creating your own Bond story? Can you see this
|
|
being something Treyarch will look at in the future?**
|
|
|
|
It would definitely be a challenge! We'll just have to wait and see where the
|
|
future takes us.
|
|
|
|
**The Call of Duty 4 engine lends itself to superb multiplayer. Do you have
|
|
big plans in this aspect for Quantum of Solace? **
|
|
|
|
Yes we do. We support 12 players online across different game modes - many
|
|
that gamers will recognize right away. We also have some exciting new modes
|
|
that let you play as James Bond, including one where it's you against everyone
|
|
else - it's a complete adrenaline rush! There's also a one-against-all Golden
|
|
Gun mode we had fun designing and building, where - as you can imagine -
|
|
players score points by eliminating the player with the Golden Gun or
|
|
eliminating others while holding the Golden Gun. Our multiplayer modes are
|
|
accessible and fun right from the beginning - it's an easy pick-up-and-play
|
|
multiplayer experience, and everyone who has played it has really enjoyed it.
|
|
The guys over in QA even told us that the biggest problem they found during
|
|
their multiplayer testing was keeping the testers from playing it all the
|
|
time! ****
|
|
|
|
**Finally, much like last year, this quarter is jam-packed with high-profile
|
|
releases. How do you think Quantum of Solace will set itself apart, beyond the
|
|
strength of its licence? **
|
|
|
|
****There are a lot of games out there - it is definitely a great time to be a
|
|
gamer, and we're looking forward to playing them all too! As a team, we're
|
|
very happy with our core gameplay, controls, and visuals, and we think gamers
|
|
will really like the innovation of a third-person cover system in a first-
|
|
person action game. Our focus was on getting the gameplay right first, then
|
|
adding the elements that would immerse gamers in the world of Bond. We think
|
|
gamers are going to like the results.
|
|
|
|
[X][3] Share & bookmark
|
|
|
|
Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
|
|
|
|
Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
|
|
|
|
[What are these?][4]
|
|
|
|
* Share: [Share][3] [ ][5] [ ][6]
|
|
|
|
[Tweet][7]
|
|
|
|
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/3358856/Quantum-Of-Solace-interview-
|
|
with-Garrett-Young.html
|
|
|
|
Telegraph
|
|
|
|
## [Technology][8]
|
|
|
|
[![Disassembly: vintage gadgets are taken apart and photographed by Todd
|
|
McLellan][9] ][10]
|
|
|
|
### [Gadgets taken apart][10]
|
|
|
|
[![Aerial photograph of Hyde Park taken by Jason Hawkes using a Nokia N8
|
|
smartphone][11] ][12]
|
|
|
|
### [Smartphone aerial photos][12]
|
|
|
|
[![Digital Circlism portraits of celebrities by Ben Heine: Marilyn Monroe][13]
|
|
][14]
|
|
|
|
### ['Digital Circlism'][14]
|
|
|
|
[![][15] ][16]
|
|
|
|
### [More Twitpics from space][16]
|
|
|
|
Related Partners
|
|
|
|
* [Free 2-year guarantee on computers, home cinema and hi-fi at John
|
|
Lewis][17]
|
|
|
|
[X][3] Share & bookmark
|
|
|
|
Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
|
|
|
|
Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
|
|
|
|
[What are these?][4]
|
|
|
|
Share:
|
|
|
|
* [ ][3]
|
|
|
|
* [ ][5]
|
|
|
|
* [ ][6]
|
|
|
|
* [Tweet][7]
|
|
|
|
* Advertisement
|
|
|
|
![][18]
|
|
|
|
telegraphuk
|
|
|
|
Please enable JavaScript to view the [comments powered by Disqus.][19] [blog
|
|
comments powered by Disqus][20]
|
|
|
|
[![Follow The Telegraph on social media][21]][22]
|
|
|
|
Advertisement
|
|
|
|
## [Technology Comment »][23]
|
|
|
|
** [Shane Richmond][24] **
|
|
|
|
* [Super-injunctions: Modern technology is beyond control, not out of
|
|
control][24]
|
|
|
|
** [Ian Douglas][25] **
|
|
|
|
* [Lockitron aims to make keys obsolete, doors more futuristic][25]
|
|
|
|
** [Ian Douglas][26] **
|
|
|
|
* [Nokia drops the Ovi name, gains some sell-off rumours][26]
|
|
|
|
** [Ian Douglas][27] **
|
|
|
|
* [Traffic safety will depend on driverless cars, not fictional police][27]
|
|
|
|
** [Ian Douglas][28] **
|
|
|
|
* [Work from home in the weirdest-looking way possible][28]
|
|
|
|
** [Ian Douglas][29] **
|
|
|
|
* [Nokia loses mobile dominance, phone calls are dead][29]
|
|
|
|
sponsored features
|
|
|
|
Loading
|
|
|
|
Technology Most Viewed
|
|
|
|
* TODAY
|
|
|
|
* PAST WEEK
|
|
|
|
* PAST MONTH
|
|
|
|
1. [Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder, slaughters his own food][30]
|
|
|
|
2. [Mark Zuckerberg: children should be allowed to use Facebook][31]
|
|
|
|
3. [US develop software to analyse metaphors][32]
|
|
|
|
4. [Stuxnet virus: US refuses to deny involvement][33]
|
|
|
|
5. [Nook ereader impresses the US but might never come to Britain][34]
|
|
|
|
1. [Reiss website crashes as shoppers rush to buy Kate's dress][35]
|
|
|
|
2. [Newspaper publishes name of footballer with gagging order][36]
|
|
|
|
3. [Tweets about super-injunction footballer spike after attempts to gag
|
|
Twitter][37]
|
|
|
|
4. [Max Clifford: Ryan Giggs 'affair' may never have come out without
|
|
injunction][38]
|
|
|
|
5. [Ryan Giggs unmasked as gagging order footballer][39]
|
|
|
|
1. [Mr Men Google doodles celebrate 76th birthday of creator Roger
|
|
Hargreaves][40]
|
|
|
|
2. [Meet the woman allergic to electricity][41]
|
|
|
|
3. [Jeremy Clarkson texts Jemima Khan over 'nightmare' super-injunction
|
|
claims on Twitter][42]
|
|
|
|
4. [Wikipedia users name celebrities with gagging orders][43]
|
|
|
|
5. [Alarm over EU 'Great Firewall' proposal][44]
|
|
|
|
[EDITOR'S CHOICE »][45]
|
|
|
|
### [Gil Scott-Heron: 'A voice for Shakespeare'][46]
|
|
|
|
[![Gil Scott-Heron][47]][46]
|
|
|
|
Composer, musician, poet and author whose writing provided a vivid commentary
|
|
on the black American experience.
|
|
|
|
### [Beekeeping diary: the new colonies arrive][48]
|
|
|
|
### [Spectacular light show dazzles Sydney][49]
|
|
|
|
### [WS Gilbert: a knight for our times][50]
|
|
|
|
### [The Telegraph's Matt is Hay Festival star][51]
|
|
|
|
Advertisement
|
|
|
|
Classified Advertising
|
|
|
|
* [Cars][52]
|
|
|
|
* [IT Jobs][53]
|
|
|
|
* [Events][54]
|
|
|
|
Loading
|
|
|
|
var puffs_8254837 = new Array();
|
|
|