Recently I got the chance to ask Rich
Farrelly, Creative Director of Call of Duty: World at War, some questions about the hotly anticipated new game. I want to thank Rich for answering my questions and Robert for arranging the interview.

GVK: What is the background and setting for the game?

RF: The game is set in World War 2 during the final brutal days of conflict.

It covers the stories of two squads, one from the Russian Red Army and
one from the US Marines as they close in on the final objectives of the
war.

GVK: What can you tell us about the A.I. in the game? I have heard that they will hide in the grass, set ambushes, and do suicide attacks?

RF: They will certainly do all of those things and more. When we were
designing the gameplay for the new Pacific Theater content, we realized
that the existing Call of Duty AI just didn’t feel right in the new
environments.

After a quite bit of research we learned that the Imperial
Japanese Army fought in a completely different way than their European
counterparts. We spent a great deal of effort integrating these new
tactics into the existing AI. The results were great, it completely
changed the way the game felt and how players approached it.

GVK: What are some of the locales gamers will see in the game?

RF: We have two campaigns. One takes the player from the edge of Germany and on into Berlin with the Russian Red Army, the other starts on a small Pacific Island called Peleliu and moves into Okinawa with the US Marines. The settings offer a wide range of visuals from swampy jungles to bombed out cities. Using the well seasoned Call of Duty 4 engine as a foundation, we have been able to build upon it to continue to push the hardware to new limits, creating some incredibly stunning environments.

GVK: What are some of the weapons we will see and will they change
between locales?

RF: There are way too many to list especially when you count in the
diversity we have in the multiplayer game. Players will see the usual
suspects like the Garand rifle or the MG-42, but the new Pacific
campaign introduces a whole range of new Imperial Japanese weaponry.

One type we are particularly excited about is the flame based weaponry. This ranges from the venerable flamethrower to flame tanks and Molotov
cocktails. All of these will effect the environment and characters as
players burn their way through the levels.

GVK: How will vehicles be used in game and what will players be able to ride in?

RF: There are vehicles in both the Single Player, Co-Op, and Multiplayer modes of the game. Players will be able to drive different tracked vehicles, including the awesome Russian T-34 flame tank.

GVK: What forms of multiplay does the game include and will players be
Able to play both sides of the conflicts?

RF: We recognized early on that the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
multiplayer experience was amazing and beloved by many players.

We made it our aim to build upon that model rather than re-invent the wheel.

You’ll see a similar perks and experience system and some familiar game
modes along with some new modes including specific vehicle based levels.

Players will be able to play as anyone of the four nations depicted in
the game.

GVK: After 3 games and 2 add on packs in the series set during W.W.II
how do you keep it fresh and was it tempting to move away from W.W. II
entirely as COD 4 successfully did?

RF: It was a very tall order, and something we took very seriously from the outset of the project. We knew we couldn’t come to market with the same old World War 2 game.

We looked at every aspect of the game and asked the question “How can we make this different?”. One of the first things was to take on a grittier more serious tone rather than the usual “Go get ‘em boys” approach. This permeates everything from the graphics
though dialogue and even the music has an edgier more contemporary feel.

GVK: Blending action with a detailed plot can always be tricky. How
have you attempted to create this element, and will scripted events be a part of the game?

RF: As with every Call of Duty title we always try to have a strong story and cinematic presentation. Call of Duty: World at War is no exception to this.

One goal we did have however, was to eliminate in-game 3rd
person cuts-scenes and dry documentary style campaign movies. The
loading movies are very different from anything else presented to
players before and all of the storytelling in game is in first person.

GVK: What is the scope of the game, and how many new maps will
players get for multiplayer?

RF: The game offers a lot of variety and consists of a Single Player
campaign, Co-Op modes of gameplay, and competitive Multiplayer (13 maps) with persistent stats and rankings. Additionally in the Co-Op, you play through friendly or compete online for points for added replayability.

There will also be modifiers that players can set up when playing
through co-operative mode that will vary the experience.

GVK: How has the gaming engine been enhanced since COD 4 and what
can gamers look forward to?

RF: Players can expect to see all of the great features that were present in Call of Duty4: Modern Warfare along with a few enhancements made by the Treyarch team.

Some of these include realistic fire and water elements
that behave as you would expect. Fire spreads and burns objects and
foliage based on wind direction. Water reflects the environment in
real-time and deforms when disturbed by explosion or contact with
physics objects which incidentally, have realistic buoyancy.

GVK: What are some of the biggest obstacles you faced in creating
the game and the biggest successes?

RF: Making the new Pacific Theater a fresh gameplay experience was
definitely our toughest task. When we were prototyping, we took some
great looking Imperial Japanese Army character models and put them in a
Pacific environment with standard Call of Duty AI. It just didn’t work
for us. It looked great, but the enemy didn’t “fit” and the scenarios
didn’t feel like they should.

We realized that to create the unique gameplay feel we wanted, we needed to focus on developing tactics that were specific to the Imperial Japanese Army – banzai charges, spider holes, flanking maneuvers, tree snipers, ambushes, etc.

It took months for this to come together, but when it finally did it crystallized the game. This new enemy is very real and very aggressive.

GVK: With such a successful series and a very loyal fan base, how
much pressure is there with each new game in the series not only to
please yourselves but the fans as well?

RF: The pressure was immense, not only to follow up the great game that is Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, but also to meet our own standards.

We all knew that coming to the table with a new Call of Duty set in World War 2, that we had to craft a game that was both fresh and AAA on every level. To that end, everything that went in was heavily scrutinized and if it didn’t pass muster then it was cut. With World at War, this team has set out to make the best game of our careers.

Tim O’Neil / Lead Gameplay Programmer of the pending Spider-Man Web of Shadows game was kind enough to answer our questions.

GVK: What is the background and setting for the game?

Spider-Man: Web of Shadows is set in New York City and at the outset of the game Venom learns how to clone his own symbiote to infect others which in turn causes Spider-man to be re-infected with the Black Suit symbiote. This event triggers a massive invasion where NYC is overrun by symbiote-infected minions of Venom and Spider-man along with a few of his friends (and enemies) is left to face off against this alien army.

GVK: What can you tell us about the A.I. in the game?

Our primary goal with the game was to marry the web-based movement that is iconic of Spider-Man with a combat system that would allow the player to fight on the ground, on the walls, in the air and while swinging. To achieve this goal we had to create enemies that could pose definite challenges to Spidey in all of these modes. The game includes friendly and hostile characters that can fight with you and against you on the ground, crawling on walls or flying through the air which was no mean feat for the A.I. team.

As encounters happen anywhere and everywhere, the ai is very aware of its surroundings. Don’t be surprised to see enemies jumping from building to building or ambushing you from the wall as you try to swing by.

The main goal of the ai is to provide you with challenges for your mechanics. Rather than have weakling enemies that you grind through until you hit a boss with completely unique mechanics, our enemies cover the difficulty spectrum with the bosses being the ultimate challenge for those skills. For instance, the shooter AI is meant to train the player to move like Spider-man. If you run up to shooters, you get shot. If you swing, bounce off the walls, and then pull yourself into them with your web from the air, they don’t stand a chance. The “heavy” AI is the opposite. They defend themselves from your aerial attacks, and want nothing more than for you to get close to them so they can smash you. They train you to use more advance techniques, like webbing and swing kicking. You won’t find any bosses that you can button mash through, but there are also a wide variety of tactics you can use to defeat them.

GVK: What are some of the locales and missions gamers will see in the game?

Most of the action in Web of Shadows takes place in and above Manhattan which is quarantined by S.H.I.E.L.D. early in the game. Rather than spending our time adding lots of unique locations we dedicated our resources into making every inch of the city be interactive and destructible. You won’t necessarily be pulling down whole city blocks or collapsing buildings, but just about everything else is destructible and reacts (explosively) to the player’s actions creating a very dynamic feeling to the city.

Players will be challenged with a wide array of missions as the story and city advance. Our focus with Web of Shadows has been to tell a compelling story and create a game where it is fun to fight your enemies in the way you would expect Spider-Man to fight with a tight integration between combat and movement. As a result most of the missions will revolve around combat, defeating enemies, protecting allies, rescuing and escorting civilians, etc, etc.

GVK: What are some of the moves players will be able to do?

Players will have access to a wide range of moves to combat their foes. My personal favorite is the swing kick which is just what the name implies. The fun part is that the faster Spidey is swinging and the better the player times his attack, the more damage will be done and the farther your targets will fly. If done properly the player can take out a dozen foes with one massive swinging kick and send them flying two city blocks down the road!

As you advance through the game over a hundred new moves become available across the Red and Black Suits that the player can add to their arsenal. Each new ability is more and more powerful and features bigger, flashier, more dramatic visuals and sound FX to highlight the action.

GVK: What gaming engine will you be using and what enhancements will it bring to the game?

For Web of Shadows we began from the Spider-Man 3 engine and overhauled it extensively. This framework allowed our team to work in parallel and to start answering some of the high level gameplay questions on cameras and combat while the underpinnings of the graphics and AI systems were being thoroughly revamped. At the end of the day there is very little old code left over and most of the outwardly visible components have been remade, but this head-start was invaluable to crafting the game we have today.

GVK: What have been some of the biggest challenges and rewards in crafting the game?

There have been a lot of really challenging aspects of this games development (aren’t there always?) but for me the two that stand out the most have been the development of the new combat system and the city transformation as the story progresses, each for different reasons.

The new combat system was a big undertaking that involved the cooperative work of designers, animators, scripters and programmers who had to collectively answer a number of questions that simply hadn’t been answered before. Sure games have individually had fantastic melee combat, great ranged combat and awesome character movement before… but to try and put all of those together so that they flowed seamlessly and to add vertical surface fighting as well was a huge leap and I’m very proud of how so many people came together to make it work.

As the game goes on and the story advances New York is transformed from its everyday, normal state into a very different place. The city begins to look like an infected warzone with rubble everywhere and signs on infection all over the place. Making these changes on such a large scale was very challenging not only for the art staff who had to create all the new assets but also for the engineers who had to figure how to fit it all into a big streaming, open-world environment. Looking at the game today and looking back at our earliest concepts I’m still amazed at how close we’ve come and in a lot of way exceeded the initial vision that we laid out for ourselves.

GVK: What sort of enemies and heroes will players face and will there be boss battles?

There absolutely are boss battles with some classic Spider-Man villains as well as some of Spidey’s old friends! As in real life, when an alien invasion occurs you can’t always trust who are your actual friends and who are your actual enemies.

GVK: How do players game new skills and abilities in the game?

The game features a robust upgrades and unlockables system that allows players to create the Spider-Man that best suits their tastes. The player is awarded experience for defeating enemies, performing long combos and completing missions. This experience can then be used to purchase upgrades or unlock new moves for the Red suit or for the Black suit, each of which have their own unique upgrade paths. As the game advances more and more abilities become available for purchase and Spidey increases in power dramatically.

In addition to the combat-driven upgrade system there is an exploration-based advancement system that rewards the player with advance swinging and jumping abilities. To facilitate the exploration upgrades, there are a massive number of collectible tokens blanketing the city and as the players collect these tokens their rating level increases. As their rating level increases they gain access to faster swing speeds, higher zip jumps as well as higher maximum health and ‘special attack’ values.

GVK: Does the game offer multiplay and if so, how does that work?

We have focused all of our energies into crafting the best single-player story experience possible and hence the game does not feature a multi-player option.

GVK: How do NPC characters figure in the game?

The NPCs in the game will serve as quest-givers, allies in combat, enemies to defeat and poor souls to escort and/or rescue at varying points through the game and these relationships will change over time based on the player’s actions and choices in the Red and Black Suits.

GVK: The scope of the last game was huge in terms of the scale of the city how has it been improved upon for this game?

As I mentioned earlier, we’ve maintained the scale of the city but gone to great lengths to make every inch of it destructible and reactive to the players’ actions. It has been a massive undertaking and we couldn’t have achieved our goals without a lot of fantastic work from the artists at both Treyarch and Shaba.

Recently I got the chance to speak with Haden Blackman, Executive Producer for The Force Unleashed the upcoming Star Wars game from LucasArts

GVK: What is the background and setting for the game?

HB: The Force Unleashed takes place in between Episodes III and IV. It bridges the gap between the two movie trilogies, and starts fairly soon after the end of Revenge of the Sith. The Emperor has ordered Darth Vader to hunt down and eliminate the remaining Jedi, and you play a big part in that.
GVK: What can you tell us about the A.I. in the game?

HB: We’ve incorporated a technology called euphoria from NaturalMotion, Inc. that gives our NPCs true biomechanical AI. It’s basically a digital nervous system, so they have a sense of balance, natural reflexes, and a will to live. Throw a crate at them and they’ll recognize the incoming projectile and might jump out of the way, duck underneath it, block it with their hands, or get hit by it if they can’t react in time. When you grip them, they’ll flail about and try to grab onto anything nearby, even another character. And they have a true sense of balance, so if you bump them, you’ll see them wobble – sometimes they’ll fall over, but other times they’ll regain their balance and continue attacking you.

GVK: What are some of the locales gamers will see in the game?
HB: We have several locations, which represent a wide range of Star Wars environments that should feel both familiar and new. We haven’t revealed all of them yet, but you’ll visit a TIE Fighter Construction Facility, the fungal world Felucia (see briefly in Episode III), a planet made completely of junk called Raxus Prime, and several other locations throughout the game. You’ll also be able to return to some of the worlds to see how the Empire’s influence – and your actions – have changed them.

GVK: What are some of the weapons we will see?

HB: The Force is your ultimate weapon in the game. We really focused on redefining the Force, and creating new applications for the Force. You’ll have a really powerful Force Push that can be upgraded to take out multiple enemies, and can be used to blast through doors. Force Grip allows you to manipulate nearly anything in the environment, turning things like crates or even enemies into weapons. Force Lightning shocks enemies silly and leaves them stunned. Every Force power can be upgraded over time, giving you a number of options in every combat situation. We also treated the lightsaber as a Force power: it has its own set of combos, and can be upgraded over time with new crystals. You can also combine your lightsaber attacks with Force power use, charging up the blade with lightning for added effect, for example.

GVK: How will vehicles be used in game and what will players be able to ride in?

HB: To traverse environments, we really focused on making the Apprentice feel like a Sith warrior, with agile movements, a rapid dash, and the ability to leap huge distances. Darth Vader does provide the Apprentice with starship called the Rogue Shadow, which he uses to reach the various locations throughout the game.

GVK: What gaming engine will you be using and what will enhancements will it bring to the genre?

HB: Our internal team at LucasArts created a brand new engine from the ground up for The Force Unleashed. We worked closely with our sister company, Industrial Light & Magic, to incorporate technologies and techniques similar to those they use when creating visual effects for movies. On top of that, we’ve licensed several third-party physics technologies, like Havok, Digital Molecular Matter, and euphoria.

GVK: What forms of multiplayer will the game include?

HB: On Wii we’ve included a two-player Duel Mode, so you and a buddy can determine who’s the universe’s most powerful Jedi. And both the PSP and DS have local Wi-Fi four-player multiplayer.

GVK: What sort of enemies will players face?

HB: The game features literally dozens of different enemies types. We spent a huge part of our development designing these enemies to ensure there was enough diversity throughout the game, and that they made you feel both powerful and challenged. Because you’re Darth Vader’s Secret Apprentice, you’re ordered to kill everyone you run across in order to leave no witnesses, so you’ll be able to attack and battle stormtroopers from the very first level. We have a number of stormtrooper variants throughout the game, including shielded troopers, flying jet-troopers, and a version of the fearsome Dark Trooper. You’ll also run across early rebels, Force-wielding aliens and painted rancors on the planet Felucia, junk golems and Rodian scavengers on Raxus Prime, the Emperor’s elite Shadow Guard, Ugnaughts, and even Jawas. And, of course, you’ll battle Jedi and other powerful Force users, including the Jedi Master Shaak Ti. All of the “bosses” have their own unique set of powers, which are themselves “unleashed.” In all, there are over 60 different enemy types in the game.

GVK: Blending action with a detailed plot can always be tricky, how have you attempted to create this element, and will scripted events be a part of the game?

HB: Our goal was to tell a compelling Star Wars story in The Force Unleashed, and scripted sequences play a part in that. There are numerous moments where you stumble across something – perhaps an exchange between two stormtroopers – that help tell the story, provide context, or just give you a bit of comic relief. We also use both in-game cinematics and cutscenes to move the plot forward, and there’s a fair amount of “in your ear” dialogue that not only helps clarify mission objectives but also further develops some of the supporting cast. Finally, we have a robust in-game databank that provides Star Wars fans with nearly one hundred entries providing backstory, factoids, and other information on characters, locations, and hardware found in the game.

GVK: The scope of the game sounds amazing, what are some of the biggest obstacles you see in creating the game, and what are your biggest goals for the game?

HB: Well, the game is done now, but we faced several big challenges in building it. First, we had to build a brand new team and a brand new engine and tools, with brand new technologies that had never shipped in a game before, all for two brand new platforms. At the same time, we wanted to tell a new Star Wars story, re-envision the Force, and create new gameplay mechanics. Assembling the team was the first real challenge: putting a game team together is like casting a moving – experience is really important, but you also really need to find the right chemistry between all the key contributors. Luckily, I think we’ve found some of the best developers in the industry. The next big challenge was getting all of the diverse technologies to work well together. DMM props needed to react when hit by a euphoria-enabled stormtrooper, for example. Our physics simulations are all based on the real-world laws of physics, but Star Wars is a fantasy setting where those laws don’t always apply – and a game sometimes needs to bend the laws of physics in order to ensure the fun factor. Our Force Push hits stormtroopers with the Force of a cannonball, and the simulations initially had trouble coping with the amount of force and stress we were putting on our characters and environments. The team really came together and worked closely with our technology partners to keep the essence of the simulations intact while remaining true to our vision of the Force truly “unleashed.” Finally, getting the game to run on both the PS3 and the Xbox360 was a monumental task, but again the team really came through and, in some ways, did the impossible.

From the outset, we just wanted to create a really fun game all about kicking ass with the Force, coupled with a strong Star Wars story. Despite all the challenges, I’m hopeful that we’ve done what we set out to do. But we’ll no for sure soon!

GVK: It was reported that you will play as an apprentice to Darth Vader which may cause some fans issue with the rule of two, and Vader’s quest for Luke in the film. Is it difficult to create new stories in Star Wars knowing how fanatical the fans are over film cannon, and how have you attempted to solve this for the game?

HB: It is daunting knowing that thousands and thousands of people will be double-checking our work. Fortunately, many of us on the team are huge Star Wars fans. At a certain point, we just decided we had to make a game that we, as fans, would want to play with a story that we’d want to experience. I think that a lot of care and love went into crafting a true Star Wars experience as a result. And of course working closely with George Lucas early on really helped. He gave us a thorough history lesson on the time period between Episodes III and IV; and once we presented him with the idea that Vader has taken an Apprentice, he really provided great feedback on what Vader would want out of that Apprentice and how he would motivate him.

While covering the PAX Expo in Seattle, I was able to speak with Hal Halpin, President of the ECA. The Entertainment Consumers Association is members based advocacy group that fights for gamers rights.
I want to thank Hal for taking the time from the very hectic convention schedule to talk with us.

GVK: GVK: Can you give the readers a brief background of how this got started?

HH: I was heading the IMA the previous nine years and we supported companies like Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart, and Gamestop but realized that the consumers were not being covered, so we merged and founded the ECA.

GVK: How is the ECA setup?

HH: We are a non-profit membership based organization like A.A.A. Membership is $19.99 a year and members get over $30.00 a year in benefits back. We deal mainly with State and Federal level advocacy and rights.

GVK: There has been a lot of talk about your move into Canada, can you tell the readers what prompted that to come about at this time?

HH: Mainly it was PAX 07. We were only 9 months old at the time, and we had such a strong demand to go into Canada. So, we looked into ways that we could do that with our non-profit status as well as keeping an eye on the growth management to go international. We were able to setup Canada as chapters but we do not see any further expansion for a while.

GVK: What are some of the perks of membership?

HH: Game Rentals, Discounts on stays at the Hyatt, Magazine subscriptions and much more.

GVK: What are some of the biggest challenges facing the ECA?

HH: Broad Stroke 1st Amendment issues, anti-gaming factions, net neutrality, Universal Broad Band and Fair Use doctrines.

That and the negative image many gamers get especially Generations X and Y as they are portrayed as being lazy slackers.

GVK: How does the ECA attack and issue, do you have lobbyists working in Washington?

HH: Mainly through grass roots campaigns as we have over 44 chapters many are at colleges which have sanctioned them as approved clubs.

GVK: How do you pick the issues you want to battle?

HH: Mainly we have to take a reactionary approach and see where things are going and nip things in the bud before they go too far. Sometimes it can be simply showing politicians that fighting a certain issue will cost a lot of time and money and based on past examples is not likely to succeed.
We are currently 11-0 in issues dealing with 1st Amendment rights as we have won 9 at the state level, 1 at the city level and 1 at the county level.

GVK: I have talked with some people who have complained that in parts of Europe or Australia they not only are banned from buying certain games, but they are banned from buying and downloading digital copies. What can you tell them to do about this issue?

HH: Keep the faith, as we feel your pain. Many politicians are banning games based on false research and information that is being passed around by people like Jack Thompson who have a clear agenda against gaming. The best way to fight this is to partner up with overseas groups who defend the rights of gamers and consumers.

GVK: With the upcoming election, does it matter which candidate wins the White House or is The Senate and Congress the main focus of interest?

HH: The Congress and Senate for sure have the most impact on what we do. Due to our status we cannot endorse candidates but there are clearly some such as Biden who are not consumer friendly as well as some on the state level as well. The key is to be aware of what is being said as many times politicians do not speak about gaming issues while they are running for office and you do not know until it is to late as to who will be anti-gaming once in office.
http://www.theeca.com/

While covering the PAX Expo in Seattle, I got a hands on look and interview with lead designer Mike Marr about the very impressive looking Demigod which is due this February.

GVK: What is the background and setting for the game?

MM: You are a half mortal half god offspring of the All Father. The All Father has gone missing and there has been fighting to ascend to the Pantheon. You must battle the other factions for supremacy.
There are 9 gods, 4 good, 4 bad and you play essentially the swing vote.

GVK: What can you tell us about the A.I. in the game and how it different from other games in the genre?

MM: We have two people working on that now. One is focusing on path finding and the other person is working on the actions. It is still being finalized at this point.

GVK: Are there mega weapons and if so, how do you balance giving players the destructive power they want, yet maintaining a balance in the game?

MM: There are some ultimate attack weapons in the game. As you progress you will be able to get things like the “Finger of God” which will allow you to drop a small nuke like object on your targets.

GVK: How is resource gathering handled for the game?

MM: Gold is the main currency and it will be earned in a number of ways. While there will be mines, players can also earn it by gaining a bounty on other gods, assisting in a battle and by killing enemy units.

GVK: What graphic engine is the game using?
MM: It is an in house engine which is a modified version of the one we used for Supreme Commander.

GVK: What forms of multiplayer will be featured and will there be co-op play?

MM: We have 5 vs 5, team deathmatch, and a persistant universe mode in which you fight for a god. This mode can take two months to play so you can play the game and when you return you can continue the campaign.

GVK: How do you plan to implement weather conditions in the game and what can players look forward to?

MM: I am not able to talk about this at this time

GVK: What can you tell the readers about the control systems in the game?

MM: We have inventory slots which allows players to access special abilities via achievements but the majority of the game is played with the mouse.

GVK: How long does it take to play the game?

MM: The maps can take anywhere from 15-20 minutes all the way up to 60 minutes a map.