Post by Acer on Jun 28, 2008 21:59:18 GMT -5
Source: IGN: Alone In The Dark On Wii Interview P1
AU: Alone in the Dark on Wii Interview
Everything you need to know about the Wii version of the game.
by IGN Staff
Part 1 Of The Interview:[/U]
Australia, April 27, 2008 - We all know that the grand daddy of the survival horror genre – Alone in the Dark – is making a comeback, but most of the focus out there to date has been on the Xbox 360, PC and PS3 versions. But what about the Wii? Granted, Wii owners haven't had much luck with multi-system releases so far, with most ports being average at best, but will Alone in the Dark be different? We got in touch with Maxime Loppin, the Producer of Alone in the Dark Wii at Atari to find out.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IGN AU: For hardcore Wii fans who don't know the series or haven't been following this latest game on other platforms, what can they expect in terms of story and gameplay style?
Maxime Loppin: This is the first Alone in the Dark game coming out on the Wii, however there's no need to have played the previous games in the series on other platforms in order to fully enjoy this new instalment. The story will be the same on all platforms but one main variant will be the game experience as the controls have been specifically created for the Wii.
Just to talk a little about the new Alone in the Dark, we wanted to create a game that would live up to the legacy of innovation of the very first Alone in the Dark which means we wanted to break the constraints of genre and challenge what gamers expect from video games. We did this by creating an experience that's much broader than any one genre with a really rich mix of different gameplay and some bold innovations. We also wanted to create something that told a story in a really exciting and new way. We've created new gameplay which relies on the creativity of the player to create tools and weapons using his environment and the things in it, hence there's a level of interaction you won't see anywhere else based on real world rules.
The corridor of DOOM!
The Wii controls lend themselves perfectly to this form of gameplay and total immersion as the player's movements with the Wii-mote and Nunchuck replicate real-life movements. For example, I enjoy driving on the Wii because it really feels like you are gripping the steering wheel with the Wii controllers in each hand. You have to rotate them in order to turn, as you would in a real car. Other cool movements are twisting the Wii controllers to select correct wires, and bringing them together to hotwire a car.
Then for the gameplay there's big action set pieces, exploration, problem solving, driving and visceral combat, which all combines to give a varied experience which can appeal to a wide cross section of gamers.
IGN AU: The Wii has seen a number of lukewarm ports over its lifespan. What will be different about Alone in the Dark? Is it based on the PS2 version?
Maxime Loppin: At the beginning, the original design for the game was the same for all platforms, but was then adapted in order to maximise the potential and the unique features of each platform. Personally, I feel that Hydravision, who were in charge of developing the Wii and PS2 versions, did a particularly great job on the Wii.
The Wii version is more of an adaptation of the next gen versions rather than a direct port. In this sense, the controls are all unique to Alone in the Dark and lead to great immersive gameplay.
Our advice? Get the hell out of the city.
IGN AU: Will the content be functionally identical on Wii? Has anything had to be changed due to storage limitations, ratings concerns or anything like that?
Maxime Loppin: Yes, the content will function identically on the Wii as we felt it was key to keep all the next gen features on the Wii. However, the original game design was more tailored towards next gen consoles which are more powerful and have a lot more memory. This is why we consider the Wii version of the game as an adaptation because we adapted the features in order to make them work. A good example is the fire, which propagates dynamically in real time in the next gen games but, unfortunately, is technically impossible to achieve on the Wii. In order to keep this feature, we included fire which gives the impression of propagating dynamically, but in fact propagates in a scripted manner. As in the next gen game, the fire can be used according to its real world properties, such as setting fire to a chair or creating a lethal flamethrower.
Source: IGN: Alone In The Dark On Wii Interview P2
Part 2 Of The Interview:[/U]
IGN AU: Can you take us through how the Wii's unique control scheme been optimised for the game?
Maxime Loppin: For a start, we wanted to minimise the button pressing, so we've worked hard on getting the movements of the Remote and Nunchuck to replicate real-life movements. As such, the player needs to "mime" Carnby's on screen movements. This really does lend itself to complete immersion, one of the key features of the game. The real-time jacket inventory is a great example of immersion with no onscreen menus, and the player needs to move their hands apart as if opening up a real jacket in order to view the contents.
To optimise the Wii's unique control system, we also worked closely with Nintendo. They provided us with great feedback from their experience which really helped us to get the most out of the Wii controls.
Looks like the Wii game isn't missing much of the atmosphere of the other versions.
IGN AU: Do you think the Wii controls work better than the traditional controller set-up the other versions are using? Does it work well with the emergent gameplay elements?
Maxime Loppin: For the Wii, the lifelike movements with the Remote and Nunchuck make it excellent for emergent gameplay. It really feels like you are picking up objects or driving because the moves with the Wii exactly replicate the moves in real life. For the driving, which I particularly like, isn't it more fun to mimic driving gestures rather than simply moving a button from left to right?
IGN AU: How have you found the Wii's hardware to work with? What compromises have been made to the game's look, and in what areas were you pleasantly surprised?
Maxime Loppin: What makes a Wii game somewhat complicated to develop is the Remote and Nunchuk hardware. It's not so much how to make them work, but how to make them work accurately and smoothly with no interference in the controls. In order to achieve this, there was a lot of back and forth between the design team and programming team. You could have a great idea for the controls but you don't know whether it'll work until you have the Remote and Nunchuck in hand. There's a long in-game testing process before deciding whether to keep a control scheme or not. I'm pleasantly surprised that we could keep most of the original great ideas!
I'm also particularly pleased that we managed to maintain the deep level of immersion in the game, especially in terms of the streaming environment. This means that the player doesn't have to wait for the next sequence to load in order to continue playing. There's nothing worse than having to stop every few minutes when you're playing a game.
It was at this moment, in a poorly judged attempt at comedy, that Edward started singing Kumbaya... he was killed moments later.
IGN AU: Has the physics system made it into the game intact?
Maxime Loppin: It's technically impossible to have exactly the same physics systems as in the next gen versions, but we have managed to maintain a certain level of physics in the game, although this feature is obviously not as advanced as for the next gen versions. Objects can be manipulated as in real life so you can choose to pick up anything from a chair, globe or rake to hit enemies or break objects such as doors. As mentioned earlier, fire can also be used on objects as a weapon or as a source of light as in the next gen versions.
IGN AU: At this stage, do you see a compilation of the original games in the series ever resurfacing? Perhaps on XBLA or on DS / PSP?
Maxime Loppin: I haven't heard anything at work with regards to this! But we are always open to new ideas. You'll have to stay tuned to see what else Alone in the Dark has in store for the future…
AU: Alone in the Dark on Wii Interview
Everything you need to know about the Wii version of the game.
by IGN Staff
Part 1 Of The Interview:[/U]
Australia, April 27, 2008 - We all know that the grand daddy of the survival horror genre – Alone in the Dark – is making a comeback, but most of the focus out there to date has been on the Xbox 360, PC and PS3 versions. But what about the Wii? Granted, Wii owners haven't had much luck with multi-system releases so far, with most ports being average at best, but will Alone in the Dark be different? We got in touch with Maxime Loppin, the Producer of Alone in the Dark Wii at Atari to find out.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IGN AU: For hardcore Wii fans who don't know the series or haven't been following this latest game on other platforms, what can they expect in terms of story and gameplay style?
Maxime Loppin: This is the first Alone in the Dark game coming out on the Wii, however there's no need to have played the previous games in the series on other platforms in order to fully enjoy this new instalment. The story will be the same on all platforms but one main variant will be the game experience as the controls have been specifically created for the Wii.
Just to talk a little about the new Alone in the Dark, we wanted to create a game that would live up to the legacy of innovation of the very first Alone in the Dark which means we wanted to break the constraints of genre and challenge what gamers expect from video games. We did this by creating an experience that's much broader than any one genre with a really rich mix of different gameplay and some bold innovations. We also wanted to create something that told a story in a really exciting and new way. We've created new gameplay which relies on the creativity of the player to create tools and weapons using his environment and the things in it, hence there's a level of interaction you won't see anywhere else based on real world rules.
The corridor of DOOM!
The Wii controls lend themselves perfectly to this form of gameplay and total immersion as the player's movements with the Wii-mote and Nunchuck replicate real-life movements. For example, I enjoy driving on the Wii because it really feels like you are gripping the steering wheel with the Wii controllers in each hand. You have to rotate them in order to turn, as you would in a real car. Other cool movements are twisting the Wii controllers to select correct wires, and bringing them together to hotwire a car.
Then for the gameplay there's big action set pieces, exploration, problem solving, driving and visceral combat, which all combines to give a varied experience which can appeal to a wide cross section of gamers.
IGN AU: The Wii has seen a number of lukewarm ports over its lifespan. What will be different about Alone in the Dark? Is it based on the PS2 version?
Maxime Loppin: At the beginning, the original design for the game was the same for all platforms, but was then adapted in order to maximise the potential and the unique features of each platform. Personally, I feel that Hydravision, who were in charge of developing the Wii and PS2 versions, did a particularly great job on the Wii.
The Wii version is more of an adaptation of the next gen versions rather than a direct port. In this sense, the controls are all unique to Alone in the Dark and lead to great immersive gameplay.
Our advice? Get the hell out of the city.
IGN AU: Will the content be functionally identical on Wii? Has anything had to be changed due to storage limitations, ratings concerns or anything like that?
Maxime Loppin: Yes, the content will function identically on the Wii as we felt it was key to keep all the next gen features on the Wii. However, the original game design was more tailored towards next gen consoles which are more powerful and have a lot more memory. This is why we consider the Wii version of the game as an adaptation because we adapted the features in order to make them work. A good example is the fire, which propagates dynamically in real time in the next gen games but, unfortunately, is technically impossible to achieve on the Wii. In order to keep this feature, we included fire which gives the impression of propagating dynamically, but in fact propagates in a scripted manner. As in the next gen game, the fire can be used according to its real world properties, such as setting fire to a chair or creating a lethal flamethrower.
Source: IGN: Alone In The Dark On Wii Interview P2
Part 2 Of The Interview:[/U]
IGN AU: Can you take us through how the Wii's unique control scheme been optimised for the game?
Maxime Loppin: For a start, we wanted to minimise the button pressing, so we've worked hard on getting the movements of the Remote and Nunchuck to replicate real-life movements. As such, the player needs to "mime" Carnby's on screen movements. This really does lend itself to complete immersion, one of the key features of the game. The real-time jacket inventory is a great example of immersion with no onscreen menus, and the player needs to move their hands apart as if opening up a real jacket in order to view the contents.
To optimise the Wii's unique control system, we also worked closely with Nintendo. They provided us with great feedback from their experience which really helped us to get the most out of the Wii controls.
Looks like the Wii game isn't missing much of the atmosphere of the other versions.
IGN AU: Do you think the Wii controls work better than the traditional controller set-up the other versions are using? Does it work well with the emergent gameplay elements?
Maxime Loppin: For the Wii, the lifelike movements with the Remote and Nunchuck make it excellent for emergent gameplay. It really feels like you are picking up objects or driving because the moves with the Wii exactly replicate the moves in real life. For the driving, which I particularly like, isn't it more fun to mimic driving gestures rather than simply moving a button from left to right?
IGN AU: How have you found the Wii's hardware to work with? What compromises have been made to the game's look, and in what areas were you pleasantly surprised?
Maxime Loppin: What makes a Wii game somewhat complicated to develop is the Remote and Nunchuk hardware. It's not so much how to make them work, but how to make them work accurately and smoothly with no interference in the controls. In order to achieve this, there was a lot of back and forth between the design team and programming team. You could have a great idea for the controls but you don't know whether it'll work until you have the Remote and Nunchuck in hand. There's a long in-game testing process before deciding whether to keep a control scheme or not. I'm pleasantly surprised that we could keep most of the original great ideas!
I'm also particularly pleased that we managed to maintain the deep level of immersion in the game, especially in terms of the streaming environment. This means that the player doesn't have to wait for the next sequence to load in order to continue playing. There's nothing worse than having to stop every few minutes when you're playing a game.
It was at this moment, in a poorly judged attempt at comedy, that Edward started singing Kumbaya... he was killed moments later.
IGN AU: Has the physics system made it into the game intact?
Maxime Loppin: It's technically impossible to have exactly the same physics systems as in the next gen versions, but we have managed to maintain a certain level of physics in the game, although this feature is obviously not as advanced as for the next gen versions. Objects can be manipulated as in real life so you can choose to pick up anything from a chair, globe or rake to hit enemies or break objects such as doors. As mentioned earlier, fire can also be used on objects as a weapon or as a source of light as in the next gen versions.
IGN AU: At this stage, do you see a compilation of the original games in the series ever resurfacing? Perhaps on XBLA or on DS / PSP?
Maxime Loppin: I haven't heard anything at work with regards to this! But we are always open to new ideas. You'll have to stay tuned to see what else Alone in the Dark has in store for the future…
