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| Exclusive: Ultimate Spider-Man Interview | // article |
| XCN: Hi Chris could you please introduce yourself and tell our readers what your role is on the project? CB: My name is Chris Busse, and I am the Creative Director on the project. XCN: There have been a number of hero games on consoles what made you decide to go with Spider-Man? CB: We feel Spider-Man is a character that resonates with people all over the globe. He's a person first and a Super Hero second. When you see him make sacrifices, you can picture the real difficulty he's placing himself in and can almost picture yourself in his place. XCN: The game looks like it returns to its comic book roots why this decision was made rather than going for more realism which seems to be popular these days? CB: This game was going to be based on the Ultimate license and it just felt incongruous to try and have this very realistic look matched up to the very cool stylized look of the comic book. Making a stylized looking game seemed like a very cool challenge, and sometimes it feels good to go in the opposite direction of the herd. XCN: This is the third Spider-Man game that Treyarch have worked on, by now you must be very comfortable with the web slinger, what new features can gamers expect on this new title? CB: We wanted to take a new look at Spider-Man, which this extends far beyond the look of the game. While players can expect to see the return of the physics based web-slinging, we've completely re-worked his locomotion and combat systems. You also get to play about half the story as Venom, who has is own unique locomotion and combat. XCN: How will playing as Venom be different to playing as Spider-Man? CB: The short answer: In all ways. Venom is the Peanut Butter to Spider-Man's Chocolate. Venom is huge and hulking, powerful and just barely in control: Spider-Man is quick and agile, smooth and with just the right move. While we've brought a similar set of controls to Venom, the feel and play of Venom is completely different. We're hoping people get two totally different play experiences out of each of them. XCN: Swinging around the cities on your webs was one of the most fun parts of Spider-Man 2, how have you improved this system in Ultimate Spider-Man? CB: We've made it more accessible than in the previous attempt. Ultimate is more about experiencing Spider-Man than mindfully concentrating on pushing the left stick as you hold down the jump button: it's still very easy to get "lost" in just swinging around the city. I liken it to surfing, you get into this almost zen state where you don't even remember that you are moving Spider-Man with the controller, but you are just moving from this web line to a jump to that building... it's mesmerizing. XCN: We were really pleased to see a great comic book look to Ultimate Spider-Man when we saw it at E3. You mention "3D comic inking technology", could you tell us a little about this? CB: 3D Comic Inking is a series of shaders that we use to recreate the look and feel of the Ultimate Spider-Man line of comic books. We're trying to recreate not just a cel-shaded look, but rather the look of a modern INKED comic. The key is in the inking. You get these very cool interior inking looks that move in 3D across the character as they turn, that react to light sources in the world. There are times when the game looks like a panel lifted straight from the books. XCN: Will any of the characters from the previous games and Spider-Man comics be making an appearance? CB: Yes and no. This is the Ultimate universe, which is a different incarnation that the experience of the movies or the original Amazing Spider-Man line of comic books. So, while you'll see Peter Parker, Mary Jane Watson, Rhino, Electro, Nick Fury and many more (more interactive Marvel characters than any Spider-Man game to date actually), they are not exactly like the movie or the Amazing Spider-Man comic book versions that some people may be used to. XCN: Thank you for taking the time to chat with us today, we wish you all the best with Ultimate Spider-Man and your future projects. CB: Thank you! I hope you and your readers enjoy Ultimate Spider-Man. | |
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