MechAssault 2: Day 1 Studios Interview

Day 1 Studios chief Denny Thorley reveals all on this huge Xbox Live sequel, discusses company plans, next-gen, and handheld tidbits.

Page: 1  2  3 

Page 3

Kikizo: Yes, it's cool. From a marketing perspective, how will you be positioning the title - what do you hope will make it stand out?

Thorley: The gameplay is what's going to make it stand out. We've got an enormous following on Live; we've added enormous breadth to the singleplayer game. So we have a fairly reasonable installed base that we think a lot of people are going to pick it up. Microsoft has got some hits that are coming, I am sure you haven't heard of a small title called Halo 2. We also think that with Electronic Arts joining on the Xbox Live side of things, and with the expected success of Halo 2 in terms of expanding the Xbox Live audience, that will bode well for us as well. We think we've got a very, very compelling Live feature set that will appeal to those who are new to the Live service.

Kikizo: And what do you think Day 1 Studios will be moving on to after this game's release - will it stick closely to the MechAssault series?

Thorley: Well I can't comment on stuff we haven't announced yet, but we're very happy with out relationship with Microsoft; we feel that between the power of the hardware that they create and the freedom that they give us as a studio, that we're able to create our best products. So I think - well I can't tell you specifically what's going to happen - I think you'll be pretty excited, because the box is enormously more powerful than the competitor's box, and we can do some pretty interesting things, so we're pretty excited about what the future holds.

Kikizo: But it's still an independent developer at the moment?

Thorley: We are independent yes, and we have a multiple title deal with Microsoft. We are independent, but so far, so good. They've got tremendous vision, and you know Xbox Live we were very fortunate to work closely with those people, so that the things that we wanted to do in the game, they incorporated into Live and they released 3.0 with the product. I think you're going to see with the Conquest idea - which is a pretty novel ideal - on console you'll see some stuff similar to that, and on the PC, but this is still very accessible. It's a very quick play kind of thing; it's not like massively multiplayer persistent universes - we call it semi-persistent, so it's very easy and accessible, and we really think that's going to be an interesting market for us to play in.

Kikizo: So this multi-title deal you have with Microsoft, how many more titles are there, after MechAssault 2?

Thorley: There are a couple more titles...

Kikizo: And are they Xbox games?

Thorley: I can't say specifically about the platform... [smiles]

Kikizo: OK, but just talking generally, obviously the next generation machines are approaching now - what do you think is most exciting as a developer about this new technology that's coming?

Thorley: Well I think the obvious answer would be that the graphics are going to be unbelievable, but the graphics have to be great. I think what it allows us to do is make some very interesting gameplay choices. I think we're going to be able to get into modes, particularly as the high definition televisions proliferate, that we're going to be able to create much more interesting characters, much more interesting story, and so we're really excited about that. It's going to be an area where you'll see gamers interacting with the machines in a much different manner. So to start of it'll be oh, gee whiz, really cool graphics. But eventually I think the direction it'll go is we'll be able to make the player feel differently about things, we'll able to get players to invest for a longer period of time in a specific type of game, so we're real excited about that.

Kikizo: And just one final sort of hot topic at the moment is the launch of these two handhelds that are coming out, what are your personal thoughts on the PSP and the DS?

Thorley: It's an exciting time; I think the more that people want to interact, the better it is for our whole industry if you will. So I'm pretty excited about it, I'm anxious to see how both of them do because the price points are creeping up, and it will be interesting to see how they both do on battery life - that's an interesting proposition. But I love the fact that people are going to be able to take their gaming habits with them, at a much higher fidelity than has been done before.

Kikizo: Denny, thanks very much for your time, we appreciate it, and good luck with the launch of the game.

Thorley: I appreciate your time, thanks!

MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf is released on December 28th in the US and on February 4th in Europe.

Adam Doree
Director, Kikizo.com

Page: 1  2  3