“Wanted was a perfect candidate because it had bullet curving, an entirely amazing and fun-looking mechanic that to me makes total sense to do a game based off the film.”
Wanted, last summer's most unusual action flick, drew in millions of viewers with a trailer that presented one crazy idea: that it is humanly possible to curve a bullet. Not everyone possesses the ability to perform this stunt. But those who do are a unique bunch that will ultimately kill one to save one thousand. Or make the ultimate sacrifice, if absolutely necessary.
Wanted: Weapons of Fate goes beyond the film's story and action sequences by bringing a new chapter – as well as gameplay mechanics that were inspired by the film – to Xbox 360 PS3 and PC. "[Wanted] is not your run of the mill movie-based game," said Producer Nick Torchia. "We do some really nice things in this game and think players are going to enjoy it. We made a third-person action game that is a great game first…and it happens to be based on a movie from last year."
Our interview follows along with an exclusive look at new screenshots from Wanted: Weapons of Fate.
Start by telling us about yourself: what you do, how you got involved with Universal Pictures and game development, and how you are specifically involved with the Wanted game/movie creations.
Nick Torchia: I am the producer of Wanted: Weapons of Fate. I got involved with Wanted over a year ago when I joined Universal from Warner Bros. Games. The company was looking for someone with next-gen gaming experience who would believe in doing something special for a movie-based game, so they brought me onboard to help run the project.
The funny thing is, I started my career with Universal Interactive Studios back in 2000. And here I am again, just on a different floor.
My job is to manage the developer, GRIN, on a day-to-day basis. I deal with game design, scheduling, testing, and all other facets of game development. There are just way too many of them to list.
Could you talk about the process of selecting a license (such as a comic book like Wanted) for use in a game and/or movie? What are the things that you look for as a producer?
NT: The first thing you have to look for is inherent gameplay mechanics. That is – by far – the most important thing to look for. If a movie or comic book doesn’t have some form of gameplay “hook” that you can instantly identify, then your job is going to be that much more difficult and it probably makes sense not to do it.
Wanted was a perfect candidate because it had bullet curving, an entirely amazing and fun-looking mechanic that to me makes total sense to do a game based off the film. No other game to date has this mechanic, so we knew that the game would stand out, not only from other more traditional movie-based titles, but also from other 3rd person games and action games in general. You always want to be doing things that innovate for the core gaming audience, so that when they look at the game, they see something compelling beyond just a movie-based licensed title.
What is the research process? Focus groups seem to be popular. Are you asking people: "Should we make this into a game, movie or both?" Do you conduct other forms of research?
NT: When we think about what films to turn into games, we try to approach such decisions with equal parts business rationale and creative passion. Obviously, a game needs to make business sense, and we will review sales of competitive games and talk to retail partners about what is working and what is not.
On the creative side, we want to make games that our in-house game producers are passionate about it. If you are going to spend two years or more of your life on a project, you want it to be something you really care about, and that is also where the innovation can come from.
That, in combination with what I spoke about above – proving that the license has something to offer that is different and exciting.
We do, however, have focus group tests on the concept of the game. We test features and mechanics to see which ones gamers like the most. It helps use with the blueprint for the final game.
Talking about the game now, Wanted: Weapons of Fate is going to bring some of the film's cool effects, such as bullet-curving, to the game world. Tell us about this, both from development and gameplay standpoints.
NT: Bullet curving was the most challenging aspect of development since, as I said, there are no other games that have this feature. We started from scratch with this mechanic and worked really hard through several iterations to find a way to make it a bit more challenging yet fun at the same time. The developer – GRIN – experimented with lots of ways to make curving fun for the player and we spent a great deal of time on making sure it is fun yet at the same time, accessible for all players.
Will you be able to control the bullet's path, or merely the angle at which it is shot?
NT: You control the angle and curve of the shot. We tried looking into controlling the entire bullet’s path, but it got really boring after ten minutes and was too gimmicky so we ditched it. It just takes too much time and is too clunky.
How will players take advantage of the Assassin Time feature?
NT: This is something I like to refer to as a “super bomb.” Meaning, in classic video games when the player was in deep trouble, there was always some sort of “super bomb” you could get that would destroy all the enemies on the screen, but you had to use it sparingly. Example: think about the special attacks in the old-school X-Men co-op side-scrolling arcade game – when you and your buddies got inundated with the spitting flowers, who didn’t use Storm’s whirlwind or Colossus’ roar to clear ‘em all out at once? We all did!
With assassin time we treat it kind of like that -- when the action gets too heavy and intense and you find yourself completely overwhelmed by enemy forces, you can use Assassin Time to take out multiple enemies in a bad-ass, slow-mo acrobatic way. But be warned, you should use it only when you have to because you can’t use it all the time.
Can you detail some of the acrobatic moves we'll be able to perform?
NT: In Wanted, the characters move from point-to-point in a very graceful, yet acrobatic manner. This is how the top assassins move so they can’t be hit and can surprise enemies and targets.
In the game, you can mimic this quick movement from point-to-point with a simple press of the button through our chaining cover system. We wanted to make the player feel like they can do anything and go anywhere, so you can slide over objects, around and move from side to side. We really give the player a nice sense of freedom when moving.
What are the finishing mechanics?
NT: We kept this mechanic very simple and straightforward for the player. In most 3rd person games, it gets frustrating when enemies are right next to you – you have to back off, find your line of fire and then shoot them.
So, we added in the knife and some sweet close-range finishing moves to allow players - with the simple press of the button – to execute a killing move. We have a nice variety of moves, such as stabbing in the nuts as well as kneeing in the face. You know, all the core specialties!
Are there any other moves/mechanics being included that are uniquely from the world of Wanted?
NT: Besides the curve mechanic, the idea of cover was inspired from the film. There were parts in the film where the assassin appeared out of nowhere, so we used that idea for fast chaining cover where the player moves from cover to cover, while at the same time gathering up speed and momentum. It is a nice twist on the cover mechanic.
How are the stealth aspects going to work? Is it somewhat of a Metal Gear Solid/Splinter Cell experience?
NT: This is a run-and-gun game. We wanted to make a fast-action shooting title that is really in your face. Those games like Metal Gear have done a tremendous job on making stealth games, so we leave that for those guys. We just want lots of action, lots of motion and big explosions. Our stealth isn’t about sneaking around and hiding in shadows for five minutes counting the seconds until an enemy turns his back. Frankly, that’s not the way the assassins in Wanted operate; Fraternity assassins bust your ass quickly, not by putting you to sleep.
In our game, “stealth” – if you can even call it that – is about using your advanced abilities in concert with one another. For example, you can get into cover, blind fire over the top to force your enemies behind their own defenses and then explode out of your spot using chaining cover, moving from point-to-point so quickly that the enemies lose track of your position until your are suddenly directly behind them, sliding your knife across their throat or using them as meat shields.
What will the cover system be like?
NT: I’ve covered this a little bit, but cover in Wanted: Weapons of Fate is very fast and smooth. Gears of War has the best cover-based system in the business, and we’d love to have been able to just copy it (kidding!), but it just doesn’t fit Wesley, our lead character.
Wesley is light, fast and acrobatic while Marcus is gigantic and bulky. We knew we had to innovate on cover to create something different and the franchise demanded that movements of our assassins be fast and totally unique. We didn’t want to just copy another cover-based title, all of us wanted to do something fresh and new so players will find our game to be different and compelling.
How will the Wanted video game expand on the film's storyline?
NT: Think of this as Wanted 1.5. It is what we call a fiction extension and takes place about five hours after the end of the film. Games that do the whole “play the move and see the movie” routine need to get with the times and go in a different direction. Players want something new, something that will make the feel part of this world and you can’t do that when you keep the same story. So we went in a new direction for this game and that also allows us creative freedom with level design, new characters and new enemies. The film’s plot followed Wesley as he tried to uncover information about his father; the game follows him as he searches for the truth surrounding his mother.
Which villains are returning? Are there any new threats?
NT: There are characters from the film, not necessarily villains, returning the film. Thomas Kretschmman is back as Cross and Terence Stamp as Pekwarsky.
As we are telling a new story in Wanted mythology there are plenty of new villains from rival Fraternity chapters introduced in the game. We have a very dangerous, very sexy assassin called Arana, who is played by Paz Vega. And our main boss, The Immortal, who is the head of the Paris Fraternity, is also a very intriguing new character. He is played by Peter Stormare.
Almost 98% of our game is packed with new characters. That was really fun to make new characters in this Wanted universe.
