Nieuws: Scarface interview
Door Joni Philips op 24-06-2005 om 13:59
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Bron: CVG
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Steeds vaker worden films omgezet naar een game. Waren dat enige tijd geleden nog vooral films die pas net hun weg naar het doek gevonden hadden, daar worden de laatste tijd steeds meer oude games gebruikt. Naast bijvoorbeeld The Godfater komt Scarface ook met zijn eigen game.
Scarface is gebaseerd op de gelijknamige klassieker van Brian De Palma uit 1983. De game zal worden ontwikkeld door Radical Games en moet nog dit jaar uitkomen. De speler zal in de voetsporen treden van de legendarische Tony Montana. David McKenna (screenwriter van American History X) neemt de verhaallijn voor zijn rekening. De game zal verschijnen op de PlayStation 2, de Xbox, Xbox 360 en de PC.
How enjoyable has it been working on the project, and how rewarding is it working with the legendary Scarface licence?
Mike Lopez: Oh, extremely. As huge Scarface fans our team is on the one hand very concerned with delivering a very authentic Tony Montana experience, and at the same we've applied some very strong gameplay mechanics. We're not seeking to do anything outside the conventions of what people expect from the Scarface universe, but we are making sure that our gameplay is accessible enough for non-gamers but has enough layers of depth for hardcore gamers. Skilled gamers will be able to pull off much cooler things, and they'll be rewarded for that in true Tony style - exotic unlockables like sports cars and huge yachts.
Everything comes together under an umbrella we call Reputation. Reputation follows Tony's empire building. With a low Rep he's nothing. But as he begins to take back his empire his Rep grows, and that's bolstered by the way you play the game. So the gamer is being constantly rewarded for his actions. You could just use the lock and shoot system, but if you manually target enemies you get more Reputation and more rewards. And if you pull off massive jumps or powerslides in your cars you'll be rewarded.
It was recently announced that the game has been delayed to 2006, and next-gen versions were mentioned. What next-gen consoles are you working on?
Mike Lopez: We're definitely looking at next-gen for launch but I can't comment on which platforms. Not necessarily all of them, though.
You've mentioned that you want to stay true to the movie, but the game's premise is built on the fact that Tony survives the legendary shoot-out at the end of the film. Why did you make that decision?
Mike Lopez: Well, the end of the movie is Tony's downfall because of his conflicting values. He has very strong beliefs and a strong value system - he talks about his loyalty, how his word means everything to him. His family's very important to him, too - he's psychotically protective of his sister and it cuts deep when his mother shuns him. We had to make sure those were the things we stayed true to, while avoiding the cataclysmic downfall that they cause at the end of the film.
I feel pretty good about the direction we've taken. It's not like we've said "let's move him to Vegas and make him a car salesman" or something dumb like that. We've kept it within Miami and the outlying islands, we've added a lot of historical reference from the drug trafficking of the early eighties in that part of the world, and overall I think we're staying true to the Scarface universe.
So you're allowing the player to shape Tony's destiny, but just how free is the player to do what they want in the world?
Mike Lopez: They're completely free. What the game will do is notify the user that they have missions and challenges available, but it's not going to force you into them. Other games throw you from mission to mission and you might have a huge gameworld, but if you can't explore it and enjoy it there's no point. So at the end of every mission in Scarface we break and say "there's another mission over here if you want it, but take you time."
That's where the underlying structure of Drug Wars comes in. This lets you choose what kind of deals you want to do, and what drug dealers you want to do business with. Or you can just explore. You can race around in your sports car and stir up some trouble with the police, or go looking for some bad guys for a street shoot out.
So give us some examples of things players can do as they free-roam.
Mike Lopez: You can explore anywhere you want by motor vehicle or boat. Later in the game you also unlock a seaplane that lets you fly around the outlying islands, but if you try and bring it back to Miami you'll get shot down by the DEA. We've got a lot of stunts and jump opportunities, and our vehicle handling is very gratifying. We're not trying to be the most in-depth simulation ever. We're trying to pick out the most fun things about driving. Me and you will never get the chance to test drive that $150,000 speedboat, but if Tony can get his hands on it it's going to be a lot of fun.
And our vehicle combat is really fun. We've implemented a system where you're balancing two things at once - controlling your vehicle and shooting at your enemies. Concentrating more on one than the other will mean something suffers, so that's a cool risk/reward structure. The camera moves totally 360 degrees, so you could be looking behind you, shooting at your enemies, but not knowing what you're about to run into!
How does that work from a control point of view?
Mike Lopez: One analogue stick controls the camera so you can look around your vehicle whenever you want. When you spot a threat you can lock onto it, keeping the camera steady as you control the car - and filling your target with lead. You can even lock onto specific parts of the car, so you could concentrate on taking out the engine, or popping the tyres. We're really pleased with it. At a basic level it's an on-foot combat game first and a vehicle combat game second, but we think it'll be an important part of the gameplay.
What can Tony do on-foot? Can he jack cars, GTA-style?
Mike Lopez: On foot you can run around, do deals, earn money and build your rep. Tony can steal any car he wants to from the streets, but most of the cars are pretty boring. We want players to aspire to the exotic cars and boats that Tony can only buy with his wealth. Once he's bought them he can whip out this big eighties' brick cellphone and call one of his minions to drop the vehicle off. That really gives you a sense of power!
What about weapons?
Mike Lopez: One thing we didn't want to do was let the player carry lots of different weapons at once. So we've got four specific weapon slots that the player must balance. Before he goes on a mission, for example, he's got to think about which guns are most suitable. Your weapon stash is accessible at any time at Tony's mansion or in the trunk of any car he owns.
And how does the combat work on foot?
Mike Lopez: It's third-person with a lock-on system, but players will be rewarded more if they either manually aim at enemies or use the lock-on system to fine tune their aim. That way they can take out specific body parts. That builds your Rep and also causes Tony to insult his opponents in his classic style, so that's a nice instant reward for players.
There's also a more strategic side to the game as you rebuild Tony's empire. Can you tell us more about that?
Mike Lopez: In Scarface, Miami is organised into four main Turfs. Each Turf has a number of business fronts and one storehouse. Missions are congregated around these businesses and storehouses, like Tony might have to do something to befriend a business manager. If he completes that mission he might build his Rep to a level where he can buy the business.
Every business has a legitimate and illegal purpose. Yeah, it's a doughnut shop, but it's also running drugs out the back door. The great thing about spreading your business empire is that you no longer have to deal with the drug dealers individually. You can start automating and delegating, with your drugs going through your business fronts.
So buying businesses builds Reputation, and Reputation lets you buy bigger and better businesses. Once you own all the businesses and the store house in an area you own the Turf, and when you own all four Turfs the world is yours!
So as you expand your Empire you earn more money to spend on the trappings of wealth. Tell us how the Exotics Catalogue works.
Mike Lopez: Spending is something you have to do in Scarface. Tony's not about saving for a rainy day. Spending money builds Reputation. You don't need to buy everything, but you'll certainly be encouraged to because the more you buy the more you unlock. I don't want to go into the specific numbers, but we're talking about 20 sports cars, a couple of huge trucks for transporting stuff and smashing traffic out of the way, about eight exotic speedboats and other things to display his wealth in his mansion like antiques and the stuffed tiger from the movie. There are also upgrades that have more functional uses, like making weapons more powerful.
Speaking of Tony's mansion, do you upgrade your house as the game progresses?
Mike Lopez: Actually, no. After the shoot-out at Tony's mansion at the start of the game the house is totally destroyed. It's then off limits for the first part of the game because the cops have seized it. So Tony has to track down a couple of corrupt vice cops and bribe them to get the mansion back. But it's destroyed, right? So as you build your Reputation and wealth Tony can repair and decorate the house in the style he's accustomed to.
You've secured Pacino's likeness for the game, but not his voice. Was that disappointing?
Mike Lopez: Well, Pacino's in his sixties now, he doesn't sound like the twenty-something Tony Montana any more. But we worked very closely with the Pacino Group to approve a voice sound-a-like, somebody that sounds like Tony Montana 25 years ago. We've also got a voice coach working with the actor, so I think the player will be really happy with the end result.
We've also got dialogue from Robert Loggia and Steven Bauer who played Frank and Manny in the movie - they play different characters in the game, obviously - and James Woods. We've got Jay Mohr and Cheech and Chong who all have some really funny ad-libbed stuff in there. For us the music and the dialogue are both hugely important for the atmosphere and authenticity of the game.
Will you be taking classic lines from the movie?
Mike Lopez: Sure! We have over 30,000 lines of dialogue for all characters, but Tony's interaction with other characters forms the majority of that. In combat most of the lines are from the movie, but we also expand on that.
GTA: Vice City has already done the whole Miami thing, and the middle part of that game essentially was the Scarface experience. What are you doing that's different and better?
Mike Lopez: Well, I think if you suggested a Scarface sequel without Tony Montana you'd probably get punched in the eye. We have so many references to the original movie. We're delivering on the authenticity of the Tony Montana experience; we're bringing the real Scarface universe. We've also learned a lot from other open world games. Some of them have huge worlds with very little gameplay. So we're not too worried about having the biggest or the most original gameworld. We're focussed on ensuring that every sector of our gameworld is stuffed with satisfying gameplay. If I just want to do stunts, I can. If I just want to shoot people, I can. If I just want to explore and find hidden stuff, I can.
Miami itself has had a lot of videogame attention recently - Driver 3 is another example of a game set there. How have you approached recreating the city?
Mike Lopez: We've taken the approach that the most important thing is to deliver on the look and feel of Miami and the fun of the gameplay. Topographic reality is not the most important thing. Fun is. So we've come up with a fictionalised world and a fictionalised Miami that still delivers on the authenticity of the city in the eighties.
EA are working on a Godfather game that will come out at a similar time to yours. They're both old movies - does it worry you that some gamers won't be old enough to have experienced them?
Mike Lopez: Actually, no. I think Scarface in particular is in a very unique position, because Tony Montana has reached so many different people. He's an icon - he's better known now than he was in the years following the movie's release. The movie was not a major blockbuster success. It's gained legendary status mostly through its connection with the hip-hop community. That adoption means that most young adults know who Tony is, even if they haven't seen the movie.
In the case of the Godfather, however, we feel it doesn't really hit the demographic we're aiming for. People will probably have heard of it, but they won't necessarily connect with this 'old man mafia' movie. You know, period music from the thirties isn't going to excite many game players.
Finally, how would you convince Scarface fans that the game is going to satisfy them?
Mike Lopez: I think they're going to have to experience it for themselves. I could tell them it's authentic, I can say we have the licenses, dialogue, animations and likenesses, but at the end of the day the Scarface fan is going to have to experience it for themselves. I think they'll be pleasantly surprised. Some of the initial criticism is that we're changing the ending of the movie, but we don't feel fans want to experience the movie again. They want something new that still stays true to the Scarface universe.
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 10:30 Nintendo Revolution advertenties?
 13:51 Soul Calibur III screens
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Gast (84.194.46.xxx)
op 24-06-2005 om 14:21
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wij spreken tog geen focking engels sukkels wij spreken nederlands :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :(
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Gast (81.165.202.xxx)
op 24-06-2005 om 14:39
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ja maar hij niet
noob
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Rene Groen
(Eindredacteur)
op 24-06-2005 om 15:31
[Niv: 752 / Exp: 37605]
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@ Eerste gast: Ik denk dat wanneer de beste meneer Lopez Nederlands zou praten je er helemaal niets van zou begrijpen. Zo moeilijk Engels is het nou ook weer niet
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Cubic X
op 24-06-2005 om 16:48
[Niv: 203 / Exp: 10171]
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lol,wat is er moeilijk aan engels?
het is een wereld taal,word leuk als jij op school engels hebt/krijgt 
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shimiya
op 24-06-2005 om 17:48
[Niv: 12 / Exp: 596]
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Lijkt me een hele klus om zo iets te vertallen ^_^"
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Gast (81.204.89.xxx)
op 24-06-2005 om 19:29
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@ eerste gast
Wij spreken Nederlands ja, maar niet zo beroerd als jij!
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thabomb
op 24-06-2005 om 21:45
[Niv: 24 / Exp: 1195]
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cool interview, en ben best benieuwd naar de game... 
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Ness
op 25-06-2005 om 12:37
[Niv: 41 / Exp: 2049]
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Buiten dat mr. Lopez geen nederlands spreekt is het inderdaad neit zo moeilijk om engels te lezen...
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Gast (195.240.6.xxx)
op 26-06-2005 om 12:25
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The world is yours
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