Hector Sanchez: [Laughs] Yeah, well... I don’t want to say it, but I guess we’re kind of a kooky studio [laughs]! We have a pretty weird sense of humour and a different way of looking at things. I think that DC fostered that and wanted us to do something like this. To take their characters and give them an edge that hasn’t been explored yet.
Injustice is a pretty original storyline. It’s very dark. You saw the opening cinematic with Superman killing the Joker. That’s something that I don’t think has ever been done in comics before - where things get that dark so quickly. That’s kind of the Netherrealm touch that they wanted us to add. And DC liked it so much that they developed a comic line that was based on our story. So the Injustice comics are something of a prequel to the game.
That’s nuts for us - a comic book based on our game, which was based on their comic books in the first place. It’s a completely circular thing. But it’s cool, especially when we get to actually see that book, based on a story that we had a hand in creating... to see the sales of it and people going crazy for it, helping build anticipation for the game... it’s hard to put into words. To know we’ve created a Superman story that nobody has ever seen before... so few people get to do that, and we’re just really lucky and fortunate to be a part of this.
Hector Sanchez: Yeah. I mean, you saw it with Arkham [Asylum/City] and the Rocksteady guys. They made a really cool story as well. You’re seeing the same thing with us. It’s definitely a time of change at DC, they’re really starting to open up. They’re starting to see that a fresh take on these characters is what people want.
People know the backstory of Batman and Superman, but they enjoy these side-stories - things like Infinite Crisis and Kingdom Come - where you see the characters in a different light. Like I said, we’re just so fortunate that we had a chance to put on our own thing there too.
Hector Sanchez: I think what’s happening is that our generation is ‘coming into power’, I suppose, in regards to design, story and creative choices. Our generation growing up, we were exposed to so many different things - including access to M-rated material early on in our lives. We were perhaps, as a result, more accepting of things than people a generation or two ago, where they were a bit more conservative.
It was just a cultural shift, of Generation X and Generation Y growing up, and now we’re becoming the taste-makers and making creative decisions, you’re seeing an overall influence of these different things going into gaming and even popular culture. We’re doing what we think is cool.
Of course, in 15 years kids will say how these games are stupid and lame [laughs] and they’ll come up with a new outlet that will be an amalgamation of all the things they were influenced by.
Hector Sanchez: Yeah, it was a crazy time. Actually, the reboot of Mortal Kombat is a perfect example of what I was saying before. When I was 13 years old and the first MK came out, I was really shocked. It was the craziest, most ridiculous thing in the world.
Now, 20 years later, working on the reboot, we wanted to go back to that. Back to 2D, back to the original characters and tell those stories all over again, because that was what drew us to that franchise in the first place.
That was how the cycle came back around, because a lot of people in the team went to Ed [Boon] and told him that we wanted to take MK back to its roots. It resonated with a lot of fans. Hopefully we’re doing the same thing with Injustice - creating a new storyline for established characters.
Hector Sanchez: Balancing fighting games is one of the dark arts of the game industry. It’s a skill that very few people have, and we’re fortunate to have a very strong design team that understands it. We all play fighting games - Namco, Capcom, SNK games - and from just understanding the scene and what the regular rules are, we make sure we create a game that is enjoyable and isn’t balance-broken.
SPOnG: Do you see Injustice hitting PS4 and other next-gen systems?
Hector Sanchez: Well, we haven’t really talked about next-gen that much. We’ve only been paying attention to it as a side thing, because we’ve been focused on getting Injustice out. But after hearing Sony is promising - and I’m sure other companies will be making their announcements soon - it’s definitely a fun time right now. A transition shift is always a fun and exciting time.
We got a bit of a leg up, because we’re also releasing on Wii U and were able to work on new and emerging technology during our development. So our team learned how to be nimble and agile, in figuring out how to develop for a system that’s growing as you’re making a game. We’re lucky that we were able to have that experience, and will be ready for whatever the next generation offers.
But we don’t have any concrete plans right now. We’re just waiting for all the information to become available so that we can sit down and formulate a plan. It affects everyone in the studio - everyone’s going to have to switch over, and we’re going to have to change our mindset. But for right now, our focus is mainly on Injustice and supporting it for as long as the fans do.
Hector Sanchez: To me, one of the coolest things is the streaming aspect. The share button on the PS4 controller. As a fighting game player and developer, I think that’s one of the coolest things that’s out there.
To be able to pop in and watch you play and see your play style, or look at some kid in Vietnam who’s the number 1 Batman player in the world... to one day to just be able to watch a stream in real-time, and maybe even challenge him... for a fighting game studio, that’s one of the coolest things in the world.
We will be able to see people playing the game in real time in different ways that we couldn’t imagine. And maybe adjust our game design in the future for that.
SPOnG: Thank you very much for your time.
Hector Sanchez: Thank you!