Well, they’re entertaining, short, and to the point. There’s nothing wrong with a cut-scene in a videogame now and then, as long as they’re well-written and acted, and I believe we’ve done a very good job with ours.
What multiplay modes are you able to talk about? I played the co-op mode at E3, but what other modes are definitely going to be included? And will there be a level editor?
We will feature co-op and versus modes. 'Versus' features the COG (humans) versus the Locust (monsters.) The matches are essentially a game of hide and go kill; the cover dynamic coupled with the Active Reload minigame (which allows you to reload your gun faster!) really turn the shooter genre on its ear. No level editor will be shipping with the game.
I have not had any hands-on with any console outside of the Xbox 360 because I’ve been slaving over this game for the past two years.
What third-party games are you able to talk about that are under development which will use Unreal Engine 3?
The latest Splinter Cell looks amazing. Ubisoft continues to knock those games out of the park; they’re just stellar!
We don’t like to compartmentalize our games by itemizing the number of levels or weapons or foes; rest assured the game will be a rollercoaster of a great experience that will be well worth the money.
Do you have any form of contact or collaboration with Bungie?
Bungie and Epic have quarterly beach volleyball tournaments that look right out of the movie Top Gun.
I think this is more of an apples to oranges comparison. There’s no shortage of shooter fans out there; sometimes I like playing an MMO, other times a shooter. As far as building an MMO, we’ve never considered it but we’re fans of the genre. I think some of the guys here are in rehab after a few serious World of Warcraft addictions!
Will there be a PC version of Gears of War? If so, do you have any idea when it might emerge, and how it will differ from the Xbox 360 version?
We’re working on getting every last ounce out of the Xbox360 at this point in time and not worrying about other platforms - so for now this is a 360-only game.
I like the Longshot; it’s our high-tech yet still bolt-action sniper rifle. One-shot headshots cause quite a mess, along with a satisfying popping sound.
Can you tell us why Roadie-Running is so named?
Well, going to rock concerts, the fellas responsible for making sure the thing actually goes on are called roadies. They take care of all the technical stuff onstage and wear black and prefer if you didn’t notice them. When they have to move onstage they do a crouching run, much like a soldier, which is why this move was dubbed the Roadie Run.
We’re using a fair amount of the system now that we’re on our new renderer. That said, this is a powerful system - who knows what else this beast is capable of for future games or Unreal Engine 3 developers!
You have said that it won’t be possible to shoot Marcus’ sidekick, Dom. Can you tell us more about that?
Well, you can shoot him and he’ll complain. You just can’t kill him. How do you do Lethal Weapon if Mel Gibson can turn to Danny Glover and cap him in the first scene? You can’t. So we as designers use gameisms to work around these inconsistencies. It was either that or we let you kill him and make it a fail condition. We went with the lesser of two evils.