Interviews// Just Cause 2: The Interview Part 2

SPOnG: Just Cause 2 is set in South East Asia this time around, what was the appeal in sending Rico to this location?

Peter Johansson: We really wanted to use a good area where we could create these different kinds of climate zones (laughs). So the game will have arctic areas, paradise beaches and deserts for example. That's basically why we chose South East Asia. We didn't want to do just jungles again, so we got a bit more variety out of the location this time.

Panau is actually influenced on various different cultures, so there are Malai, Chinese and Japanese influences that will also affect the architecture in different parts of the country. You'll notice that in different climate zones you get different types of farming and industrial districts too.


SPOnG: Was it a challenge to recreate the same open world experience from scratch while avoiding things like glitches and bugs?

Peter Johansson: Doing this huge world is definitely a challenge - I mean the bugs aren't really an issue now as that was one of the main things we tackled in rewriting the base code from scratch, but allowing the player to travel anywhere by any means necessary is quite difficult in itself.

Even small things like transport, using the grappling hook and all the cars in the game you can get to just about anywhere you want at any given time. In another game you would probably be confronted with an invisible wall that prevents you from travelling to specific locations - there might be a forest that blocks you from going to the other side of the map but in Just Cause 2 you can enter that forest and go anywhere you like.

So, it's definitely a challenge but as a game designer it's also an opportunity - you need to start thinking about problems like that and making use of the issues presented to you to form an open world solution, because that's something that makes up a game like Just Cause 2. You can use these situations to your advantage, and use a bit of imagination to allow the player to overcome obstacles in the world map, rather than putting an artificial wall or limit on it.


SPOnG: You can pick up items in the game world and use them to trade on the black market - is there scope for players to trade these items between one another online?

Peter Johansson: Actually, we don't have that. That's a nice idea though, that would be fun. We have a lot of ideas with how we can do multi-player in the future for Just Cause… the Just Cause franchise, not Just Cause 2 (laughs).


SPOnG: Ah, so are there any plans for DLC at all in the future?

Peter Johansson: DLC, yes, perhaps. I can't talk too much about DLC, but in terms of the general franchise and multiplayer, we're looking into how we can do that. Just not in Just Cause 2! (laughs)


SPOnG: With creative games like Mirror's Edge, LittleBigPlanet and Just Cause 2 being quite high-profile titles, do you think we'll see a return of the Amiga days when European developers shone in the industry? In recent years we've seen Japan, America and Canada be more prominent in that field. Could Europe take it back?

Peter Johansson: I think so, yeah, but it comes around in cycles really. I mean Europe seems to be coming back again because in the Scandinavian area - and the UK development scene too - there are a lot of guys who are very technology-driven and passionate about making games. There are people joining the industry now who used to make games on the Amiga or Commodore 64, and they're finding the methods to compete on these multi-million pound projects at last, so I think we'll start to see a small resurgence in European talent.


SPOnG: Peter, thanks for your time.

Peter Johansson: My pleasure, thank you.