Interviews// Call of Juarez: The Cartel

With all the mouth-flapping fanservice being given to hypermarketed zombie games, it’s easy to forget that Techland actually has another game in the pipeline.

However, the third instalment of its long-running Call of Juarez franchise. But fans who have a special place in their heart for the Wild West first-person shooter series may be surprised to find that everything looks a bit… different.

Call of Juarez: The Cartel takes place in a modern-day world, but still aims to maintain the best of the sensibilities of the Wild West. We’re not entirely sure how this balance will seek to satisfy fans of the franchise and feel fresh without looking like it’s pandering to the FPS trend of ‘modernising’ everything, so I had a nice chat with Techland’s project coordinator, Blazej Krakowiak, to learn more about the rootin’ tootin’ bling bling-athon.


SPOnG: Call of Juarez has been a traditional Wild West shooter in the past. Why did you decide to take this modern day direction? Do you still have confidence in the traditional Wild West setting? Is the change a reaction to a less-than-expected reception to previous Call of Juarez games?

Blazej Krakowiak: Both Techland and Ubisoft were very happy with the reception and performance of the previous Call of Juarez titles. We simply wanted to explore new directions for the franchise and give the players something new once again. You should remember that when we started making our first Wild West FPS with a mature, serious story, some people were just as surprised by our decision.

With our experience crafting a Western mood and feel as well as characters which fit the genre so well, we knew that the Wild West was more about the spirit and attitude than just a specific time and place. Between modern day Los Angeles and Juarez in Mexico you can still find those classic, recognizable landscapes the fans of the series know so well. There's a road or a motel here and there but outside of the city limits the feeling of freedom is still present.

Lawlessness is also an important part of the Western and I don't think that you need any proof of that. A lawless world needs gunslingers, strong, dark characters who have their own ideas for justice and order. The most interesting characters in the classic Western are never knights in shining armor or outright villains. They have flaws but they struggle to make things right at least according to their world view. Of course in our games story plays a more important role than usual in the FPS genre. We want to keep it that way in The Cartel, offering players a compelling tale with a dark, mature tone.

Keeping the key elements of the Wild West is just the beginning: we also have many new exciting possibilities offered by the modern setting. We can use more varied environments, we get vehicles which allow us to travel quickly and add more action-packed segments and, last but definitely not least, we gain access to the contemporary weapons, much more varied and powerful than the trusty sixshooter.


SPOnG: Red Dead Redemption proved last year that Western games still command a significant audience. Do you think The Cartel's change in setting will limit the appeal from that audience? Do you intend to attract a different audience with this game?

Blazej Krakowiak: Call of Juarez: The Cartel is a Western, this is how we see it, this is the idea which we keep in mind while working on the game and we hope to convince the faithful fans of the genre to trust us and try this new and interesting take in their favorite setting. At the same time with all the additions which we owe to the modern reality, we hope to attract new gamers to the series by offering them an action-packed FPS with a great story and characters.


SPOnG: With a modern day setting, how will you reference the significance of Mexican criminal Juan 'Juarez' Mendoza, or any of the characters in previous Call of Juarez titles such as the McCall brothers?

Blazej Krakowiak: The Cartel is a standalone story, keeping the spirit of the franchise alive but not making too many direct references. One of the characters, Ben McCall is someone we consider a spiritual successor of Ray but that's fan service. We're proud of the previous two games and we may have some little tributes and easter eggs hidden here and there but The Cartel doesn't need to lean on Bound in Blood for support.


SPOnG: A drawback of past Call of Juarez games was in the short single-player campaigns and lack of variety in gameplay mechanics. How have you changed this for The Cartel?

Blazej Krakowiak: The bit about a short campaign is somewhat surprising to hear. Anyway, with The Cartel we're aiming at around 10 hours of gameplay in single-player. This will of course be extended by the fact that each of the three playable characters will have a unique take on the whole story.

As for the second part of the question, yes, you can expect more variety within missions and more exotic gameplay overall. Just on the one map we're showing you can participate in following a suspect, taking some enemies on in melee combat, an intense shootout and a high speed car chase on the freeway.


SPOnG: In what ways are you planning to blend Wild West elements into a modern day setting? Is there a danger that the game will end up not feeling like a Wild West game at all?

Blazej Krakowiak: Aside from keeping what we consider the key elements of the Wild West, as mentioned above, we also want to make the game feel like a Western through art direction: colours, lighting, camera angles, colours. It's also present in storytelling, music, dialogue.


SPOnG: Did you have any influences at all when developing The Cartel?

Blazej Krakowiak: Everyone is influenced by the sum of their experience. Techland is an experienced studio with considerable expertise in the Wild West. We always follow interesting games in all genres as well as other media. We're looking for inspiration in albums, comic books, movies and TV series as well as historical references. We just don't like to name specific influences because we're never trying to copy anything, we're following our own path.


SPOnG: Will there be an opportunity for players to work together in co-op, or in competitive multiplayer modes?

Blazej Krakowiak: Absolutely! The entire campaign is built around a three-player cooperative mode. We have three main characters in the story and they can progress through the story together. The game is at its best with three live players working together but it's also great for one or just one. We have a competent AI ready to take over if there are no live players to control the other characters on the team.

We proved in Bound in Blood that an AI partner is something we can create really well. The co-op mode has full drop in/drop out functionality so players can easily move back and forth from their own single-player game to a co-op session. Of course when someone has to quit, the AI steps in and no progress is lost.

As far as competitive multiplayer is concerned, we'll reveal more about it in the coming months. Right now we can confirm that it will be in the game.


SPOnG: Do you think the First-Person Shooter is getting stale? How challenging is it for you guys to make a game like this when the genre is populated with very similar products in Call of Duty, Medal of Honor and Killzone?

Blazej Krakowiak: We're always looking to give players something new. An FPS built around a strong, mature story and a three-player co-op campaign in a uniquely portrayed setting is our way to contribute to keeping the genre fresh and interesting. Besides talking about "stale" when sales numbers are going up year over year may be a bit premature.


SPOnG: What's your opinion of the calls to ban the game in Mexico due to its apparently impressionable nature on kids in the country?

Blazej Krakowiak: Our advice is first to find out more about the game and then judge. Otherwise you may end up calling for a ban of a game about fighting a drug cartel!

SPOnG: Thanks for your time.