To find out a bit more, I managed to grab a few minutes with Adam Sarasohn, producer for Ubisoft on Outland.
SPOnG: What is the back story behind Outland?
Adam Sarasohn: You play a character in modern times, and you're having these visions and nightmares and you're not really sure where they are coming from. You hear of this shaman in the jungle, who interprets dreams. So you travel into the jungle and meet with him. He tells you that there's this ancient conflict that occurs once every grand calendar cycle. These two deities, known as The Sisters have been imprisoned by the other gods, and once every cycle, they attempt to break out.
A hero must arise who must re-imprison them back into the temple. So the player, who is the hero, goes in to the jungle and discovers that it is being warped by the Sisters' influence. The closer the player gets to their hub, the more chaotic things become.
The game is split into five chapters, four of which hold a part of a key that opens the fifth and final chapter.
SPOnG: How long has it been in development?
Adam Sarasohn: It's been about 18 months, it's complete and we're waiting on certification from Microsoft and Sony. Housemarque are the developers and they made Super Star Dust HD and Damnation.
SPOnG: So Outland is a big departure for them.
Adam Sarasohn: Yes they came to Ubisoft with the concept, and the visuals and an action platformer with co-op. Those three things we thought would be perfect for this game.
SPOnG: Could you expand on the different game modes available?
Adam Sarasohn: There is the story mode, the arcade mode that takes discrete chunks from the story mode and we make them time and score based. So you have to make it through as fast as possible with the highest score that is posted on the leader-boards. Both modes can be played cooperatively with one other person, both on and offline. The final mode is co-op challenges that take the basic rules of Outland and twist them a little bit.
SPOnG: Thanks for your time.
SPOnG: What is the back story behind Outland?
A hero must arise who must re-imprison them back into the temple. So the player, who is the hero, goes in to the jungle and discovers that it is being warped by the Sisters' influence. The closer the player gets to their hub, the more chaotic things become.
The game is split into five chapters, four of which hold a part of a key that opens the fifth and final chapter.
SPOnG: How long has it been in development?
Adam Sarasohn: It's been about 18 months, it's complete and we're waiting on certification from Microsoft and Sony. Housemarque are the developers and they made Super Star Dust HD and Damnation.
SPOnG: So Outland is a big departure for them.
SPOnG: Could you expand on the different game modes available?
Adam Sarasohn: There is the story mode, the arcade mode that takes discrete chunks from the story mode and we make them time and score based. So you have to make it through as fast as possible with the highest score that is posted on the leader-boards. Both modes can be played cooperatively with one other person, both on and offline. The final mode is co-op challenges that take the basic rules of Outland and twist them a little bit.
SPOnG: Thanks for your time.