OCMS: Bond games have had a difficult time in the past winning gamers over, what sets this game apart?
GY: The combination of first-person gameplay with third-person Cover Combat, the next-gen graphics, and – of course – Daniel Craig!
OCMS: Blending action with a detailed plot can always be tricky. How have you attempted to create this element, and will scripted events be a part of the game?
GY: It is tricky to find the right balance between gameplay action and story-telling in a game like this one. We do have scripted events to help progress the story, but most of our dialog occurs during level-load times. We wanted to avoid extended periods of time where a gamer sits with the controller in their lap – we want them in the game! Bond is an action hero, and our design decisions were based around making this an action game.
OCMS: Roughly how long is the game and how many new maps will players get for multiplayer?
GY: We’ve found single player takes 8-10 hours for a new gamer, and we shipped the game with 12 MP maps (and more may be coming soon …)
OCMS: What gaming engine is being used?
GY: We’re using the Call of Duty 4 engine, which is easily one of the best engines for first-person shooters. It is amazing technology, and the tools and content pipeline allowed us to build levels and iterate faster than if we had built our own engine. As a result, the weapon gameplay will feel familiar to COD players, but in Quantum of Solace we’ve added a persistent character for third-person Cover Combat, we created all-new environments that fit with the Bond universe, and we spent a lot of time building a more “villainous” AI.
We’re really proud of the results and we think gamers will feel the same!
OCMS: What are some of the biggest obstacles you faced in creating the game and the biggest successes?
GY: This is a big question! One big obstacle was in telling a story and creating playable environments that would tie into a movie that hadn’t been filmed yet. Overcoming this required a lot of reference and support from the filmmakers, and a lot of hard work on the part of the development team. Our development cycle went longer than I’m normally comfortable with, to give us the best chance to complete the Quantum of Solace levels in time for the movie.
OCMS: With a very loyal fan base, how much pressure is there not only to please yourselves but the fans as well?
GY: Good question. As a development team, we always put a lot of pressure on ourselves to do awesome work in the entire game – every level, every feature, every animation. Since this is the very first James Bond game from our company, it is essentially like we are launching a new franchise.
We know our game will set the tone for all future Bond games from Activision, so we definitely set high expectations for our team. James Bond is a truly iconic character, and he deserves to be in a very cool game.
