SAN DIEGO – High Moon Studios allowed media to experience the multiplayer mayhem of Activision’s new Transformers: Fall of Cybertron game. The sequel to War for Cybertron tells the story of the last days of the home planet of the Decepticons and Autobots. The developer worked with Hasbro to craft this original story, as well as design brand new toys that will be available in conjunction with the virtual adventure. Dave Cravens, senior creative director, High Moon Studios, details the multiplayer gameplay fans can expect in the new game in this Prima exclusive interview.
What role has fan feedback played in the development of this game?
The fans love this property so much and they’re very vocal about what they’re looking for in the next game. They were a huge help in us deciding where we wanted to spend our resources and it broke down to even a more epic story, more variety in gameplay, and we’re delivering that on all fronts.
What do the Dynabots and Insectacons add to the multiplayer? And Dynabots?
Everybody is getting in on the frenzy. It’s crazy. We weren’t sure if we could get the Dynabots and Insectacons in there in what was a last-minute thing that our team proved that we could do. We made it happen and we’re very happy about that.
How will you balance them with the Decepticons and Autobots?
Well, when it comes to multiplayer, we’re very, very careful on how we balance the game. We want to give everybody an equal shot in customizing their own guy and bring what they have to the table.
What will host migration add to the multiplayer?
We felt like we did a lot of great things on the first War for Cybertron multiplayer. There was great core mechanics. It was balanced very well, and host migration was just one of those things that was requested by the fans. It was another step in the evolution and it’s a great step forward in making this a better and richer multiplayer experience.
What’s new with Escalation mode?
Escalation was so popular for War from Cybertron and you get to play as iconics and returns better than ever in Fall of Cybertron. In escalation it’s a four player match. Do not play by yourself or you’re going to get your butt kicked. Get your friends together and you each have a role to play. You each have a class that you have to play. So you’ve got your healer and you’ve got your big tough guy. Every role is important to surviving Escalation mode. It’s something you seldom see in multiplayer. It’s got a certain balance.
How deep is the customization in multiplayer?
Pretty much everything you want to change or customize on your own character that you’re creating you can. Players have never have been given this amount of customization before. It feels endless. You’ll play for hours just creating your own guy. It’s fantastic. Not to mention that you can actually give them a matte finish. It doesn’t have to be just like dull metal. Forgive the term, but you could be a shiny bot if you wanted. You can have whatever colors you can pick. You can adjust how much metallic look there is glinting off your guy. You can go like full concept car mode if you want, or you can keep the plain Jane like G1.
How did you work with Hasbro on the campaign storyline?
We spent a lot of time on the story both getting Hasbro’s blessing on it and bringing the Dynobots back into the fold. They were very involved with that. Everything we do is blessed by Hasbro, their bible if you will. This fits neatly into their universe and they give us a lot of creative freedom to make that story creative. From the get-go we wanted to create an epic story that just pulls at the heartstrings. They’re big robots. They fight. They battle. They bash each other, but they also feel too and this is the end of their world. You can experience this as a player.
What approach are you taking with Grimlock?
For our Grimlock in this game we took a much darker and much more mature approach. G1 fans remember Grimlock and in the cartoons he was almost a Forest Gump who could kill you as soon as he looked at you. Our Grimlock is a bit more of a tortured soul and (actor) Greg Burger, boy he did a fantastic job giving the G1 fans what they want but also maturing that performance into something special.
Do you have a favorite Transformer?
From the vantage point of our game it is a really tough question because each chapter of our game you get to play as a different one. There’s a wide variety and there’s something I really love about each experience, but if I had to choose, I’m an Optimus Prime guy through and through.
Published: Aug 27, 2012 01:03 pm