Post by [-GI-]Mid_Life_Crisis on Feb 13, 2006 13:32:45 GMT -5
Executive-producer Patrick Gilmore fills us in on the development status of the latest entry in the long-running World War II series.
Medal of Honor Airborne represents a transitional period for EA's extremely long-lived World War II shooter series. For one, the game moves the action to a place that Medal of Honor has never been before: the sky. Just as important, Airborne is the first game in the series to pop up on next-gen consoles, as it's currently in development on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, in addition to current systems. Here to tell us how the game is shaping up is executive-producer Patrick Gilmore.
GameSpot: How is development on the game going?
Patrick Gilmore: Fantastic--we’re very excited to be developing Medal of Honor Airborne, and it’s especially exciting to be bringing this to the next generation. Naturally, there are always challenges working with new technologies, but we are making great headway.
GS: How do the current- and next gen-games differ from each other?
PG: Medal of Honor Airborne will follow the same story arc of the 82nd Airborne division on each platform. The core concept behind Medal of Honor Airborne is strong enough to support all platforms. Additionally, the next generation of consoles will allow us to simultaneously create content suitable for all platforms. More clearly, we no longer have to worry about reducing fidelity in order to fit on a console.
The best way to develop the next MOH is to take advantage of what each platform offers. Given this, we will be designing the current-gen and next-gen products (including PC) with separate teams, each focusing on the strengths of each platform. We will be getting into more detail on platform differentiation closer to ship.
GS: Why did you choose to go with the airborne experience for this MOH?
PG: We worked hard to develop a unifying concept that could be a common theme through all the missions. The goal was to give the gameplay a more specific character to identify with. The idea of jumping out of a plane into each of the operations ignited enormous excitement among the team members and spawned a unique set of innovations. We specifically chose the 82nd because it has the most lasting legacy and is currently the largest parachute force in the free world.
The US was the last country to field an airborne force, and enormous mistakes were made in some of the initial deployments. If not for the bravery and determination of the men involved, the whole concept of an American Airborne could have been a disaster. As it turned out, the men of the 82nd helped begin a lineage that survives and defines heroism to this day. It's the ultimate underdog story--at the end of which our heroes prevail--and that's totally the stuff of Medal of Honor.
GS: How are you juggling your stated intention of creating a "cinematic story-driven game with the freedom of nonlinear missions in an FPS environment"? Doesn't storytelling require a certain level of structure and linearity?
PG: We want to very clearly tell the player what he needs to do, but leave it up to the player to figure out how each task can be accomplished. We are preserving the progression-based structure of traditional linear games, but are focusing on creating encounters that are more nonlinear, with an emphasis on player choice. Each encounter in MOH Airborne has one main objective, but it will be designed to be completed in several different ways.
The choices made in the air will dramatically affect what kind of gameplay occurs once you hit the ground. The player will have full control of the parachute and will be able to drop into the encounter wherever they choose--this allows missions to play out in a new way every time.
As for the story told as a result--that will be completely unique to the player.
Medal of Honor Airborne represents a transitional period for EA's extremely long-lived World War II shooter series. For one, the game moves the action to a place that Medal of Honor has never been before: the sky. Just as important, Airborne is the first game in the series to pop up on next-gen consoles, as it's currently in development on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, in addition to current systems. Here to tell us how the game is shaping up is executive-producer Patrick Gilmore.
GameSpot: How is development on the game going?
Patrick Gilmore: Fantastic--we’re very excited to be developing Medal of Honor Airborne, and it’s especially exciting to be bringing this to the next generation. Naturally, there are always challenges working with new technologies, but we are making great headway.
GS: How do the current- and next gen-games differ from each other?
PG: Medal of Honor Airborne will follow the same story arc of the 82nd Airborne division on each platform. The core concept behind Medal of Honor Airborne is strong enough to support all platforms. Additionally, the next generation of consoles will allow us to simultaneously create content suitable for all platforms. More clearly, we no longer have to worry about reducing fidelity in order to fit on a console.
The best way to develop the next MOH is to take advantage of what each platform offers. Given this, we will be designing the current-gen and next-gen products (including PC) with separate teams, each focusing on the strengths of each platform. We will be getting into more detail on platform differentiation closer to ship.
GS: Why did you choose to go with the airborne experience for this MOH?
PG: We worked hard to develop a unifying concept that could be a common theme through all the missions. The goal was to give the gameplay a more specific character to identify with. The idea of jumping out of a plane into each of the operations ignited enormous excitement among the team members and spawned a unique set of innovations. We specifically chose the 82nd because it has the most lasting legacy and is currently the largest parachute force in the free world.
The US was the last country to field an airborne force, and enormous mistakes were made in some of the initial deployments. If not for the bravery and determination of the men involved, the whole concept of an American Airborne could have been a disaster. As it turned out, the men of the 82nd helped begin a lineage that survives and defines heroism to this day. It's the ultimate underdog story--at the end of which our heroes prevail--and that's totally the stuff of Medal of Honor.
GS: How are you juggling your stated intention of creating a "cinematic story-driven game with the freedom of nonlinear missions in an FPS environment"? Doesn't storytelling require a certain level of structure and linearity?
PG: We want to very clearly tell the player what he needs to do, but leave it up to the player to figure out how each task can be accomplished. We are preserving the progression-based structure of traditional linear games, but are focusing on creating encounters that are more nonlinear, with an emphasis on player choice. Each encounter in MOH Airborne has one main objective, but it will be designed to be completed in several different ways.
The choices made in the air will dramatically affect what kind of gameplay occurs once you hit the ground. The player will have full control of the parachute and will be able to drop into the encounter wherever they choose--this allows missions to play out in a new way every time.
As for the story told as a result--that will be completely unique to the player.