4Players: In terms of gameplay, why did you decide to send Neo on a solo-adventure?
Dave Perry: We wanted this game to be the NEO game. Our message is "Be the One". The truth however is that people do fight alongside you, Trinity in the Lobby scene or on the Rooftop (dodging bullets) is a good example. There you need to distract the Agents, when they fire at you, dodge the bullets and (hopefully) Trinity can get a shot into the agent while he's distracted. :)
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| Dave Perry: »We are our own worst critics!« |
4Players: What other characters from the Matrix Trilogy will we meet on Neo's Path?
Dave Perry: That's a damn good question. How lucky were we to get the rights to ALL three Matrix moves for one game. (How often does that happen? The entire Trilogy for one game?) Until you realize that we need to make nearly every character in every costume change through all three movies! Then you need to add the new characters the Wachowskis want the gamer to meet or see. It's a MASSIVE undertaking. Some of them (I promise) will really surprise you! (Including the Directors themselves!)
4Players: Why do you think lots of people were disappointed of Enter the Matrix? What are you going to do differently this time to avoid such reactions?
Dave Perry: Enter the Matrix was our first Xbox and PS2 game. We learnt a lot and are actually our own worst critics. All we can hope to do is to keep learning and making better games. From the awards we've had for this game already, it seems to be getting some serious respect.
4Players: How much freedom did you have with the gamedesign? Could you include your own gaming elements or did you have to stick to the events in the movies? How far where the Wachowskis involved? Dave Perry: The Wachowskis give us the path, the plan, the goals, and then Shiny's design team actually works on making that reality. There are
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| Shiny's new game is all about Neo. |
a ton of decisions along the way. Most the team can make, but some we do defer to the Directors, especially when it involves characters or questions on the rules of the Matrix.
4Players: Is the game going to unfold some of the mysteries of the movies? E.g. the backgrounds of the oracle or the architect? Dave Perry: We tend to focus on Neo. I think you will know more about him, and more about the Matrix itself when you are done. The fantastic thing about working with the creators of the Matrix is that any new areas instantly become authentic. So I need to be very clear, this is not Shiny's version of the Matrix, the directors themselves chose the path that we will follow. That path leads through all their favorite action scenes, like the lobby scene, or the dojo training program with Morpheus, or the park where you fight loads of Agent Smiths.
Then (to add some surprises) they take us deep into other training programs and locations that would have been in the movies if they had more time. The game is intended 100% for fans of the Matrix and we make sure to include a lot of sequences from the first Matrix movie as there was never a game made for it. So that means we also get the "Original" Oracle in this game.
