4Players: Did they get you any input as to what you need to do, what they want to see in the game?Smith: Well, we have good discussions with them as partners all the time, because they have an unrivaled expertise in the field of play and they know their audience. They know what their fans want to see. But also, as partners, we have a high level of trust from their company. We know how to make compelling video games and it's in the discussions that happen between two that together we come up with ideas that hopefully you will enjoy.
4Players: Does the story in Bionicle Heroes tie in with one of the movies or comics?Smith: The new range of toys from this year are their new range of Toa Inika and a new range of villains, the Piraka. Those are the main protagonists and antagonists, the main heroes and villains in our game - set on the Island of Voya Nui, which is where the action and story is set by LEGO. So it entirely ties in with their ranges and stories.
4Players: Do players get hints to former stories or characters in the Bionicle universe?Smith: They'll
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| Less free play, less parody, more action: Traveller's Tales presents Bionicle Heroes. |
certainly recognize characters from throughout the Bionicle universe. It's not just the story setting, it does not just involve this year's characters. So you'll definitely see all the characters you remember.
4Players: To me, the hardest decision you had to make seems to be: How do we make the game as compelling as the Star Wars games? In LEGO Star Wars you make fun of a universe everyone knows. How do you get this kind of charm into Bionicle Heroes?Smith: We tried to be witty and light in our treatment of the characters and story. You are exactly right to say that we don't have something to get a lot of homour from like we had in LEGO Star Wars, which is the irony, the contrast, between what we are doing and the story that everyone knows. Because while everyone knows the story of Star Wars, not everyone knows the story and characters in Bionicle. So, we had to work a little bit harder to talk to people about those characters and I think we had to rely a bit more on their immediate visual interpretation about what they are and what they're doing.
4Players: So far, I played the first level of the preview and the action seems pretty straightforward. Do we also get more adventurous areas or scary areas later in the game?Smith: I think there are definitely some bosses that you will find intimidating and we tried throughout the game to add a richness to the environments that does give you areas to discover. But the game does have a path, a longer path than LEGO Star Wars 2. There is more variety through the duration of the main pathway, but it's not so much about free play and replay as LEGO Star Wars. It's more about the epic.
4Players: Last question: Just tell me there is going to be LEGO Indiana Jones!Smith: LEGO Indiana Jones, imagine that!
4Players: I actually can imagine that.Smith: Well, we'll see...
4Players: Thank you very much for this interview!
