ZiaZine July 2008 : 20
games cheap cheap cash-ins might even b as Rory McGuire, lead game Studios, is quick to point out, Bourne Conspiracy is more of the films than a straight adaptation; way of putting the audience/player shoes of the hyperaware malfunctioning million dollar weapon that is Committed to putting out a High Moon Studios chose not title with the release of the Ultimatum, missing out on piggybacking movie’s $ million advertising McGuire explains why. [ 20 + monitorTHIS! + JULY 2008 ] BOURNE AGAIN G ames based on films are usually terrible aber- rations unrepresentative of the subject matter or even the capabilities of High Moon Studios strives for true cinematic quality in their Bourne Conspiracy adaptation by Kyle Stallock Is your Bourne better than Matt Damon’s Bourne? [Laughs] When we were developing the game, Damon he’s done with the franchise. At he said, “I’ve ridden that horse Now, since Ultimatum was so changed a little bit and he said ony Gilroy is onboard and [di- Greengrass is onboard, I might be the time he was done. Our he doesn’t want to be a part anymore we won’t go further s cheap cash-ins might even b as Rory McGuire, lead game Studios, is quick to point out, Bourne Conspiracy is more of the films than a straight adaptation; way of putting the audience/player shoes of the hyperaware malfunctioning million dollar weapon that is Committed to putting out a High Moon Studios chose not title with the release of the Ultimatum, missing out on piggybacking movie’s $ million advertising McGuire explains why. [ 20 + monitorTHIS! + JULY 2008 ] BOURNE AGAIN G ames based on films are usually terrible aber- rations unrepresentative of the subject matter or even the capabilities of High Moon Studios strives for true cinematic quality in their Bourne Conspiracy adaptation by Kyle Stallock Is your Bourne better than Matt Damon’s Bourne? [Laughs] When we were developing the game, Damon he’s done with the franchise. At he said, “I’ve ridden that horse Now, since Ultimatum was so changed a little bit and he said ony Gilroy is onboard and [di- Greengrass is onboard, I might be the time he was done. Our he doesn’t want to be a part anymore we won’t go further ould ould you consider each medium it’s in a differ- frequently spoke with Tony found that what he did in the movies, and what we subsequently tried to do with the game, is
Bourne Again
Kyle Stallock
High Moon Studios strives for true cinematic quality in their Bourne Conspiracy adaptation
GAMES BASED ON films are usually terrible aberrations unrepresentative of the subject matter or even the capabilities of the medium. Calling them cheap cash-ins might even be an understatement. Yet, as Rory McGuire, lead game designer at High Moon Studios, is quick to point out, Robert Ludlum’s !e Bourne Conspiracy is more of a compendium to the films than a straight adaptation; another way of putting the audience/player in the shoes of the hyperaware malfunctioning )* million dollar weapon that is Jason Bourne.
Committed to putting out a good product, High Moon Studios chose not to issue the title with the release of the film !e Bourne Ultimatum, missing out on piggybacking the movie’s $+* million advertising campaign.
McGuire explains why.
Is your Bourne better than Matt Damon’s Bourne?
[Laughs] When we were developing the game, Damon was coming out saying he’s done with the franchise. At the Cannes Film Festival he said, “I’ve ridden that horse as far as I could ride it.” Now, since Ultimatum was so successful, things have changed a little bit and he said “if [screenwriter] Tony Gilroy is onboard and [director] Paul Greengrass is onboard, I might be onboard,” but at the time he was done. Our approach was, if he doesn’t want to be a part of the franchise anymore we won’t go further with it.
Would you consider each medium it’s in a different storyline? We frequently spoke with Tony Gilroy and we found that what he did in the movies, and what we subsequently tried to do with the game, is Stay true to the character. !e most important thing about Bourne is him searching for himself as well as the strengths of the character and him being the smartest guy in the room. We revisit a lot of scenes from the movies and we’re inspired by things from the books, but I wouldn’t say the only thing we followed was the movies.
A lot of people ask what games you look at for inspiration.
How about the opposite—what games did you look at and say, “I don’t want it to be like this!” Good question.
One of the things that we got compared to constantly right when we announced, before we had any footage out, was Splinter Cell. We intentionally looked at it and said, “We don’t want to make this game. !is isn’t Bourne.” !e two reference points for being an assassin in games are Splinter Cell and Metal Gear—well, now Assassin’s Creed, but that wasn’t out when we were making the game. Let’s say we threw a Bourne head on Sam Fisher [Splinter Cell’s protagonist] and had a Bourne logo; it wouldn’t feel like the movies at all. It’s slow-paced and… it’s a great franchise; I don’t mean to sh*t-talk it at all. [Laughs] Here’s your headline: “Bourne developer sh*t-talks Splinter Cell” [Laughs] As far as capturing the feel of the movies, it just wouldn’t work for us. If you look at the action scenes in the movie, Bourne will have a couple of stealth moments here and there, but it’s really about “there’s something behind him that’s pushing him and there’s something ahead that he’s avoiding.” !e stuckbetween- a-rock-and-a-hard-place type of thing.
Why should someone play the game if they didn’t like the movies? I think the game is still offering things you haven’t seen in other games, such as the cinematic gameplay. I know it’s been the buzz-phrase for #$ years, but I can’t think of a game that’s truly delivered it.
Stranglehold got pretty close, but the gameplay felt like a shooter. It was an awesome game and the cinematic moments felt really well done, but I think very few games have done it, other than in fleeting moments. We’ve got hand-to-hand combat and shooting elements, and I think the transition between the two is our real strength. You can shoot a guy that’s in cover, forcing him to come out, run up and do a spring takedown on him, and immediately have your gun up again ready to take someone down.
[Former SCEE VP] Phil Harrison recently said that connecting other players— whether it be through multiplayer or leaderboards— is the future of the industry, and having a solely single-player game green-lit in the future will be difficult.
Since this game is solely single-player, what are your thoughts on this? Last generation, a lot of big heads were coming out and saying online is the future.
I mean, I probably spend two hours a day playing online when time is freed up. Let’s look at Little Big Planet. It looks awesome and I’m going to buy it the first day, but I’m curious how much user-driven content will be affecting a majority of the player base.
Relying on it is a big gamble. I think it is. I think it’s something that we talk about a lot, but I don’t think it’s gained the leverage of the average Joe. !ere are a lot of people buying games for the unique multiplayer content found in the aforementioned Little Big Planet and Halo !, but I don’t think it’s yet a key to a game being green-lit. !ere are still single-player games that have great content.
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