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Interview: Living Vicariously
Written by Modojo Staff on Friday, May 4, 2007
We speak with Vicarious Visions about Shrek, Spider-Man, and why the company is so happy to work with other people's licenses...
Licensed handheld videogame adaptations have led to plenty of nightmares among the Modojo staffers over the years. While the console iterations of the latest en-vogue kids show might not always be too hot either, they're at least ran through some attempt at Quality Assurance. In the handheld arena however... for years the M. O. has been "anything goes.
Vicarious Visions, on the other hand, has consistently proven itself to be one studio that refused to take the easy way out with its game design. Time and time again the company has surprised the gaming press, whether it be with their DS Madagascar, or their PSP X-Men Legends II.
Modojo sat down with Spider-Man 3 DS Executive Producer David Nathanielsz and Producer Chris Olson to discuss their big DS titles Shrek the Third and Spider-Man 3, and VV's stance on licensed development vs. original IP.
Modojo: How hard is it adapting movie-based content into a video game? Is there plenty of room for gameplay ideas or do any movie producers give you some ideas for creative input in the game?
VV: We have a lot of fun adapting movie-based content for our games. The movies give us great characters and stories as a foundation to work with, but we're generally given a lot of freedom to incorporate our own gameplay and narrative ideas into the final product. You can see that in Shrek the Third, where we have a completely original storyline and game design but it fits within the timeline of the movie. In Spider-Man 3, we've taken the movie story but added additional subplots and storylines and woven them into the movie's plot.
On top of this, we're always trying to make the DS game experience different from the one you'll get when you play the console version of the game. We focus on completely different game mechanics, control schemes and narrative elements so that the DS games are unique.
Mo: How does VV make licensed games appeal to the "hardcore" crowd? Do they really need to?
VV: If you stick to the fundamentals and create compelling game mechanics with intuitive controls, which we try to do, it shouldn't matter if you're a hardcore gamer or a relative newbie. Then, we try to layer on some depth to the game so that those players who really want to can find additional hours of enjoyment in the game beyond the main progression.
For example, in Spider-Man 3 we built the touch-screen combat system so that players can generate their own combat style and play the game the way they want to. You can stick to simple touch-screen based maneuvers and successfully progress through the game or you can focus on unlocking all of the combat upgrades and stringing complicated hit combos together to gain massive amounts of hero points.
Mo: Do you feel that dealing with a popular license you are being constrained or self-compelled into developing the game with mostly the "casual" gamers in mind? The hardcore and the critics often decry licensed games for this fact, even though it's becoming painfully obvious that the casual can sometimes be the hardest market to sell to.
VV: You know, we honestly don't feel constrained or directed towards a specific audience at all. We've always tried to make our movie-based games as good as they can possibly be and appeal to as many people as possible across the spectrum. If you focus too hard on making a "casual game," you'll probably end up with something that doesn't appeal to anyone.
Unfortunately, some people automatically assume that if a game has a family-friendly license attached to it that it won't be any good. But I think we've proven with our games in the past that we can make really compelling games that meet the needs of all types of gamers.
Mo: Often critically praised games get poor sales while critically lauded licensed games receive great sales. What does Vicarious think the role of licensed game development is? Are they trying to change the unfortunate norm we've grown used to?
VV: We really view working on a licensed property as an opportunity. We know that it will probably mean there is an audience for our work when we release the game - which is a nice thing to know as your toiling away in development. And yes, we'd love to change the perception that licensed games aren't as good as original IP games. Of course, the only thing we can do is just focus on making good games. We can't force people to go out and buy Okami or Hotel Dusk!, but we can work to make sure the licensed games that we make are really high quality and fun to play. Hopefully, if we consistently deliver on that goal enough people will start to notice that licensed games aren't just for fans of the movie, but for people who enjoy playing games across multiple genres.
Mo: Does Vicarious have any plans or desire to apply your development skills to create original handheld IP of your own design alongside the established franchises and licenses you work with?
VV: We're always coming up with new game ideas at VV and would love to create an original handheld game in the future!
Read on for some exclusive info on Spider-Man 3 and Shrek the Third...
posted May 8, 2007