And he could compete with COD … The story of creating a Black shooter
At the sunset of the PS2 era, the Criterion studio, known for its skill in racing games, relied on another popular genre – FPS. The editors of Retro Gamer magazine asked the former head of Alex Ward about creating a popular console shooter. The spectacular militant in the first person showed everything that iron PS2 is capable of. There is a destroyed environment, huge and detailed locations, as well as amazing visual effects. Nevertheless, the developer risked, releasing on the eve of the start of the new generation a game for the past and without a network game ..
Now it’s hard to believe in this, but earlier playing the first -person shooters on consoles was not comfortable. A good “Shutan” on the prefixes was considered only an exception to the rules, therefore, such a classic as Goldeneye, Timesplitters and Halo, use universal reverence. After Halo, the developers and publishers realized that not only the filling of systems stretches the genre, but this can still be earned. The sixth generation (PS2-Xbox-Gamecube) gave players many great FPS. Gamer could experience a thrill in Timesplitters 2, plunge into the gloomy atmosphere of Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, play the historical Medal of Honor or try to rethink the Metroid Prime series. This period has become the most significant in the formation of console FPS.
Black, which appeared at the sunset, is added to the entire list of the transfer – a militant from one of the most talented studios of that time. “We then worked on Burnout 3, and Black introduced the E3 show at the closed show,” recalls Alex Ward, the former head of Criterion and the current founder of the Three Fields Entertainment Studio. – We believed that we are well versed in the architecture of PS2 and are able to create an excellent shooter. The only competitor was Medal of Honor, which was poorly optimized on PS2, which added confidence. We built a simple level that was shown “behind closed doors” to e3 journalists. I remember how I ran between the two halls: in one there was a presentation of Burnout, and in the other – Black. It was fun, although I was exhausted by order “..
“That year we wanted to show everyone thisisvegascasino what Criterion is capable of! In addition, the studio was in the process of buying EA. When we went to the exhibition with Black, the new publisher warned that it was not worth showing a prototype there. But I thought that the transaction could break, so do not miss the opportunity to show another project on E3. I think that it is necessary to arrange an exhibition twice a year so that the developers show ideas, and then return with alpha version. But instead, you have to “tap” in order to present an early gameplay at the exhibition ”.
Cinema as a source of inspiration
The game is based on the concept of environmental destruction (following the example of Red Faction), tense shootings and spectacular explosions as in Hollywood blockbusters. Such a project will become ambitious for any studio, what can we say about Criterion, which was known only to racing games. “At the stage of the prototype, a very small team worked on Black,” says Alex. – We thought about the use of weapons, and whether we can realize it. Then EA bought us, but the publisher could not cancel the project, because we have already shown the game and continued to share the news about the development. After completing work on Burnout 3, the team was divided by the race: one half began Burnout Revenge, and the other took up Black. In the studio, it was customary to start the development with the creation of “Ripomatics” (storyteller) – these are passages collected together from films to create an idea of the future game ”. Alex showed this cut, there are scenes from such films as “Predator”, “Soldier Jane”, “In the siege”, “In the rear of the enemy” and “Three Kings”. Pictures form the tone and sensations of the game created long before the start of real development.
In fact, the plan arose much earlier. “The idea arose when we did the first Burnout,” Alex explains. – We wanted to make a “shooter”, but the problem arose: at whom the player will shoot? I decided that the action must be transferred to Russia. Because he loved to review the picture “Holy” on Laserdisc (DVD predecessor) – the film Phillip Noyce with Val Kilmer (cheap cranberries, if you want to laugh, you can look). I thought that if in cinema you can make Russian villains, then they will become opponents in our game. In the films of the Cold War, the plot was often built on this “.
“I bought Russian watches through the Internet because I am a fan of the“ back to the future ”trilogy. In the second part, cowboys and trains are depicted on the Dok shirt – this is a reference to the next film. In the same way, Russian watches hinted at the future project of the studio. It is stupid of course, but I wore them for about a year, lit up in all an interview with Burnout 3 “.
I feel that the decision to make us villains will “encourage” many readers, so I propose to distract for a while and read about the creation of sound in the game.
Inspired by militants, the developers took sound effects for weapons from famous films. MP5 John McClain from the painting “Strong Nut”, Jack Bauer’s gun in the series “24” and “Uzi” of the hero Arnold Schwarzenegger from “True Ling”. Understanding that in the chaos of shootouts all sounds mix and begin to “cut the hearing”, sound engineers came up with a concept called “chorus of guns”. Traditionally, a separate sound is prescribed in the shooters of each weapon model. In Black, each enemy is assigned his own sound of a shot, just as each member of the choir is endowed with his own voice. For example, three enemies shoot: one of them will be appropriated by a low voice, the other – the middle, and the third – high. This allows you to achieve harmony and provide an excellent sound in the game. For what the project was nominated for the BAFTA Video Games Awards 2006 award in the “Best Sound” category. Also, together with the Burnout Revenge, the shooter received the Best Art & Sound award at the Develop Industry Excellence Awards 2006.
Now let’s go back to an interview with the creator.
Criterion overestimated her strength, taking up the development of two games at once. “I had to sweat. Having finished Burnout 3, we immediately moved to Revenge, – recalls Alex. – The team worked seven days a week. EA recently bought us and we wanted to show everything we are capable of. Black had to be completed in January, which meant that all New Year’s holidays had to work. We sat in the office on Christmas Eve, testing the project. It seems that six levels were ready. But the “cheese” code – everything was broken there. Craig Sullivan and I (leading designer) sat grabbing his head. Hastily sending the team home, we hoped that there would be no problems. They thought, they say, we quickly go five levels and home … As a result, we reached the fourth, and here the game broke!”And this is not the first problem that the team has come across.