GameZone: With LP3 coming out in early 2013 with its third-person perspective, snowy world, monsters, and horror elements, how do you stand apart from a game like Dead Space 3?
Andrew Szymanski: Well, you know we were all very surprised and flattered when we found out that Dead Space 3 was going to be taking place, at least partly, on a snow planet. Number one, Lost Planet has been on a snow planet since 2006 so we sort of feel like we own that space. Number two, we'd already been working on LP3 for over two years when they announced. It's one of those classic cases of parallel evolution. But we actually announced back in April of this year and so we feel like, not to say that Dead Space 3 isn't going to be good, I haven't played it yet myself, but we're really focused on telling the story of this planet. We're not about spanning multiple planets, we're not about talking about the future and past of a character whose been through all these other adventures.
We're telling the story of E.D.N. III. We're doing that by going back almost to the beginning and telling it through Jim. We think that the strength of the character and the strength of that planet and that setting and all the lengths that we've gone to make sure that even though it's an icy, snowy, frozen world that it's not Antarctica, that it doesn't look like Earth—you've probably seen in the demo that we've got all these giant ice spires and things like that. The art direction is really influenced by, you know, "What would a planet look like if the ice never melted?" So whereas on Earth you have rock being shaped by erosion and wind, in this case it's ice. So you have these giant ice sculptures that have been eroded and formed over centuries. We wanted to create that very alien feeling.
I think that, on the surface, there are a lot of superficial things that look similar—the setting and the fact that they're both shooters— but once you actually go down a level and look at the meat and potatoes of the game I think you'll see the experiences are very different.
GameZone: Speaking of the frozen world, in the first game the cold was an element of the gameplay. Is that something you're bringing into LP3?
Andrew Szymanski: We've gotten rid of the mechanic where you have to constantly grab thermal energy in order to survive. In Lost Planet 3 thermal energy is actually used as a currency. When you're out in the wilderness and grabbing thermal energy as a resource you can take it back to base and trade it for upgrades and things like that.
GameZone: Could you tell us a little more about upgrading?
Andrew Szymanski: Well you have the ability to purchase new weapons, weapon upgrades, as well as upgrades to the core abilities of Jim and the Rig. We've shown one of the Rig upgrades in our most recent trailer and one of our demos which is the winch. It takes the claw arm which is equipped by default on the left side and allows you to fire it out on a cable.
There are a lot of upgrades that come as part of the storyline, but there are also ones that are optional. They're either provided via side missions or purchased by gathering enough resources.
GameZone: Well, that's all the questions we've got for now. Thanks for your time!
Andrew Szymanski: Thank you!
GameZone: We noticed that the grappling hook has returned in Lost Planet 3, could you go a bit into how it's used this time around?
Andrew Szymanski: The grappling hook is used a fair amount in single player. Unlike in previous games in the series you won't be able to use the grappling hook on any surface. That was a calculated decision that we made. We wanted to, in a certain sense, make the world less convenient and have the player and the other characters have to struggle. That influenced the design of not only the grappling hook but the other weapons and abilities.
The tone of our game is a bit more cinematic, a bit more realistic. There's definitely still a lot of Sci-Fi and over-the-top elements but we didn't want to have people jumping and flying all around. We felt the pacing in Lost Planet 3 would be a little more deliberate in order to play into the story and the characters that we were making.
We also have the multiplayer, where we aren't getting into the modes or anything just yet, but I will tell you that the grappling hook will play a larger part because it's part of the strategy in the multiplayer.
GameZone: So you aren't saying anything about the multiplayer yet?
Andrew Szymanski: All we are saying is that multiplayer is very important and that it's been a key part of the franchise since day one. We're going to continue to honor that and respect that by providing a robust suite of different multiplayer modes.
GameZone: Lost Planet 2 was a very different type of game. It was very divisive, but loved by some players. How would you pitch Lost Planet 3 to that audience?
Andrew Szymanski: Well Lost Planet 2, I think, had a specific goal in mind and it did that very well. It created a sort of party game with guns, if you will. It's about getting people together and having these very rambunctious sessions that are full of different enemy types and different mecha types and all sorts of weapons and content that you unlock. There's a slot machine. It's just really over-the-top. It's that party game atmosphere, where it's totally predicated on getting other players together to have that experience.
We are veering in a much different direction for Lost Planet 3 but what I would tell the fans of LP2 is, you know, just because we make LP3 and it's a different game, that doesn't mean LP2 goes away. It doesn't mean we're denying that, it just means that when we sat down at Capcom, the franchise creative director Kenji Oguro, who made the first two games, came to me and said, "I want to do a third game and this is how I want to do it." It was his concept to get back to the roots of the franchise.
This isn't a situation where we're going off the rails. The original team behind Lost Planet had a vision for where they wanted it to go. It's been an interesting journey because each Lost Planet game has had a very different feel to it and a different kind of purpose. We think that LP3 is on track and we hope to fulfill the promise we are making which is to create this very strong character-driven and narrative-driven experience.
But, I hope that if you like Lost Planet 2 you'll give Lost Planet 3 a shot. We are focusing on multiplayer and Akrid and mecha and things like that in the game that we feel are core to the franchise values. Lost Planet 2 will always be there and be near and dear to our hearts and we hope that people like Lost Planet 3 as something that is different and equally as compelling.
GameZone: Can we expect any narrative threads between Lost Planet 3 and the first two games?
Andrew Szymanski: There are a lot of ties to the first game. I don't want to go more in depth than that because I want to stay out of spoiler territory, but all I'll say is if you've played the first two games not only will you notice the overt connections like, "Oh, this person is related to that person," but you're also going to notice once you finish the game that there is a thematic thread that ties everything back together. We're really excited with our narrative because it does provide a way to create an overall arc for the whole series.
But, because it's the first story chronologically, if you don't know what happened in the first two games it's not going to negatively affect you.
At last weekend's New York Comic Con we had a chance to sit down with Capcom Producer Andrew Szymanski about their upcoming Western-developed Lost Planet game. Lost Planet 3 is being developed by Spark Unlimited and is set for an early 2013 release. We speak at length about the direction the series is taking in this third game, and what fans of both Lost Planet: Extreme Condition and Lost Planet 2 can expect.
GameZone: Lost Planet 3 seems a lot different from the second game. What's the direction for this game overall?
Andrew Szymanski: From a narrative standpoint, even though it's numbered Lost Planet 3 it's actually chronologically the first game in the series, it's a prequel. The idea was to show the colonization of the planet E.D.N. III and the first humans to arrive on the planet. How they are taming the frontier and building this colony.
So we have Jim, who is our main character and not your typical space marine/hero-type character. He's a blue collar worker who has come to the planet as part of the colonization efforts in order to earn money to support his wife and child that he's left back on Earth.
It's very much more about the human element and getting back to a more narrative-driven and character-driven experience. The first [Lost Planet], even though its narrative could be a bit nonsensical at times, was much more about focusing on those characters, whereas the second game went into this almost party game space where it was all about the online play.
As far as gameplay goes, we are continuing the third-person shooting which is a hallmark of the franchise. You've got your different weapons, you're fighting Akrid creatures, which are the native lifeforms of the planet. But once again we are trying to keep that narrative element and trying to put you in Jim's shoes.
We also have a vehicle, the Utility Rig. In the previous games we had something called Vital Suits which were these smaller, more agile mecha that had machine guns and rockets and things like that. Because of the change in chronology and the fact that it's a colonization operation and not a military operation, the Utility Rig that Jim uses in Lost Planet 3 is actually a civilian machine. It's a construction machine. So the player is tasked with taking these tools—the drill and the claw—and figuring out how to use them not only to combat the enemies but also to traverse the environment. When you're in the Rig, for the first time in the franchise we actually go into a first-person view. What that does is help to sell the scale of the Rig because it's the largest vehicle we've had in the series.
GameZone: You mentioned that Jim is an everyman character. Is that something that will translate in the gameplay?
Andrew Szymanski: I think you'll find that we develop that through his character. It's a very fine line to walk because even if somebody is "less experienced" you don't want to feel hampered as a player. I don't want to jump into a shooter where I can't aim well because theoretically my character can't aim. The player's skill has to be able to shine through. So what we tried to do was show Jim's more civilian nature in his interactions with other characters and his interactions with his family.
GameZone: How much does the Rig factor into the gameplay in Lost Planet 3?
Andrew Szymanski: It factors in quite a bit. Obviously it's a method of transportation, so when you're traversing long distances you want to be using the Rig most of the time. It's also a way to stay protected, so when you're fighting both larger and smaller Akrid it's great to have the Rig. For the smaller Akrid they pose almost no threat. We like that element of escalation where an enemy that is a normal enemy on foot is basically no threat whatsoever to the Rig whereas a boss class enemy becomes a normal enemy for the Rig.
It also serves as a base of operations and a home away from home for Jim. So when you're out in the wilderness it will protect him against the elements. When you're within a certain proximity of the Rig it sends you additional information to your HUD and when you get further away you lose some of that. It shows the loneliness and the isolation out there in the environment. I'd say you spend about 60 percent out versus 40 percent in, but it will depend a lot on the player. We allow the player to get in and out whenever they want. Sometimes the game, by necessity, will send you off on foot into an enclosed area that you physically can't get into with your Rig, but otherwise you're going to have the option to use it for quite a bit of the game.
GameZone: So this is Jim's personal Rig?
Andrew Szymanski: Exactly. It's actually Jim's personal property that he paid for with his own money and brought to the planet. So it's very important to him.
GameZone: How have you approached creating a more narrative-focused game?
Andrew Szymanski: Part of hitting the narrative is having great story and great dialogue, but also being able to have characters that are relatable and believable. In order to achieve that we felt it was important to have strong performances. So we're actually using a performance capture style. The characters are actually played by actors and we're including their likenesses.
When you see Jim, his likeness, his face, everything is based off of an actual actor. In most games you'd have an actor specifically hired to do the body capture, you might have someone to perform facial capture, and then you'd have a voice actor who provides voice in the booth. What we've done as part of the digital double process is all of that is done not only by the same person, but at the same time. So you can walk into a motion capture volume and you'll have multiple characters performing a scene as if it was a stage play. What that allows you to do is create a much more natural method of performing because the actors feel as though they're part of a scene as opposed to just in a booth reading off of a script.
