GZ Interview
10/7/02
Producer Jim Tso opens the world of
Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb
By Michael Lafferty
Harrison
Ford has a new Indiana Jones role – but it likely won’t be splashed across the
screen at your local movie theatre.
Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s
Tomb is a globe-trekking adventure in the classic movie style, but the target is
game players, not movie fans (unless, of course, they also happen to be game
players).
Slated for release in the spring of
2003 on the Xbox, PlayStation2 and PC platforms, Emperor’s Tomb promises the
same broad action strokes of former games, but with some new features which
greatly improve the look and play of the series. Foremost, Harrison Ford’s face
has been planted on the video version of Indiana Jones. And Indy sports a new
look when it comes to fighting as well.
The storyline involves the search
for a powerful artifact known as the “Heart of the Dragon.” Indy begins the
adventure by traveling to China in 1935. But the adventure also takes players to
the jungles of Ceylon, the underwater palaces in Istanbul and the streets of
Hong Kong. Along the way Indy will have to battle Nazis and Asian underworld
characters.
Jim Tso, a producer at LucasArts,
talked with GameZone about the new Indiana Jones title.
Question: Saw the demo of this
game at E3, and the first thing that was both surprising and wonderful at the
same time was the face of Indiana Jones. For the first time in the game’s
history, it is the face of Harrison Ford. How hard was this to pull off,
frame-after-frame, in the game?
Jim: “It was fairly
difficult, our art director spent a huge amount of time working with scans of
Harrison’s face and getting those into the game. The power of these new systems
has really given us the ability to make an Indy game that’s closer to the
movies.”
Q: In designing a franchise game
like this, is there a rule book that must be followed, or you can do just about
anything you wish to? If there are rules, can you give us an example of what
they might be?
Jim: “We’re allowed a lot of
freedom but there some guidelines that we have to follow. We had to make sure
that our story didn’t conflict with anything else already established in the
Indiana Jones timeline.”
Q: Indy pulls out a whole new
series of moves and fighting styles in this game. Tell us a little bit about the
new moves. Where they motion-capture or solid animation? What was the toughest
move to render?
Jim: “All the moves in the
game, both Indy’s and his foes, are hand animated. The Collective has some
amazing animators and they did an amazing job with Indy and the other
characters.”
Q: What kind of game engine does
this game use, and what advantages did you reap from using it?
Jim: “The game is based on
an enhanced version of the Slayer engine, which was used for The Collective’s
earlier game, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Using an existing engine provided a lot
of advantages. Instead of spending a lot of time and resources to develop
something from scratch, the team could quickly prototype and test game levels.
In turn, this really allowed us to focus on improving the game play and adding
new features. For example, instead of building a fighting engine from scratch,
the team was able to focus on different fighting styles for Indy’s opponents.
There are also a ton of new features such as Indy’s whip, rope climbing, traps,
puzzles, and even
vehicle interaction.”
Q: Indy travels around the world
on this quest. What resource did you use for creating the environments for the
various locations?
Jim: “A variety of resources
were used, including reference material from the actual countries.”
Q: This game is being released
on three different platforms. Which one was the easiest to design for? What
unique abilities or design features did the various platforms give to you?
Jim: “Each platform has its
own strengths and weaknesses. Most of our platform specific stuff is
focused on making sure the interface and
controls feel right for each platform.”
Q: What do you think is the
lasting appeal of Indiana Jones as a character? In the case of Harrison Ford, do
you think it was a matter of the actor fitting the character or the character
fitting the actor?
Jim: “I think one of the
main elements in Indy’s appeal is that he’s a well-rounded hero. Indy is just as
likely to use his wits as he is to use his fists when it comes to getting out of
a jam. I think that’s also one of the reasons that Harrison Ford is so great at
the role. He’s believable as both a daring adventurer and a college professor.
Q: What do you think gameplayers
will remember about this title once they set it aside for a bit?
Jim: ‘I think they’ll
remember it as the next best thing to an Indiana Jones movie.”
