Shank Interview, a Haiku, Artsy

 

We had a chance to ask the creators of Shank a few questions.  Shank is the revenge based brawler hitting the downloadable marketplaces on the PS3 and 360 early next week.  In preperation for the bloody glory that is Shank, take some time to read our interview.  We discuss the co-op play, the defense in combat, inspiration and more.

And, yes, there’s a haiku.

The most recent announcement for Shank was the inclusion of co-op and the new character, Falcone. You’ve said that co-op was something fans were clamoring for, but was it something you folks had thought of doing from the onset?
We always had the thought in our mind of doing co-op, but we were never exactly clear on how we were going to make it work. Seeing people play the game at PAX showed us that we didn’t want to mess with the singleplayer experience, while the amount of fan requests made us really want to make it work anyway.

What sort of challenges did you face when adding cooperative play in the mix? Did you find that it helped or hindered your original vision of Shank and its gameplay?
It was a huge challenge, actually, because we originally tried implementing co-op into the singleplayer missions. This totally didn’t work for us because it played havoc with our cameras and pacing, and the worst part was that we couldn’t even be sure the second player was going to be around, so we couldn’t design level that played specifically cooperatively.

Once we split the campaign into two, we were able to design singleplayer levels that played well as a singleplayer experience, and co-op levels that were designed such that players had to work together. That was instantly a lot more interesting to play and a way better experience.

I personally love the combat system here. Mapping every weapon to a single button and yelling ‘Go!’ What sort of work went into designing that system and did you take any influence from older beat ‘em ups?
Mapping one action to one button was something we actually did a fair amount of testing for. Just weeks prior to our first demo, the control scheme was still in-flux, and only through a whole ton of user tests did we solidify the placement. The grappling system was specifically inspired by Double Dragon, but the way the combos and transitions worked was inspired by Soul Caliber — for example, I often referenced the way Sigfried’s sword flowed smoothly from one attack to the next, and how it actually mattered what attack you did previously to know what attack was coming next.

So far, most press releases and trailers have sported the offensive and attacking of Shank. Can you talk a little about defense during combat? Dodging? Blocking? Absorbing? How does it work? (The best defense is a good stab to the face.)
Shank’s block is actually a parry — if you hold on to the Guard button, you’ll automatically parry an attacking enemy and put him in a vulnerable position. We also implemented dodging, which is especially useful during certain boss fights. It’s also important to grapple and pounce enemies to disable them, while using your ranged attacks to keep your distance from approaching enemies.

These tools are essential when you play Hard Mode, because it’s not possible to simply run and gun. You really need to be careful with your health, and the combination of parrying, grappling and dodging is how you’re going to stay alive.

Shank is releasing digitally. How has that whole process been? Any bumps in the road or particular high points worth noting?
It’s one hell of a tale, actually. We really bet the farm on creating Shank, both financially and personally, to make the game happen. The highest point was seeing people play Shank for the first time at PAX. The lowest was a few months before that, when we were burning through our cash with only the idea and hope that people would love our work.

Anything else you want to share about the title that you don’t think enough people are talking about?
I personally love the singleplayer in Shank. It’s the most pure in terms of the cinematic brawler experience we set out to make, and that’s really what Shank is all about.

Finally, let’s say I’m a poem lover on the fence about picking up Shank when it hits on the 24th and 25th on the PSN and LIVE Arcade. Convince me that I need to buy this game in haiku fasion…. (5-7-5, remember)
A sea of foes, and
a ballet of violence.
The classic brawler.