Bionic Commando Developer Interview

01 May 2009 at 12:04:13 by

Speaking to IncGamers, following the game's demo on Xbox LIVE on Wednesday, Bionic Commando producer Ben Judd discusses how Spencer has changed over the years, the direction the game has taken and why it's taken so long to see the latest iteration.


As an introduction - other than the swinging, what really sets Bionic Commando apart from the crowd?

Rather than just throwing around the word “vertical gameplay” like so may games claim they have, I think Bionic Command really does have it. The field of view is incredibly deep, it has cinematic vistas, and the feeling you get from jumping off a 50 story building is conveyed very well through the animation. It’s a game based on a classic title and faithfully contains some features that made the original so great: RPG elements, action, shooting, and some puzzle solving.


What have your influences been in terms of the game? I'd wager you've all played some Spider-Man 2...

Actually, we knew that we wanted to do something different from Spiderman so that was an example of what not to build. That isn’t to say Spiderman 2 is a bad game because it is an absolutely fabulous game. But we wanted BC to feel less arcadey and more skill-based. For example, if all the racing games are like Ridge Racer than why would you go out and make another Ridge Racer game? You wouldn’t… you’d try to shake up those game elements in order to make something new and great. That is exactly what Gran Turismo did. Both are basically driving games but they take the driving element and use it in very different ways. Bionic Commando does the swing aspect and takes it in a totally different direction. Our influences were simple -- The original Bionic Commando. You need patience to master the swing mechanic but once you do, you feel like you are in total control. Sorry to use another car analogy but it’s just like a stick-shift. It takes much longer than an automatic to get used to but once you do, YOU feel like you are the one driving the car, you’re not letting the car drive you.


How open are the levels? It seems as though, with the movement mechanics and the swinging, the areas would have to be fairly open to make the most of those features.

The areas are open to a fault. That is to say, that we made each stage not only wide but vertically tall as well. With how quickly you move around with the swing mechanic, we kind of had to. Unfortunately that gives you much less memory to use. I know the guys at GRIN had a heck of a time balancing enemies, AI, and textures due to the massive size of each level. However, there are controlled paths within the areas, but how you get from point to point is entirely up to you.


For that matter, how linear is the game? Any options in terms of what levels to do next, as in the original Bionic Commando?

The game has a linear story. You sometimes end up going through an area you’ve visited before but it contains different enemies, etc. Mainly though you keep just moving forward. There are in-game challenges that power-up your weapons and skills as well as loads of collectables so how much fun you have in a stage will largely depend on you.


How important is the plot to the game, and what sort of atmosphere are you going for? You've got some fairly big names (Mike Patton, Steven Blum) and a lot of characters from past games, but can we expect the same sort of tongue-in-cheek humour we saw in Rearmed? Does Rearmed tie in heavily?

I’m proud of the plot itself. It was written with the assistance of GRIN and Capcom Japan so you get a mixture of some really strange ideas. Although there are some definite references to the original game that people will get, Bionic Commando isn’t nearly as light-hearted as the original was. Think of the original game as something you might see in the 80s… light and cheesy. However, the new Bionic Commando is more like what you’d see in the 90s… dark and depressing. We wanted Spencer to be a dynamic character but in order to truly see the metamorphosis you need to play BCR, read the online Chain of Command comic, and then play Bionic Commando. (Yeah, I know… what a terrible way to shill your game!)


The original Bionic Commando had a hefty focus on different types of weapons with different applications. Can we expect similar - and, likewise, items that expand upon the player character's capabilities?

Totally. Without a doubt certain weapons are much more effective against certain enemies and vice versa. For example the hiker is sort of like a modern shotgun. It’s great for up close battles when you are facing a lot of grunts. Grenades take down Biomechs double time and the Rocket Launcher is much better against air enemies.


Is water still a giant pool of instant death? I'm assuming that bionic arms are extremely heavy, and swimming isn't an option, but...

We wanted to build the game out in sections. For the first 1/4 you can fall and land without dying since there is a lot of ground in the main city. However, once you reach the flooded city you can fall in the water and drown. You do have about 5 seconds when in the water to throw your arm out for a desperation shot in hopes that you can pull yourself out of the water so it isn’t an instant death. Then towards the end of the game there are a lot of pits and instant deaths… but by that time you should have full control of the swing.


Any puzzles or minigames? Rearmed featured the hacking puzzles, after all, and we can imagine a few environmental puzzles that utilise the arm.

There are some swing puzzles in the game.


How much of a focus has the multiplayer been, and what sort of gametypes and options can we expect? Any cool bionic arm utility?

Multiplayer was approximately 1/3 of the development time and budget. It was created by a multiplayer mode only team with experience in that area and they really nailed it. I really, really love multiplayer in Bionic Commando. Since mastering the bionic arm can be enough of a challenge we wanted to go with your standard online modes. I know that may sound generic, but it really isn’t. When we discussed what kind of modes to put in the game I definitely was all for some really crazy modes but the director said that having the swing mechanic in those standard modes will make them feel different enough. He was so right. It totally changes the game dynamic and breathes new life into these multiplayer staples.


Finally - why Bionic Commando, and why now?

Capcom has a fantastic catalogue of games that are just too special to let sit there. Don’t get me wrong, I totally agree that some of this 80s nostalgia and all the terrible movies based on 80s TV shows it is creating isn’t a good thing, but the swing mechanic is very unique and I believe we could create a game experience unlike anything else. Some people will take one look at the game and say it’s Spiderman with guns, but the second they start to try and swing for themselves, they’ll see what we did. We honoured the original game to the best of our ability and we made an awesome game mechanic relevant again.

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