Prototype Preview

VideoGamer.com: What sort of release date are we looking at for Prototype?

SF: June of this year.

VideoGamer.com: Will you do a demo?

SF: We haven't made any decisions yet. Doing a demo for an open world game is really hard. The breadth of content, it's hard to distil into a ten minute experience. Radical has a game to finish and we don't want to start taking resources away from them that they need as they come near their crunch time. We'll evaluate with them, we'll see how the production schedule is, but we haven't made any announcements yet. Demos can be a double-edged sword. If you put together a great demo, it's great. But, for some reason if you put out a demo that's maybe not as strong, now you've cost yourself a lot. It might just be that the demo itself doesn't give a fair representation of what the final product is. It might not be that the final product is bad, but it's just the nuances of making a demo, you only have such a short window to communicate and get people excited about your game. For a game like this that's just so huge, it's a big challenge and we need to make sure that we do it right, that we have the ability to do it right.

VideoGamer.com: Are there any multiplayer features?

SF: It's a single-player only experience.

VideoGamer.com: What led to that decision? Multiplayer seems in vogue right now.

SF: We experimented with having a co-op multiplayer mode and having to cut it out was probably one of the toughest decisions that we had to make. But at the end of the day we're doing a lot of stuff that's new. The Web of Intrigue, the storytelling mechanic, the shape shifting, the agility, there's so much we tried to do in the single-player story, we wanted to make sure that we were giving it enough resources, especially because it's a new IP. You have to deliver a solid experience in all facets. If we couldn't make a multiplayer mode that was substantial and made sense and was quality, we didn't want to do it because we don't want to give somebody a first impression of, well this is kind of half-assed isn't it? So we just figured, OK, let's focus on the single-player, let's make it really great and then down the line, maybe in a future game, we have all the tech in place, everything is ready to go, then we can do it as long as we can do it right.

VideoGamer.com: So you see the potential for a sequel?

SF: The goal of every game is to have a sequel. It means your game is successful, it means your game is loved, that's how you build franchises. Almost every person goes in hoping their game will sell beyond the first one.

VideoGamer.com: So the hope from Activision's point of view is that Prototype can become a popular franchise?

SF: I can't speak for Activision as a whole, but personally I hope it continues. I've had great fun working on it.

VideoGamer.com: Post launch, are there plans for downloadable content?

SF: We haven't announced anything yet in terms of DLC. We're coming towards crunch. We've already delayed the game once. We need to make sure that it gets out, that it gets into people's hands. People have been waiting for it for a long time, so we'll see how DLC shakes out down the road.

VideoGamer.com: As it stands now the opening tutorial level gives you all the powers, and then after that's finished they're taken away from you as a flashback plays out. Is that correct?

SF: Similar. The way it is now, you'll be in a tutorial level, it doesn't give you all of the powers but you're definitely in an advanced state. It's just the way right now that the narrative goes. The narrative opens with him in New York City trying to hunt down a commander in Time Square and then he flashes back from that into what happened and the build up. We're not trying to punish the gamer by trying to take things away. You don't want to put them in the game and then bore them with the first 30 minutes. You want to give them something exciting, give them a taste of everything that's to come, and teach them how to play the game in a fun and exciting way and then kick into the narrative itself.

VideoGamer.com: It reminded me of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, where you began as the all-powerful Darth Vader then took control of the Secret Apprentice who had almost no powers. But there's a trade off, isn't there?

SF: No, I agree. It's a fair comment, but at the same time Alex Mercer is never going to be powerless. He's still going to be able to run faster than a car. He's still going to be able to charge up a punch and punch a guy halfway down the street. He just might not be able to juggle them into the air and follow up with nine more punches right away. So I don't think we're stripping away the fun or anything like that. We just need to give something to build up to. You don't want to start the game super powered, you have nowhere to go from there.

VideoGamer.com: If there's one reason why gamers who are still debating whether to pre-order Prototype should, what is it?

SF: Surfing on people's bodies! And you can kick flip off of them for extra style points. And it's hard because I can't decide between that and elbow dropping tanks. If you don't get excited about elbow dropping a tank professional wrestling style from the top of a building, I don't want to know you!

Prototype is due out for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC this June.