Top Spin 3 Preview

Some say tennis games always look like crap. PAM Development's Francois Giuntini, creative director on Top Spin 3, the latest in the acclaimed tennis series, says that's all about to change. VideoGamer.com caught up with him at the posh Queen's Club in London to talk about the "60fps guaranteed" PS3 version and why Top Spin 4 is already in the works. It's all in the wrist, as they say...

VideoGamer.com: Tell us about your role in the development of the game.

Francois Giuntini: I'm creative director at PAM Development. I'm supervising every aspect of the game design. I'm leading the designers and defining the major elements of the game modes, the gameplay and all the content of the game. I'm also supervising all the asset creation. I'm not necessarily art director but kind of that as well - defining the roads to follow in terms of visuals, visual quality, visual features that have to be implemented in the game.

VideoGamer.com: So, many of the changes will have been implemented by yourself?

FG: Some are my ideas. Some are others'. It's team work. I'm mostly supervising things and making sure that those things happen. There are several of us making the decisions, defining the routes we're going to follow. I'm just making sure that concerning design and asset creation and content we follow those routes properly.

VideoGamer.com: What percent complete is the version we have seen?

FG: It's very hard to say, because, to be honest, it's very hard in terms of sports games to define that. With a platform game sometimes you can say I have one level complete, all my controls are here and I shall do 20 levels, so, it's easy to say it's five per cent done. But in a sports game like this one you are done only when everything is available. So you can have a match going, you have most of the environments done, a lot of the players are done. If I was to try and guess I would say we are 80-ish.

VideoGamer.com: How long has it been in development for?

FG: Roughly 16 -18 months. In between Top Spin 2 and this one we were already starting while finishing the previous one so it's a bit more.

VideoGamer.com: So you are starting Top Spin 4 while you're finishing this?

FG: We are already starting to think about Top Spin 4.

VideoGamer.com: How does that work?

FG: There are things that you know that you want that you won't be able to get.

VideoGamer.com: Like what?

FG: Like I'm not going to tell you right now! You're going to have to wait for the next one. We always want more for our project. Always. However pleased we are when it goes out, when we launch it, there's always somewhere a bit of frustration because you know there's more to it, there's more coming and it's not there yet. So that's going to happen this time again, and I know that.

VideoGamer.com: When will Top Spin 3 be coming out?

FG: Early 2008 on four consoles. PS3, 360, Wii and DS.

VideoGamer.com: Simultaneous release?

FG: Yes.