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Insomniac Games “absolutely” believes Fuse has the potential to become a franchise, telling VideoGamer.com that it’s confident it can take the series “in a lot of different directions”.
“When we started development of the game, our intention – like every other IP we’ve developed – has been to create a long-lived franchise,” Insomniac CEO Ted Price told VideoGamer.com at a Fuse media event last month.
“The story reflects that, the way we built the characters and the alien substance itself reflects that, because there’s a lot of opportunity to expand.
“Ratchet is the same way,” Price continued. “With Ratchet, we wanted to build a world or a universe with no rules. Fuse, because it’s a made-up world – it’s our own take on a slightly futuristic society – means that we don’t have to adhere to any particular real-world constraints. We can take this franchise in a lot of different directions, and that’s fun for us as creators.”
Fuse, which was first announced as Overstrike, is Insomniac’s first foray into third-person shooting, following first-person shooter series Resistance and platformer Ratchet & Clank.
It’s also the developer’s first multi-platform release following its long-standing partnership with Sony – a move Price suggests is important to the company’s future.
“I think the industry is volatile and we’re responding to it,” Price continued, reflecting on THQ’s closure and financial difficulties faced by other developers.
“Last year we put out our first free-to-play game with Outernauts, and we’re dipping our toes in a lot of different spots and changing with the tide as we see the industry becoming more fluid. And that’s one of the strengths of Insomniac. We are willing and able to change very quickly when necessary.”
But predicting the direction the industry is headed in, rather than simply responding to trends, is still just as important, Price says, before suggesting that remaining “open to trying new things” will provide “even better chances for success down the road”.
“We try to look ahead, too,” Price continues. “Like everybody else, I think it’s important for us to try to predict what’s going to happen, which is why we started the group at Insomniac which makes free-to-play games.
“It’s why we experimented with Ratchet as well. Ratchet Full Frontal Assault was another experiment in what we could do with that franchise. Some experiments work great and some don’t, that’s part of this business.
“And that’s part of the excitement of being in this business. You aren’t limited. You’re always trying new things, and as long as we’re open to change and open to trying new things then things stay interesting and we have even better chances for success down the road.”
Fuse is due to launch on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 later this year.
Source: VideoGamer.com Interview
