Turok Interview

Turok hits UK stores this Friday and Touchstone is hoping the next-gen re-imagining of the series is a big hit with gamers. We caught up with Joel Manners, Game Director at Propaganda Games to talk the new Turok, online features and the Unreal Engine 3.

VideoGamer.com: So Turok has been missing for a while now? Of all the franchises to bring back, why Turok?

Joel Manners: When Touchstone acquired the rights to make a game based on the Turok license, we jumped at the chance to bring the game to next-gen consoles. Turok is one of the coolest video game franchises ever and to take the license in a new direction was something we couldn’t pass up. Sure, the past Turok video games had some hits and misses, but what it did well, it did really well. The first Turok game on the Nintendo 64 established consoles as ideal for first-person shooter games.

VideoGamer.com: For fans of the old Acclaim games, does this new Turok have any tie-in? Character, story or other?

JM: The new Turok game is a complete re-imagining of the series. We went back to the core of the original stories and games – the visceral FPS experience, the Native American character named Turok and, of course, dinosaurs, are all there. But we’ve re-imagined it in terms of next-generation gameplay and story-telling.

The concept behind the game involves themes consistent with the original comic book property, but presents a new storyline that will appeal to fans of the original games as well as people who are new to Turok.

The story involves you playing as Joseph Turok, a former black ops commando. You are part of a special forces team on a mission to take down an escaped war criminal, Roland Kane, who is also Turok’s former mentor. Kane has taken refuge on a remote planet, and your team is sent there to bring him back to justice. As your ship is approaching the planet, it’s shot down and Turok and his squad, Whiskey Company, have to fight Kane’s renegade Mendel-Gruman army, as well as survive the terrifying creatures which inhabit this world.

VideoGamer.com: Weapons have always been a big part of Turok, with many going down in history as the best of all time. What are some of the best in this new start for the series?

JM: There is a huge variety of weapons in Turok. Some of the weapons that we’ve shown so far in trailers and gameplay movies include the bow, knife, shotgun and a powerful weapon called the pulse rifle. There’s also the sticky bomb gun which emits a residue that can be detonated with the gun’s trigger after it’s been fired. Also, every weapon has a secondary fire or purpose. For example, on the pulse rifle, it can also shoot concussion grenades which hurl enemy soldiers out of cover.

Highly explosive weaponry intended for use against 60-tonne opponents have spectacular results when used against 600-pound raptors. We call it the meat fountain.

The shotgun’s secondary fire is a flare which the dinos are attracted to; you can use this to lure the dinos away from you or straight into the enemy. Get them to do some of the work!

This is quite an important aspect of the game. You can use this hostile environment to your advantage. For example you will see raptor nests throughout the game, firing at these makes mother dino very mad and she is likely to go straight for the nearest possible culprit, this can make clearing large numbers of enemies a great deal easier.

VideoGamer.com: Online play is key to a successful FPS these days. How have you found working with Xbox LIVE and PSN? Are both games shipping with the same features, including co-op?

JM: There is a strong multiplayer aspect to the game with 16 players supported. We have Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture The Flag, Assault Capture The Flag, War Games and Co-Op modes. Not only do you play your human opponents but the dinos will be there too adding to the mix. These features are for both PS3 and X360 versions.

VideoGamer.com: Any plans for DLC on both consoles? Maybe new co-op missions…

JM: We haven’t confirmed any DLC as yet.

VideoGamer.com: Turok is next-gen only at the moment. Are you interested in bringing the new Turok franchise to the Wii?

JM: No plans currently for the Wii.

VideoGamer.com: Is middleware such as the Unreal Engine 3 the only sensible way to go these days? Is there a danger that an off-the-shelf software package won’t allow you to create the games you initially imagined?

JM: We’ve taken Unreal Engine 3 and expanded on it. The Unreal engine is a powerful tool but it wasn’t designed to create the type of experience we are delivering in Turok. Fortunately, we have a team of talented people who have been working on the game engine to expand its capabilities. We’ve put a lot of effort into developing our dynamic AI systems, building powerful animation technology and creating rendering solutions specifically for the jungle foliage and outdoor environments featured in our game. The result is a game that pushes technology to deliver a unique and innovative gameplay experience.

VideoGamer.com: Turok is Propaganda’s first game. What’s on the drawing board for the future? We see you’re hiring for a potential RPG?

JM: We are thrilled with our first project and there is plenty planned for Propaganda in the future. Exactly what it is though, you will have to stay tuned for!

VideoGamer.com: Thanks for your time Joel.

Turok is released on Friday February 8 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, with a PC version to follow.