So Ziggy 2011 has been quite a year for you. What would you say the highlight has been so far?

The gigs I’ve done. Its been a great year for performing live… ever since February started I’ve literally had a massive surge of gigs and performances at really cool conventions. Including Summer of Sonic which was an absolute blast.

Aside from that I’ve managed to get a lot of material out. I’ve really expanded my career this year

Who’s your favourite Sonic character?

Aw, well, I’m going to be predictable and say no one beats Sonic, I mean, come on! He’s just a legend, he speaks for himself.

What age did you begin singing?

Basically I’ve been singing for as long as I remember, before I was 5 for sure. I always used to hum along to songs. Sonic the Hedgehog songs I used to listen to and sing along to…

 What was the first cassette you ever bought?

That was the Spice Girls album. I remember not having any pocket-money and saying to my mum “please let me buy the album”! *as a Spice Girls fan myself I decided to probe further* My favourite songs on it? I had a few ; ‘Wannabe’s a classic, ‘Say You’ll Be There” was great too and you can’t forget “Love Thing”!

You’ve been quite involved in the organisation of the London Gaming Con. Now the big day’s here, how do you feel its going?

I think its going absolutely brilliantly. A lot of us were worried, because it is a new convention, about the turn-out, plus its the first time the Anime League has branched off into gaming rather than just being an anime event, so its been a massive challenge for us. But its turned out absolutely brilliantly, and the guests have been absolutely amazing. I think everyone’s having a great time so we’re just really, really thrilled and hope it goes well for the rest of the day and that we’ll do it again soon.

What are your hopes for 2012?

Well I hope 2012 will be even better. Hopefully another run of gigs, more new songs etc. I’d like to branch out in travelling internationally if I can. I’ve currently got an EP out but I’d like to get the full LP out if possible…

2012 is also the debut of CamCon which is my own convention so it’ll be really challenging but amazing year so I’m looking forward to it

CamCon : Ziggy's con

Tell us more about CamCon

CamCon is a new convention taking place in Cambridge which I am personally organising. Its an anime/comic/sci-fi and gaming convention including, of course, lots of cosplay. We’ve got Sonia Leong and Emma Vieceli from Sweatdrop Studios attending aswell as Akemi Solloway.

Basically its a varied, one-day events, which is running at the Junction in Cambridge that is open to all ages. There are lots of cool things happening ; we’ve got talks from comic artists, workshops, karaoke and gaming events, including a tournament area and a massive tournament on the stage. There will also be live bands, so yea, it should be a really good event.

I hope its going to be a really big success and I’m looking forward to it.

To find out more about Ziggy you can find her on the following sites :

Website : http://www.zonicmusic.com/
YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/user/ArtyGirlZiggy15
Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/Zonicoffical

To find out more about Camcon please visit :

Website : http://thecamcon.com/
Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/CamConCambridge
Article on Anime Picks : http://animepicks.co.uk/2011/10/another-new-convention-camcon/

~HelenBaby

For me this years Eurogamer Expo was going to be different. Of I suppose in a way it was different for everyone because of the new venue, but for me it was an extra special occasion. Why you ask? Well this years Expo marked the official start of my new role as the resident video editor of PlusXp. Having had a great response to last years videos contributed by Mark Boss it seemed only natural that this year we try to make some videos of our own. Now, I know, I know, some of you may think that I only got the job as I am the only team member with a video camera, but I maintain that it was my boundless enthusiasm which really shone through. I am still going to write, but from now on when I am not writing you are likely to find me with a video camera glued to my hand. It will be a little like leading a double life. So watch as I dive headfirst into the nearest phone both, spin around wildly and emerge as the new Video Editor of PlusXp. Swish!

P.S. Don’t worry, we didn’t kill Boss. He is still very much alive at www.markboss.com

Now, on to the Rockband.

I entered this years expo with three clear goals in mind. Firstly to find the Rockband 3 stage and write a review (naturally) secondly to take as much video footage of the expo as possible and perhaps capture some sneaky interviews and thirdly to find and review Fable 3. Those of you who are regular readers will know that my quest to find Fable 3 ended in an unexpected but extremely through video interview, and much to my surprise Rockband 3 followed suit. Upon approaching the Rockband 3 area I was greeted by gentleman who was not only incredibly enthusiastic but also impressively knowledgeable about the game. I had to find out more and upon asking his name I found out that I was in fact chatting to Brien Chan a senior designer of Rockband 3. It was time for an interview. A very impromptu interview.

In addition to the above interview I naturally  took it upon myself to throughly rock out on every available instrument throughout the duration of the Eurogamer Expo. This was my first chance to get my hands on with the new hardware and there were once again surprises in store.

Having previously voiced my ‘concerns’ over the true to life guitar controllers I approached the new axes tentatively. Only to find out that I was in fact once again in love.  At this years Expo Rockband were showcasing the first in the new range of pro guitar controllers, made up of 6 plastic strings and 17 frets with 6 plastic buttons per fret. You do the maths! Though the new guitar was a lot more complicated to play, the guys at Rockband have built in several features which make the process a lot easier than expected. To begun with, though the buttons are very narrow, they are also quite raised making them a lot easier to distinguish between than I had first anticipated. In addition to this when you strike one of the plastic strings, the corresponding string on the screen wobbles, making it surprisingly easy to identify which string you are playing. I will admit that having some knowledge of an actual guitar did help in the beginning, but I think over time most people would be able to pick this up.

Though overall I was impressed with the new guitar one of my prior concerns was confirmed. The new guitar only has 17 frets. This is not only distracting if you play a real guitar (I found myself trying to hit the 17th fret far to high on the neck) but also means that if you are hoping to use this game to learn to actually play the guitar it could end up being more confusing than helpful. Still, as distracting as this may initially have been this did not put me off queuing for several more turns. It is safe to say that my guitar collection is likely to be expanding further in the near future. Oh and I also caught a brief glimpse of the Fender 6 string Rockband compatible guitar as it was removed from its case and flashed our way for a few seconds. Its a Fender. Enough said.

In contrast to my genuinely positive experience with the new guitar, the new drum kit was something of a disappointment. Having previously been very excited by the new kit and its added cymbals, upon playing I actually found it little different from the old Rockband kit. Though the new cymbals made the gameplay more realistic, little had been done to change the way the drums appeared on screen and I found this dissapointing. Unlike the Guitar Hero drum kit with its extra line, Rockband have simply changed the notes to be either plain circles or dented circles to incorporate the new cymbals. To me this seemed quite un-inventive. It was not exactly that the drum kit was bad. This was not it. It just wasn’t as revolutionary as the other new instruments. Though it looked more impressive when played it would seem that the gameplay had changed very little, which to me is a great shame. Despite my reservations I will temporarily hold my judgement for one simple reason. Most people (myself included) did not test the new kit beyond hard mode, and I believe Expert mode may just hold its salvation.  I truly hope that in expert mode more attention will have been payed to the drum solo’s leading to more variation between cymbals and toms. This and only this would make the cymbal addition pack worthwhile. I suppose we will have to wait and see.

Finally the keyboard. I could not leave the Rockband area without trying out the new addition to the Rockband instrument family. My first impression of the keyboard was mixed. To start with it looks more impressive from the players point of view than it does from the observers having completely the opposite effect to the new drum kit.  In simple terms it looks epic on screen, but very small and slightly strange in reality. The keyboards well… less than generous proportions meant that watching people play was actually quite amusing. I was like watching an adult intensely concentrating on a child’s toy. Funny, but not particularly impressive. There was good news though. Brian Chan confirmed to me that we will be able to connect a full size keyboard via a midi adaptor. Whew! So on to the gameplay. As I have already said the gameplay was very impressive making up for the size of the pint size peripheral. In basic mode the keyboard was relatively easy to pick up, however as the runway started to scroll the keys became a true challenge. It is clear that a lot of attention has gone into making the keys as visually exiting as possible, and thought I have never before had the urge to play the keyboard the impressive array of notes had me in places quite mesmarised. It was clear that if you want to master pro keys it was going to take practice, but like the new guitar this did not seem an impossible task.

Now for some closing thoughts. In all honesty my first hands on experience with Rockband 3 was something of a revelation. Though I initially thought that the new controllers would be overly complicated and nearly impossible to play, upon picking one of the new guitars I was instead struck with an undeniable sense of, well, joy. It was as if the new controller brought with it endless new possibilities for challenge, re-inventing a genre which was growing undeniably stale. When holding the new guitar I marveled at its complexity both daunted by its concept and yet still compelled to try it. It seemed to throb in my hands, tempting me away from my previous judgements and beaconing me to try it. When raising my plectrum and striking my first clumsy note I felt a glimmer excitement I had not felt since the first time I picked up a plastic guitar. As the music got faster I began to miss notes but found that once again it didn’t matter and played on smiling. After all, this was not about perfection. I was simply excited to face the new challenge before me. I was once again truly excited about Rockband.

Until next time,

24

x

Rockband 3

Due for release on the 29th October 2010

MTV Games. Harmonix. EA Games.

It has almost been a year on and we have grown. Of course we will be attending the show this year and getting all the coverage we can. So as we eagerly await the expo, the Plus XP team thought it would be a great idea to have a chat with the man behind the Eurogamer Expo, Tom Champion. So we emailed him, he took some time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions, so sit back and read what the man behind Eurogamer has to say about himself and the expo itself.

Garvaos: Of all the games coming out in the Christmas period and 2011, what would you love to see at the expo in an ideal world?

Well I’m a big FIFA fan so fingers crossed that’ll be at the show. Not that I actually get to play any games during the expo.

Garvaos: The Eurogamer expo has been running for a few years, what is your fondest memory from past expos?

A couple of things stick in my mind from last year. First was travelling up to Leeds. Pretty much the whole company flew up and there was a great atmosphere. I think we were all really keen to get up there and get started.

GuitarGirl24: In the past it has been known for the expo to attract a number of gaming celebrity guests. For example last year we were all excited to see that Charles Martinet, the voice of Mario walking the Eurogamer halls. Who, if you could invite them to this years Expo would be your own personal ideal mystery guest, living or fictitious?

Charles turning up to the expo was amazing! He was a great sport and everyone was delighted to see him.

We also had some soap actors turn up last year. Those guys love games. I’d love to meet Miyamoto. It’s an obvious choice but I think he’s one of the few gaming legends that really sticks in my mind. Other than that, Luton Town’s 1987-88 league cup winning team.

GuitarGirl24: We are all looking forward to seeing how the Expo looks in its new larger venue. Due to the increase in venue size, can you tell us if there are any new features we can look forward to at this years event?

New for this year will be our ‘challenge area’. This will be a part of the show where attendees can come up and post a score on a particular game. At the end of the day the person with the highest score will win a prize. We’re still working on the details for this at the moment but I think it’ll add something slightly different to this year’s show.

We’ve improved the developer sessions area as well so the presentations will look even better this year. The increased venue size means we can address some of the issues people had last year. More seating, for example, and more room for things like the Indie Arcade and GamesIndustry.biz Career Fair.

Leon: The Eurogamer expo has become a huge event for gamers, but how did you get started in the industry? Were you a fan of gaming beforehand, or was it more a business thing?

I’ve been a massive fan of games from about the age of 7 and once I got started I knew that I wanted to be part of the industry if possible. My route into games was a bit of an unusual one. I started out working as a recruiter for games companies and did that for 4 or 5 years. The guy who hired me did so on the basis that my CV said I’d taken part in a PES tournament. Then in 2009 I was lucky enough to be offered a job at Eurogamer working on the expo.

Leon: Eurogamer this year has become bigger than ever, due to the increasing interest in upcoming video games. Do you see the expo expanding even further in future?

Yeah I think we’ve done a good job of steadily growing the size of the show. From a few thousand attendees in the first year, to around 12,000 last year and 20,000 this year. We’ll have to see what the future holds but if we keep doing a good job then I’m sure both gamers and those in the industry will continue to support the show and if anything demand for it to grow will increase.

That Bloke In The Beanie: We’ve seen a large move towards movement technology from Microsoft and Sony to compete with the Wii. What sort of new technology would you like to see for the future of gaming?

I’m intrigued by what each of the platform holders are planning with both movement tech and 3D etc. Sony seem to be keen to get the hardcore on board with Move and it’ll be interesting to see if Kinect can live up to that early promise it showed.

Ultimately I think we all want Star Trek style holodecks. Sadly, I think this might be some way off.

That Bloke In The Beanie: Are there any old gaming characters you’d like to see back in gaming?

Some of my best gaming memories are from the early nineties when I owned an Amiga and then a Saturn, so I’d like to see some of the characters back from that era. Maybe someone like Rick Dangerous. Actually this is a bit of a random thought, but I’d really love to see Alan Green do commentary on a football game again. His commentary on Olympic Soccer on the PS1 was very funny.

Jokesound: Is it a help or a hindrance to you securing companies with MCM around the same time?

I’m not sure it’s either to be honest. I have a lot of respect for the MCM guys but I think we have pretty different audiences. They have a pretty heavy focus on comics and anime and I think that’s reflected in the games they have at the event which are often related to that area. We’re entirely dedicated to games so we tend to have games from right across the gaming spectrum.

We’re both part of the London Games Festival and I believe the 2 shows compliment each other well.

Jokesound: How demanding are the companies in terms of size or their presence and what they want to showcase?

Great question! Well every company wants to show their games in the best light possible and I think that’s entirely understandable.

Jokesound: Finally if it wasn’t for the expo I wouldn’t be with Plus XP, so thank you for the expo

Excellent! It’s like I’m still working in recruitment.

2009 show floor

The Plus XP team would again like to thank Tom for taking some time out to answer our questions. We are certainly looking forward to this years expo, and of course what other games will be announced in the upcoming weeks leading up to it.

Garv

Leon: Thank you for taking the time to answer questions with Plus XP, Nick. After seeing the recent news on Perfect Dark on Xbox Live Arcade, we’re excited to know more. So, on with the interview!

The game has been given a fairly big overhaul, looking a lot cleaner than the original. Have there been any modifications to the game’s engine at all, or is it mostly aesthetic changes?

Nick: The original Perfect Dark codebase has been ported over to the Xbox 360, which means that the game benefits from higher resolution textures, geometry and performance whilst retaining the original game’s unique look and feel. Under the hood there have been a lot of changes to the game engine to keep it looking and feeling like Perfect Dark on N64, and the overall effect has been to improve the aesthetic experience to something that looks fantastic in 1080p HD.

Leon: The original Perfect Dark featured bots that would allow players to play deathmatch modes with AI characters to make up numbers and allow solo play on the multiplayer modes – a good feature that is sadly rare nowadays. Will we be seeing a return of this feature in the XBLA version?

Nick: Yes, I am pleased to confirm that the simulants will return in all their glory. Multiplayer games are still capped at 12 entities, but this can now comprise eight human players and four simulants (the original game was capped at four human players and eight simulants). Of course, if you want to play as a single human against 11 DarkSims, be our guest!

Leon: Great to hear that!  Will this option be available in the online mode, or local only?

Nick: Online

Leon: With an improved multiplayer engine compatible with online play, I assume this will be a bigger focus than in the original version. Will there be any new features we can look forward to?

Nick: In the original N64 game, the classic weapons (based on GoldenEye guns) could only be used in single player. We’ve brought them into multiplayer as a series of Classic weapon sets, so players can now use the GoldenEye weapons on GoldenEye levels for the first time since, er, GoldenEye.
 
It’s no good supporting LIVE if you can’t find someone to play against, so the game supports a variety of matchmaking scenarios across both Solo and Team modes. In addition, Private Custom Games are supported so you can set up that painfully obscure game scenario you used to play with your friends all those years ago.
 
Aside from the boost to eight players, the game engine now runs at a solid 60 frames per second at 1080p. This makes a big difference, particularly in four-player split-screen where players can now have more resolution in their split-screen game window than they did in the original N64 single player game!

Leon: It has been said that there is to be new support for online co-op and counter operative modes. Can you tell us anything more about this addition?

Nick: The game supports two players over Xbox LIVE, in addition to the classic split-screen experience. Players will be able to search for games on any mission, and we hope it opens up the excellent Co-Op and Counter-Ops modes to many more players.

Leon: I’ve heard that maps from GoldenEye will be included in the game’s multiplayer modes – is this perhaps a sign that we won’t be seeing a similar port of the popular Bond FPS in the near future?

Nick: The Felicity, Temple and Complex maps which were included in the original N64 Perfect Dark are available in the XBLA version. No other maps from GoldenEye have been added to the game, and we have nothing to announce regarding DLC at this time.

Leon: Xbox Live gives us a lot of options for competing aside from online play – are we likely to see any leaderboards or similar features included?

Nick: Yes, the game has full support for Leaderboards on every mission from Agent to Perfect Agent. In addition, there is an Overall Leaderboard based on Percentage Completion. We also have 20 Achievements, which is a first for an XBLA title.

Leon: Another modern feature is the option for DLC to be added to games. Do you know whether it’s likely there will be any additional content available for download at a later date?

Nick: 4J have only just begun to recover from finishing the game, and you’re already asking for DLC? Well, that’s a good sign… but the honest answer is that we are going to wait and see how Perfect Dark performs on Xbox LIVE Marketplace before making any decisions. We should probably wait until at least one person gets 201% complete before making a decision.

Leon: Do we have an official release date for the UK? I need to set a date for my calendar!

Nick: Perfect Dark launches in the UK on 17th March 2010 – the same day as the USA. That’s right… no need to import the NTSC version this time around!

Leon: Excellent! Do you have anything else you would like to let us know?

Nick: Everyone involved has been working extremely, EXTREMELY hard to get Perfect Dark for Xbox LIVE Arcade finished and we really hope you enjoy the final result.
 
We know Perfect Dark fans were told the game was coming “this winter” back at E3 in 2009 and didn’t get much more information than that until X10 a few weeks ago. We managed to get some screenshots out in the interim, but for the most part everyone involved has been heads-down for the last six months getting the game done.
 
We appreciate that people wanted to know more about release dates and the like but (contrary to popular belief on t’internet) the game was only finished recently and we didn’t want to pluck a date out of thin air and then miss it.
 
My point being: Sorry for the wait, PD fans – we honestly didn’t have an official date till a few weeks ago!

Leon: Thank you again for your time, Nick. It was a pleasure hearing from you.

So there you have it – it sounds like all good news, with plenty to look forward to. Make a note in your calendars – 17th of March will see the UK release of Perfect Dark on Xbox Live Arcade – definitely something worth getting excited about.

-Leon

Leon: Thank you for agreeing to answer these questions, David. Hugo’s House of Horrors was one of my first childhood games, and more than likely influenced my choice of games for the years to come. As game design has changed radically in the last couple of decades, I was wondering if you could tell us more about your personal experiences.

Firstly, I was wondering if you could tell us where you picked up your knack for game design – was it related to your career, or something you picked up on your own?

David: I think it was more a love of mystery and adventure stories. As a youngster I remember being a fan of Agatha Christie (Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple books) and this came out big time in the Hugo Whodunit? episode. Generally the villain was more often than not someone who was mentioned early on and then mostly sidelined until the big denouement and I think I followed this idea. The initial spark for this episode came after finishing Hugo’s House of Horrors and then for the sequel trying to find some clever rhyme or alliteration for the name Hugo and it was a toss up between Hugo Whodunit? and Hugo’s There? I thought that pun was too awful so chose the first. The plot followed from that choice.

In terms of career, although I was working in underwater military defence at the time it’s true to say I saw computers merely as a great way to write games. Games tended to be way more challenging (and therefore more fun) to write than the scientific applications so I think my bosses tended to indulge me, up to a point. Writing a game is also a fantastic way to learn programming as you really stretch the language, the computer and your own abilities.

Leon: Were you a big fan of gaming before you started making HHH?

David: Of course! Although we’re talking 1980′s and it was a tiny fledgling industry compared to today. I was really drawn to the early Sierra graphics adventures which were an inspiration for the Hugo game.

Leon: How many people worked on the first Hugo game? Was it a solo project, or were there any other people involved?

David: Nope, just me. I recall being astounded at the seemingly endless list of credits at the end of Leisure Suit Larry and thinking I could do it all myself. Let’s see, the programming was Microsoft Quick C, the graphics were Z-Soft Paint and the music (well, series of beeps) was transcribed by hand.

Leisure Suit Larry was aimed less at children, though

I also did the second episode (Hugo Whodunit?) myself but after that I realized that I needed help with the graphics. I found Gary Sirois who lived near me in Massachusetts and asked him what he was good at drawing. He said leaves or trees or something so I decided to set the third episode in a jungle. It was supposed to be the Amazon jungle although Gary pointed out some major inconsistencies (something to do with elephants I think). Geography was never my strong point so I wasn’t too bothered.

Leon: How has HHH influenced your life? Did it earn you a living, or was it more of a side-project that earned you a little extra?

David: Utterly changed it. At its peak it was making twice my day job (coding networks) so I quit it and have been self employed ever since. I deliberately started writing games to become self employed. The reason was that in a big company you could be doing a great job and still the whole department could get canned. This lack of control over my own destiny was the driving factor.

Leon: Seeing as the Internet wasn’t a major source of advertising and distribution to the general public at that time, how did you go about getting Hugo seen and played by the masses?

David: I didn’t really do anything other than upload the game to some local bulletin boards, the equivalent of today’s web sites. Then, mail-order catalog companies found it and started selling the games on diskettes. Then other companies sprang up and started selling these games in stores, on diskette and then CD. These distributors basically found the games they wanted to sell.

Leon: I have heard that HHH was largely influenced by the Leisure Suit Larry games, picking up on it’s text based style and humorous feel – however, were there any other games that were particular influences to your game’s design?

David: Yes, Captain Comic by Michael Denio. This was the first computer game I saw with large cartoon like characters that moved fluidly and I tried to emulate it. Prior to this all the computer games seemed to have such tiny sprites. I think having larger characters on the screen helped the original game’s popularity as it appealed more to younger players. When I did the Windows point and click port, I was influenced by Beneath a Steel Sky.

Captain Comic

Leon: For it’s time, Hugo had quite a lot of possibilities – many a time I found myself typing in strange ideas to see how Hugo would react to my suggestions – and there’s quite a lot of humorous dialogue that isn’t necessary to the game’s progression – how long did it take you to complete every possible response people could possibly find?

David: I don’t remember, I think the whole game took only three months from start to finish. I can tell you that it was the most fun to second guess what people would type in and I really enjoyed that. A big inspiration for this was remembering having played the Adventure and Dungeon games at work, where some of us used to disassemble it and look at all the phrases the designers had put in.

Leon: Out of interest, are there any areas or puzzles in the game that particularly stand out as your favourite, and worst parts?

David: I think some of the bugs stick in my mind. For example, the bat on the opening screen in front of the moon seems to flap its wings but that’s actually a bug, I have no idea why it does that. Inside in the meal room the waiter sometimes gets on top of the table and gets stuck there. That was due to the awful boundary design that tries to keep characters in certain areas. The waiter sometimes finds a way to break through his boundary. I enjoyed the “Throw chop” puzzle where the doggy eats you if you get it wrong. There was another bug there as well. I think if you repeatedly “get chop” “throw chop” you can get infinite points. I also enjoyed setting a trap with the dog whistle. I imagine a lot of people blew the whistle as soon as they got it. The number 333 on the mirror came from our PO Box address. The number was going to be 666 but my neighbor advised me not to use that number in a children’s game. I was very naive then.

Leon: I have already mentioned your personal influences to the original Hugo – but are you aware of your creations influencing any other games in particular?

David: There have been some fan inspired re-writes of both the Hugo and Nitemare games. I request that the developers do not sell them commercially as we are still selling the original games and the re-writes would create confusion. I’m not aware of any influences on mainstream games. I do get a continuous trickle of requests to write more games in both series but my stock answer is that it’s not viable today without a Hollywood budget.

Leon: Aside from your latest project, Jigsaws Galore, do you have any particular gaming interests nowadays? Are there any major titles that you play, or anything you would recommend?

David: I get addicted to games so badly so my policy now is to not allow myself to get hooked into them and use my leisure time otherwise. As a result my influences are now totally driven by my children’s! So my son is into things like Empire Total War, Age of Empires, Imperial Glory on the PC and Call of Duty, Medal of Honor on consoles. My daughter is into The Sims and all kinds of stuff and has recently started taking an interest in game design.

Leon: Thank you for your time, David. It’s been a pleasure talking to you.

David currently hosts a website where he sells his most recent project, Jigsaw’s Galore, and you can try Hugo for yourself if you check out the retro gaming section of his site.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading, this was somewhat one of those “childhood hero” things for me!

-Leon

What made you decide to create a new Aliens Vs Predator game?

It was a very simple choice for us. We made the original AVP game on PC in 1999 so we were delighted to get a chance to work on a new AVP game. The Aliens and Predator franchises have a huge following so there’s a lot of pressure in creating a game which will please all the fans, and we’re really enjoying the challenge.

Are you a fan of the previous Aliens Vs Predator games and films?

Of course, we’re all massive fans of everything Aliens and Predator, from the movies to the comic books to the video games. We actually made the first Aliens vs. Predator game for PC in 1999 so we’ve got a lot of history with the franchise and it’s a privilege to come back and work on a new AVP game a whole 10 years after our first game.

Regarding Campaign mode, will this be a totally new storyline? Or rather a follow-on from the previous games/films?

Our game has a brand new story to the Aliens and Predator universes. We worked closely with Fox on the story and they’ve allowed us to even add in some brand new weapons and enemies that you’ve never seen before in any movie or comic book for Aliens or Predator.

In the game, you can play as the Marine, Predator and Alien, and each species has its own separate story driven campaign and right from booting up the game for the first time, the player can choose to play any of the three campaigns. Each campaign’s story interweaves with the stories of the other two species’ campaigns so there will be crossover in the narrative between the three.

A Predator, From Aliens Vs Predator Back In 1999

Having played the game myself at the Eurogamer Expo I must say the design for each character type is fantastic. How did you go about creating them? Did you have to analyse each film closely to get them just right?

There’s been a huge amount of research done in creating the game and making all of the character types exactly right. We’ve immersed ourselves in everything Aliens and Predator, including the movies, and have also gone back to our original 1999 game to remind ourselves about what elements are key to the AVP experience.

Which of the three character types was the most challenging to create?

Definitely the Alien was the most challenging. The Alien as a playable character is genuinely unique, with its ability to cling to any part of the environment, even tracking its prey as it crawls along the ceiling… We’re working hard to ensure that the Alien character will retain this powerful (and fun!) advantage with a control system that allows gamers of all abilities to scurry over every surface in the game without any difficulty.

With the Alien being able to climb walls and pretty much scale any surface, did you have to take a different approach when it came to designing levels for multi-player?

Yes, it’s true to say we did as each of the three species has different means of traversing the environment. As a Marine you’re pretty much rooted to the ground, as the Predator you can leap onto rooftops or into the trees, and as an Alien you can crawl anywhere – up walls and trees, along the ceiling! So for example, as the Marine you could be walking through a jungle, while a Predator could be tracking you from a tree top and Alien could be scuttling up the tree to attack the Predator. It makes for a pretty unique multiplayer offering, that’s for sure!

Which is your favourite character to play as, out of the three types?

I’d have to say the Predator – he’s got some pretty awesome gadgets and his ability to cloak and hunt his prey from above feels very empowering.

And finally when is the game due out?

Aliens vs. Predator will be out on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC in February 2010 so not too long to wait now!

Plus XP would like to thank Tim for taking some time out to answer questions for the site, and I can safely say I am looking forward to this title come February. Now if you will excuse me I am off to watch the first Aliens Vs Predator movie.

Garv