imstreet
02-19-2008, 05:54 PM
Amazon.com/games: This project has had the reputation of being pretty secretive, or at least hard to dig up information on. Is that fair to say and if so, why do you think that is?
Nicolas Eypert: Yes, it is fair to say so. This project has been secretive to ensure that we could take our time with the concept of the game. We spent months brainstorming and sharing ideas with the show producers to even get to a good starting point. After that, since we knew the game would be very story-centric we wanted to make sure we didn't spoil it by releasing too much information. But now, as we get closer to the launch date, more news and details will begin to come out.
Amazon.com/games: The game has been described as a 3rd person Action/Adventure/Mystery game. Is this the case? And what games out there would you compare it to?
Nicolas Eypert: Yes, the game is in the Adventure/Mystery category. Internally, we often call it an Adventure/Survival game because you have to survive the jungle and the island and help your character understand who he is and where he is.
Amazon.com/games: I've heard the YETI engine and cryENGINE mentioned in context with the game. What engine is the game being built on and how will this set it apart from the mobile Lost game released earlier this year?
Nicolas Eypert: The game runs on the YETI engine, which is the same engine we used for the acclaimed Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter games. We did make some modifications to better suit our cinematic needs since the character acting is much more important in the Lost universe. Lucky for us, the YETI engine was already quite advanced so we were able to focus on content rather then technical features, which gave us more time to include additional assets. As a result, we have a lot of great variety throughout the game.
Amazon.com/games: What sort of gameplay modes can we hope to see in the game? Single player only? Multiplayer? Coop?
Nicolas Eypert: The game is mainly story driven, so the game is single player.
Amazon.com/games: Ubisoft has loads of experience working with licensed properties (Tom Clancy projects, King Kong, Beowulf, the upcoming Heroes game, etc...). In the case of the Lost Video Game what is the crucial focus in adapting such a well-know property to an altogether new medium?
Nicolas Eypert: My crucial focus was to be authentic and true to the license. It is so easy to make the mistake of adapting a game type we know and just slap the license on it. At Ubisoft we really work hard on licenses to create a game that fits the license and not the other way around.
Amazon.com/games: I've read that the storyline of the game will exist separately, but within the overall LOST storyline. Can you clarify this?
Nicolas Eypert: The game storyline is the story of a new character that we created together with the original show producers. You play his story, and you will discover soon enough that like the other "Losties" that he is there for a reason. The story you play in the game spans over the first two seasons of the TV show.
Amazon.com/games: The Elliot character (if he is the only playable character) seems to me to be a cross between Jack Shephard and one of the survivors of Oceanic flight 815 in the background of the TV series. Any chance that the series will throw a bone to the game and write a reference in to Elliot?
Nicolas Eypert: There might be something appearing in Season 4.
Amazon.com/games: Will all the existing characters from the TV series (survivors, others, etc...) make an appearance in the game and will they be playable characters or NPCs?
Nicolas Eypert: Nearly all of the important and loved characters from the TV show are in the game. They will help you in your journey.
Amazon.com/games: How has it been working with ABC on this project? I would think they'd be very hands on with such a valuable property.
Nicolas Eypert: ABC has been very cooperative. They understood early on that our development schedules don't work like TV show schedules. In the game, we have more freedom to move around the island and adapt the character to the situations we want. Since a lot of them are gamers as well, it was fun working with them on the storyline and possible scenarios.
Amazon.com/games: Historically every episode of LOST raises as many questions as it answers. Is the video game being positioned to answer, or at least give hints to the final answers, to these questions?
Nicolas Eypert: The game exposes one of the ways to see the island, particularly what this island brings to each character. And yes, the game raises some questions as well. I'm sure the end will leave you wondering!.
Amazon.com/games: The TV show's modus operandi is to rely on flashbacks to explain things. Will the game do the same or will all the action all happen on the island?
Nicolas Eypert: YES! Flashbacks are an important part of the game as well. Making them playable has been a real challenge. But in the end I think they are integrated very well into the gameplay and are both fun and explain a lot of what's happening in Elliot's story. Each flashback offers clues to what you need to accomplish on the island.
Amazon.com/games: How much do you think the game's commercial success will rely on the massive existing fan base from the TV show?
Nicolas Eypert: I'll tell you a secret. We use licenses to sell to their fans! Our success will depend on how well the fans think we understood and represented the TV show. And since we are Lost fans as well, it has been a great license to work on.
Amazon.com/games: The TV show is scheduled to run through 2010, with a shortened list of episodes. Will the release of the game be timed to augment the last few years of the show? And if so, are we looking at the possibility of multiple games?
Nicolas Eypert: We hope that the game will bring something new to the Lost universe for sure. Multiple games are always an option, I guess you'll just have to wait and see.
Amazon.com/games: To what extent are key players connected to the series (from Carlton & Lindelof, all the way down to the actors) involved in development of the game the game?
Nicolas Eypert: We met regularly with Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof in the early stages of designing the game. Those guys are fast and very smart and it has been great to use their input to keep the game design on track. We focused a lot on assets from the show, for example making sure we had the best references possible for the characters' modeling. We also worked with the different content producers and script writers from the TV show, all of whom were of great help. We even had one of the original writers of the show working for us during the whole duration of the game production so that when our in-house writers and producers had questions we had direct access to the best possible source.
Amazon.com/games: ABC has smartly connected with LOST fans through podcasts and web episodes. With the game's release on Xbox 360 and PS3 (along with PC), are there plans to deliver exclusive digital content through Xbox Live Marketplace and PSN?
Nicolas Eypert: Check out our website for game updates: http://lostgame.us.ubi.com/
Amazon.com/games: Lastly, there have only been a few trailers released that I've seen. How soon before can we expect to hear and see more about the game and what is the game's expected release date?
Nicolas Eypert: The game will release at the end of February on PS3/XBOX/PC. Look for more assets to be released throughout January.
Nicolas Eypert: Yes, it is fair to say so. This project has been secretive to ensure that we could take our time with the concept of the game. We spent months brainstorming and sharing ideas with the show producers to even get to a good starting point. After that, since we knew the game would be very story-centric we wanted to make sure we didn't spoil it by releasing too much information. But now, as we get closer to the launch date, more news and details will begin to come out.
Amazon.com/games: The game has been described as a 3rd person Action/Adventure/Mystery game. Is this the case? And what games out there would you compare it to?
Nicolas Eypert: Yes, the game is in the Adventure/Mystery category. Internally, we often call it an Adventure/Survival game because you have to survive the jungle and the island and help your character understand who he is and where he is.
Amazon.com/games: I've heard the YETI engine and cryENGINE mentioned in context with the game. What engine is the game being built on and how will this set it apart from the mobile Lost game released earlier this year?
Nicolas Eypert: The game runs on the YETI engine, which is the same engine we used for the acclaimed Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter games. We did make some modifications to better suit our cinematic needs since the character acting is much more important in the Lost universe. Lucky for us, the YETI engine was already quite advanced so we were able to focus on content rather then technical features, which gave us more time to include additional assets. As a result, we have a lot of great variety throughout the game.
Amazon.com/games: What sort of gameplay modes can we hope to see in the game? Single player only? Multiplayer? Coop?
Nicolas Eypert: The game is mainly story driven, so the game is single player.
Amazon.com/games: Ubisoft has loads of experience working with licensed properties (Tom Clancy projects, King Kong, Beowulf, the upcoming Heroes game, etc...). In the case of the Lost Video Game what is the crucial focus in adapting such a well-know property to an altogether new medium?
Nicolas Eypert: My crucial focus was to be authentic and true to the license. It is so easy to make the mistake of adapting a game type we know and just slap the license on it. At Ubisoft we really work hard on licenses to create a game that fits the license and not the other way around.
Amazon.com/games: I've read that the storyline of the game will exist separately, but within the overall LOST storyline. Can you clarify this?
Nicolas Eypert: The game storyline is the story of a new character that we created together with the original show producers. You play his story, and you will discover soon enough that like the other "Losties" that he is there for a reason. The story you play in the game spans over the first two seasons of the TV show.
Amazon.com/games: The Elliot character (if he is the only playable character) seems to me to be a cross between Jack Shephard and one of the survivors of Oceanic flight 815 in the background of the TV series. Any chance that the series will throw a bone to the game and write a reference in to Elliot?
Nicolas Eypert: There might be something appearing in Season 4.
Amazon.com/games: Will all the existing characters from the TV series (survivors, others, etc...) make an appearance in the game and will they be playable characters or NPCs?
Nicolas Eypert: Nearly all of the important and loved characters from the TV show are in the game. They will help you in your journey.
Amazon.com/games: How has it been working with ABC on this project? I would think they'd be very hands on with such a valuable property.
Nicolas Eypert: ABC has been very cooperative. They understood early on that our development schedules don't work like TV show schedules. In the game, we have more freedom to move around the island and adapt the character to the situations we want. Since a lot of them are gamers as well, it was fun working with them on the storyline and possible scenarios.
Amazon.com/games: Historically every episode of LOST raises as many questions as it answers. Is the video game being positioned to answer, or at least give hints to the final answers, to these questions?
Nicolas Eypert: The game exposes one of the ways to see the island, particularly what this island brings to each character. And yes, the game raises some questions as well. I'm sure the end will leave you wondering!.
Amazon.com/games: The TV show's modus operandi is to rely on flashbacks to explain things. Will the game do the same or will all the action all happen on the island?
Nicolas Eypert: YES! Flashbacks are an important part of the game as well. Making them playable has been a real challenge. But in the end I think they are integrated very well into the gameplay and are both fun and explain a lot of what's happening in Elliot's story. Each flashback offers clues to what you need to accomplish on the island.
Amazon.com/games: How much do you think the game's commercial success will rely on the massive existing fan base from the TV show?
Nicolas Eypert: I'll tell you a secret. We use licenses to sell to their fans! Our success will depend on how well the fans think we understood and represented the TV show. And since we are Lost fans as well, it has been a great license to work on.
Amazon.com/games: The TV show is scheduled to run through 2010, with a shortened list of episodes. Will the release of the game be timed to augment the last few years of the show? And if so, are we looking at the possibility of multiple games?
Nicolas Eypert: We hope that the game will bring something new to the Lost universe for sure. Multiple games are always an option, I guess you'll just have to wait and see.
Amazon.com/games: To what extent are key players connected to the series (from Carlton & Lindelof, all the way down to the actors) involved in development of the game the game?
Nicolas Eypert: We met regularly with Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof in the early stages of designing the game. Those guys are fast and very smart and it has been great to use their input to keep the game design on track. We focused a lot on assets from the show, for example making sure we had the best references possible for the characters' modeling. We also worked with the different content producers and script writers from the TV show, all of whom were of great help. We even had one of the original writers of the show working for us during the whole duration of the game production so that when our in-house writers and producers had questions we had direct access to the best possible source.
Amazon.com/games: ABC has smartly connected with LOST fans through podcasts and web episodes. With the game's release on Xbox 360 and PS3 (along with PC), are there plans to deliver exclusive digital content through Xbox Live Marketplace and PSN?
Nicolas Eypert: Check out our website for game updates: http://lostgame.us.ubi.com/
Amazon.com/games: Lastly, there have only been a few trailers released that I've seen. How soon before can we expect to hear and see more about the game and what is the game's expected release date?
Nicolas Eypert: The game will release at the end of February on PS3/XBOX/PC. Look for more assets to be released throughout January.