[Q&A] Heavenly Sword
Would you like to know more about Ninja Theory's system selling PlayStation 3 property, pre-assembled by the folks at Sony? Well okay, here ya go!
Published: July 28, 2006
How do you feel about developing for the PS3 so far? What has been the hardest thing to accomplish?
It's great for us that Heavenly Sword is exclusive to PlayStation 3. It means we can focus all our efforts on getting the best out of the machine without the usual compromises you are forced to take on a multi-platform game. The SPU's in particular are amazingly fast if used correctly. The challenge has really been in learning how to take advantage of this unique architecture.
Do you use the new hardware in any way, other than creating more advanced graphics? Does the new technology also affect gameplay?
Combat is our biggest area of gameplay. The combat engine has been in development for well over two years. You can fight using three sword stances which you can switch between on the fly to create your own combos. You can use all enemy weapons against them. You can use objects in the scenery to throw and smash, you can blow up masses of enemies with cannons and so on. Physics has been integrated into combat so that you can smash people into objects or sweep debris into enemies. You can fight one-on-one against supremely skilled enemies, fight against dozens of tightly choreographed enemies, or against armies of thousands. There are also some amazing and outrageous combat set-pieces which have no precedent in games or films. This a real next-gen combat engine that would never be possible on current gen consoles.
We have heard a few developers describe next gen graphics as a way to evoke emotion in players. Is that something that Ninja Theory strives for as well?
People have been talking about it while we have been doing it! We really are breaking new ground in creating real-time dramatic CG performances. We have been working with the very best in the business for a while now. We identified this area three years ago as a massive step forward in turning games into a dramatic medium like film or theatre.
What are your thoughts on the next generation experience?
What I see as next gen is the sum of many things: great gameplay, visuals, audio and that magical thing that just sucks you in and gives you an experience unlike any other. The machine and technology is the canvas, and the painting is the overall gameplay experience. It's what you do with the canvas that matters and there's a whole lot of canvas on PlayStation 3!
Do you feel that it's hard to develop a first generation PS3 game, as your creative effort could easily be overlooked in favor of polygon count?
Our focus has always been on the core gameplay experience. We have developed some of the most advanced rendering technology to support this experience. We started developing Heavenly Sword in mid 2003 well before anyone was even talking about next gen. Why? Because we knew that crafting a true next-generation experience would take many years so we started years before other developers. This has given us the time to craft things that many developers simply don't have time to do. I think Heavenly Sword will stand out both on the creative side and technical side.
What is it like developing a PS3 game? Is Ninja Theory a much bigger company than Just Add Monsters was? Is the actual process a lot different, or does it just take bigger teams and more time?
At JAM we grew up from 3 people to 23 people developing Kung Fu Chaos. Starting with a tiny team was a huge challenge. For Heavenly Sword we started with 23 people are now at 80! Again it's a huge challenge! But we haven't gone all corporate as a result. The team is made up of lots of mini teams tackling many areas of the game and we have kept the spirit of ambition, style and fun that we fostered as JAM. Ninja Theory has been lucky to gain a bit of a reputation as a centre of excellence among the game development community and so we have and are continuing to attract amazing talent from around the world. It's tough, it's fun and we're learning all the time.
It's great for us that Heavenly Sword is exclusive to PlayStation 3. It means we can focus all our efforts on getting the best out of the machine without the usual compromises you are forced to take on a multi-platform game. The SPU's in particular are amazingly fast if used correctly. The challenge has really been in learning how to take advantage of this unique architecture.
Do you use the new hardware in any way, other than creating more advanced graphics? Does the new technology also affect gameplay?
Combat is our biggest area of gameplay. The combat engine has been in development for well over two years. You can fight using three sword stances which you can switch between on the fly to create your own combos. You can use all enemy weapons against them. You can use objects in the scenery to throw and smash, you can blow up masses of enemies with cannons and so on. Physics has been integrated into combat so that you can smash people into objects or sweep debris into enemies. You can fight one-on-one against supremely skilled enemies, fight against dozens of tightly choreographed enemies, or against armies of thousands. There are also some amazing and outrageous combat set-pieces which have no precedent in games or films. This a real next-gen combat engine that would never be possible on current gen consoles.
We have heard a few developers describe next gen graphics as a way to evoke emotion in players. Is that something that Ninja Theory strives for as well?
People have been talking about it while we have been doing it! We really are breaking new ground in creating real-time dramatic CG performances. We have been working with the very best in the business for a while now. We identified this area three years ago as a massive step forward in turning games into a dramatic medium like film or theatre.
What are your thoughts on the next generation experience?
What I see as next gen is the sum of many things: great gameplay, visuals, audio and that magical thing that just sucks you in and gives you an experience unlike any other. The machine and technology is the canvas, and the painting is the overall gameplay experience. It's what you do with the canvas that matters and there's a whole lot of canvas on PlayStation 3!
Do you feel that it's hard to develop a first generation PS3 game, as your creative effort could easily be overlooked in favor of polygon count?
Our focus has always been on the core gameplay experience. We have developed some of the most advanced rendering technology to support this experience. We started developing Heavenly Sword in mid 2003 well before anyone was even talking about next gen. Why? Because we knew that crafting a true next-generation experience would take many years so we started years before other developers. This has given us the time to craft things that many developers simply don't have time to do. I think Heavenly Sword will stand out both on the creative side and technical side.
What is it like developing a PS3 game? Is Ninja Theory a much bigger company than Just Add Monsters was? Is the actual process a lot different, or does it just take bigger teams and more time?
At JAM we grew up from 3 people to 23 people developing Kung Fu Chaos. Starting with a tiny team was a huge challenge. For Heavenly Sword we started with 23 people are now at 80! Again it's a huge challenge! But we haven't gone all corporate as a result. The team is made up of lots of mini teams tackling many areas of the game and we have kept the spirit of ambition, style and fun that we fostered as JAM. Ninja Theory has been lucky to gain a bit of a reputation as a centre of excellence among the game development community and so we have and are continuing to attract amazing talent from around the world. It's tough, it's fun and we're learning all the time.
