Writers in games never really get the acolades they deserve, in a meduim where enjoyment is preferable to strong narratives one can understand why. But in a week where Bioshock 2 and Uncharted 2 have been given such widespread media attention it would be unwise to suggest that the excitement is purely surrounding the gameplay, when both these titles have the strongest stories in modern gaming. It is with great fondness that the next Batman titles story will be primarily penned by one of the most talented writers to be ever associated with the franchise, Paul Dini.
Mr Dini’s resume reads like a who’s who of Saturday morning cartoon shows with Batman, Tiny Toons, Freakazoid, Superman, Animanaics and even Transfomers. It certainly is a varied and should give fans great hope for the Arkham Asylum. Dini shows a great understanding of the Batman franchise with the best animated efforts written by him, namely Batman Begins: Return of the Joker and Mask of the Phantasm which are both widely regarded with great respect and admiration by fans, critics and even the Grammy’s. It is with odd wonder then, that only one gaming outlet, Gamespot, has chosen to focus on Dini with their preview coverage and interesting interview. I urge every single one of you to check the interview out because it gives a fascinating insight into how story facets are melded together and what us gamers can expect from the game, here are a few choice quotes:
“You’ve delivered your worst enemy to prison, and then surprise, there’s a lockdown and you’re in the middle of a prison riot and everybody wants you.”
“The devil will tell you very amusing things and try to get you laughing, but he’s always out for himself.”
“But this one, he’s [Batman] in a real life-and-death scenario, so I wanted to keep him dark, I wanted to keep him focused–as focused as the player would have to be in order to get through the missions alive.”
“Oh, yeah. When I saw the way that Batman was going to move in this game, I was going, “My god, this should be like a big [CGI] 3D Batman feature.”
“[Referring to the Creative process]Other than that, we were just able to throw ideas on the table and it was very collaborative in the way that a lot of the best animation I’ve worked on has been.”
Okay so I will admit my own personal excitement for this game has now officially reached fever pitch and with one of the super-hero writing talents is on board the game can only get even sweeter! Expectations are high and it will undoubtedly translate into sales for publisher Eidos. It may be the first game by Rocksteady Studios but even if the game play itself is below par, at least the story will be top notch.
June 19th is just around the corner.
mated Series. It is amazing to see these three back in their fantastic voice roles which used to light up most Saturday mornings during the ninties, its like they never stopped. The gameplay looks interesting and the design is taking Gotham into some refreshing places, infusing Nolans popular imprint on to a classic template which results into some dramatic results. A bit too sexed up to be honest, but it does symbolise the catch all audience Eidos wants to seduce.
Gaming Goodness 