During our discussion with the man responsible for the designing Killzone’s artificial intelligence, things got really interesting, not particularly because of questions I asked him with regards to the AI (or sometimes lack thereof), but because of what may have been a slight slip of the tongue.
He started out by saying and I quote: "What we set out to do with Killzone 1."
Naturally, I couldn’t let an opportunity like that slip by and asked him what they intend to achieve with the sequel.
Sadly, Mister Burns wasn’t willing to comment further on Killzone 2, so we’ll just have to wait for confirmation either way. What we did find out for sure is that Guerilla is working on two more games at the moment but again no word on what these might be or whom they might be produced for. Considering their cozy relationship with Sony however, I think it’s safe to assume that both projects are being considered for Sony formats.
Another interesting highlight to mention includes Joris de Man, who is responsible for the music and sound effects, offered us an explanation of how the sound effects work; how they’re integrated in the game; the reasoning behind the absence of in-game music (one doesn’t wage war wearing an Ipod) and how he got around having the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra to play the game’s title music.
After talking with the people responsible for piecing together the puzzle known as Killzone we had a brief look in the room where the testers play tested the game before release. In the test room on the wall there was a
chalkboard with codes for the game and the room was filled with the smell of coffee and cigarettes.
At one point during the tour, I had to laugh out loud when I noticed on the wall a printout of a
Penny Arcade strip about Killzone. It's nice to see that the developers of the game have a good sense of humor and despite some of the less-then-stellar reviews can laugh with their own product.
During every step of the tour, I gained a deeper understanding and appreciation of how a game with such high production values is constructed, as well as the way the various parts of the game are pieced together as a giant and complex puzzle. In the end, I came away from the tour with a newfound respect for the Guerilla Games and the hope that their next title will be on hardware that can better materialize their ambitious visions.
Although I am not personally fond of Killzone, I am intrigued by the prospects Guerilla Games has in store and wish them the best of luck in future endeavors.
Stay tuned to our upcoming Killzone review later this month.
