In terms of cool extra terrestrials, the Predator ranks right up there with Alien, which is probably why they finally went claw-to-claw this past summer. (Predator vs. Alf -- that's the match I really want to see.) We chat with Tim Tran of Eurocom regarding the upcoming Predator: Concrete Jungle. From the plot to the problem of character balancing to the third-person camera to bonus content, our questions ranged far and wide. Thanks for your time, Tim!

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Predator: Concrete Jungle Q&A

Conducted by Omni

We’ll get to the geography questions later; first, what is your name, role on Predator: Concrete Jungle, when did you get into the games industry, and how much Predator paraphernalia do you own?

Hi! My name is Tim Tran and I’m the Associate Producer on Predator. I got into the game industry back in 1995.

In a nutshell, what’s Predator: Concrete Jungle all about?

The game is an action/stealth/adventure game that takes place on Earth between two separate time periods, 1930 and 2030. In a fictional city called New Way City and the city of Neonopolis. The game allows players to roam a vast city landscape stalking human prey with weapons of annihilation, cloaking technology, and various vision modes. Players explore through city buildings from the 1930 to the futuristic city of the 2030. The player will visit the harbor areas and fight inside a ship, sneak through secured chambers of hidden laboratories, flay humans on top of sky scrapers, fight within a broken down church, destroy weapons facility, hunt down and defeat many gangs that reside in the city walls, take on giant mechs of the future, etc…

Considering it will be coming out close to the release of the Aliens vs. Predator movie, why just concentrate on Predator? Why not an Aliens vs. Predator action game?

The Predator game was in production before the Movie was in production. We always wanted to do a Predator game. We managed to add some elements of the movie into the game though. It’s a surprise, so you’ll have to play the game J

Where does the game fall in the Predator movies timeline? Or is it even related?

The game takes place in the past before the movies and way off into the future (2030 to be exact); however, there are subtle hints/clues about Weyland and Yutani.

How tough is it balancing play? I mean, the Predator species is completely bad-ass, armed to the teeth, and able to cloak itself so what are you doing to make the game challenging?

Creating gameplay with the Predator was a difficult task especially when the opponents are “just human.” For this, we created a new element of gameplay where the player has a limit on the Predator’s energy source and must manage this so the player can use those cool Predator weapons and cloaking. The player has to find energy outlets throughout the city to recharge while hunting down prey or doing the mission objectives. We also introduce new enemies that use the Predator’s technology against the player. This is part of the story and is also where the main balancing of the gameplay is used. The player will have somewhat of a tough time to deal with “humans” that has the same type of tech as the Predator and multiply them by a couple times and you get an army of “super humans”. These new enemies include mech riders and genetically enhanced humans. The player now cannot just rely on the Predator’s strength and weapons but has to use cunning and skilled attacks to defeat them.

Will there be any differences between the Xbox and Playstation 2 versions?

There will be no difference between the two. They are both exactly the same.

How have previous projects that you’ve worked on influenced Predator: Concrete Jungle? Not just technically or stylistically, but how the team works together.

Eurocom has made many 3rd person games, so this is like second-nature to them. They understand what’s required for these types of 3rd person games (games like the PS2 Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and have created a unique element to the Predator game like no other 3rd persons games that Eurocom have worked on. An example of this enhancement in the Predator game is that Eurocom introduced a “stealth execution” similar to many other stealth games, but with a Predator’s touch.

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I’ll be honest, when I first got wind of Predator: Concrete Jungle I immediately thought, “Oh yeah, a Splinter Cell game with Predator.” Although that’s a simple summation, what would you say to gamers who are thinking the same thing? How will Concrete Jungle be different (aside from the main characters)?

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Originally we wanted to do that, but it turned out to be more difficult with time. The difference between the two games is that Predator is more arcade action stealth than the sim-like stealth of the Splinter Cell. Players who do not have the patience for Splinter Cell stealth sim-like game, and like a faster pace of stealth and to rip humans apart will enjoy this game greatly. There will be stealth missions and objective driven missions like Splinter Cell, but Predator is more focused on the action than the stealth part of the game.

Further to that last question, how will Predator: Concrete Jungle cut through the noise during the 4^th Quarter?

We are not worry about that as we will be releasing the game in 1^st quarter of 2005 instead, when the all the “ripples have calm down."

Obviously, there are advantages to using a 3^rd Person view, but has the team identified one drawback to the 3^rd Person camera?

Yes, the biggest issue for 3^rd person game is the camera. There is no perfect camera for a 3^rd person game so we give you 3 different camera systems. The first camera system is “auto” which is aimed for the causal gamer. As the name stated the camera will automatically follow the player from a distance. The second camera system is “manual” which is aimed at the hardcore gamers. This camera system will give the player full control of the camera. Third system is called, “Track” which is a tweaked/hybrid of the 2 system mention above. I like this one a lot as it gives the player some control over the camera as well as auto centering when you are too busy fighting.

Who’s working on the sound design? Is Eurocom handling it or is being handled by an outside company?

Eurocom is handling the sound design. They’ve met up with the Fox/Predator crew and were able to use sounds from the AVP movie.

Is there anything from the early stages of development that were cut due to over-ambition or time constraints?

Like every game, there are some components I wished that could have made it into the final version. Some of these components are mentioned above in when you asked “How will Concrete Jungle be different from Splinter Cell?”.

Will there be any online or multiplayer components for Concrete Jungle?

As mentioned above, because of time constraint and limited resources, we have no online component or multiplayer.

What kinds of unlockables are planned? Maybe a Predator downhill skiing mini-game?

Yes, there will be many unlockables such as bonus missions, new weapons, costumes, etc… sorry, there will be no downhill skiing for the Predator.

If Predator: Concrete Jungle proves to be a success will there be additional installments concentrating on the Predator mythos?

If Predator becomes a success, more likely there will be sequels for it.

(January 4, 2005)


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