Joystiq interview: Quantum of Solace's Adam Gascoine

It's so easy to assume that Quantum of Solace is going to be just another rushed license game (even Daniel Craig did!). But after having sat down with a couple of the game's levels (full hands-on coming later), it's easy to see that this is one of Activision's strongest games of the 2008 lineup. We had a chat with the co-design director, Adam Gascoine, about the game and its development.

Quantum of Solace is the first Bond game to be released alongside its movie counterpart. Has this impacted development? Were you rushed?

We were worried about being rushed when we started the project, but thankfully we have a very solid relationship with the movie team. We were one of the first to see the script for the movie, plus we've been able to visit the sets and watch some filming several times now. All this made it a lot easier. We've been developing really since Casino Royale, about two and a half years in total, so we've had plenty of time to develop the game.

Parts of the game are reminiscent of Uncharted. Was this a particular inspiration during the development of Quantum of Solace?

Any good game is definitely an inspiration. I loved Uncharted. I played it twice. Parts of that game may well have influenced design decisions we made during development, just like any of the great 2007 titles. In particular, though, the quality of animation in Uncharted was definitely an inspiration.
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Have you had any uncanny valley moments?

The worst thing about the uncanny valley is that you don't know how you've got into it. One of the most important things to us is that Bond looked right. We have people outside the studio who look at all of the characters and make sure they look great. We've taken 3D scanner data from all of the main characters that are in Quantum of Solace, to make sure they look correct. Bond has seven texture layers and 71 bones in his face. The uncanny valley is something we've been avoiding.

Does the game follow the story of the film? Are there any extra scenes in there?

Quantum of Solace will follow the story of the film. In fact, one of the reasons we went and visited the sets was so that we could take reference photos so that our environments can look as identical to the film as possible. We've also got some scenes from Casino Royale in here, which play out as flashbacks throughout the game. The game is called Quantum of Solace, so we wanted you to get straight into the new stuff from the first level. There are also some levels that show scenes that are not from either films, but are part of their stories.

Will you be supporting trophies on PS3?

Yes, we have a deep achievement system that will be the same on PS3 and Xbox 360. These aren't just simple progression achievements for completing each level, we've also got a lot of specific challenge achievements in there as well.

Did any of the actors perform motion capture for the game?

No, we had a very talented motion capture artist named Ray Park do most of our capture. [Ed note: That's Darth Maul to you Star Wars nerds out there.]

How did the film actors react to the idea of being in a game?

At first there were some who were a bit cautious, but by the end everyone was really into it. I think there's a lot more respect for video games nowadays. Those that had never done it before, like Judi Dench, got very excited about seeing themselves in the game.

Daniel Craig was actually the most reluctant. He's a big gamer himself and didn't want to be in a poorly made licensed game, so we sat him down and let him play an early build. He loved it and came back to us to say "Okay, I'll do it." Since then he's been a very important part of making the game what it is. We try to get him to give us feedback as much as possible, but he is obviously a very busy man. We'll send script drafts to him to check over, so he's been been involved with that aspect too.

Is there a mode in the game to make Bond look a little happier? He seems very stern.

No, there's no "Happy Mode." Bond's a pretty serious guy. He's had a hard time, as you've seen in Casino Royale. I think that's the last we'll see of any humor in this Bond, but who knows, it could come back.

Is the November release date worldwide?

The release date in all territories corresponds to the film release. We felt it was very important that people can go to see the film and immediately come out of the cinema to buy the game.

Were there any series limitations you had to adhere to? Can you show Bond badly hurt?

Yeah, there were definitely series limitations. When we started the project we were given what's called the "Bond Bible." This document details exactly who Bond is and lays out all of his character traits. At first this felt a little restrictive, but you quickly get into the right mindset. This character has been refined for forty-plus years, so they know what they're doing with him. We never wanted to redefine him. We want as genuine a Bond experience as possible. Also, we're a "T"een game. We didn't want the game to be supremely violent or dark, so we were limited in that respect, too.