Recently we got the chance to talk to Nick Torchia, producer on the upcoming game Wanted: Weapons of Fate.  Read on to find out what he has to say about the game, he also answers some of the questions you guys submitted.

How did you get your start in the video game industry?

I got into the videogame industry by chance I guess you can say. I just graduated from the University of Santa Barabara, California in 1999. Then about a year later I was doing some temporary work around Universal and just happened across the games division. This is when they had Crash Bandicoot and Sypro the Dragon in full force and back then they were stellar games. One thing led to another and I was working on the Grinch for the original Playstation.

How did you get involved with Wanted Weapons of Fate?

I was working at Warner Bros Games and then found out they were hiring a producer to work on an announced Next gen title. Peter Wanat who is the Executive Producer on the title, was an old friend of mine so we ended up finally working together on a game which is something we have always wanted to do.

Can you tell us a bit about the game, just a general overview?

The game is a 3rd person action game that has a really interesting new mechanic, bullet curving. This mechanic has never been done before in a game and adds a nice new twist to the action genre.

Where does the game pick up? Does it start right after the movie ended?

We call this game Wanted 1.5. It literally takes place five hours after the movie ends. So this is a brand new story line and expands on the franchise.

There have been reports of a sequel for the movie, how will the game tie into the movie’s sequel?

As of right now we have not heard of any sequel but we did get story approval from Universal Picture. We didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes just in case there was a sequel.

How closely does the game stay true to the Wanted universe? (the movie and graphic novel)

We pretty much follow the film since we are based off the film, but we do have some nice comic book ties to the game. We have the suit from the comic book in the game so we will make the fans of the comic book happy. It was important for us to appease both sides so to say.

The game has a few interesting features like bullet curving and slowing down time, can you tell us a bit about those and how they enhance the gameplay?

The curve mechanic was something that was never done before in a game so it took some time to get it right. Lots of play testing and prototyping to get it feel fun and accessible because at the end of the day, Wanted is based off a film so we had to make it casual hardcore. That is a tough thing to do these days. The assassin time is something I like to call your “super bomb”, when you are in trouble, you got to use it. So when enemies surround you you have to use it to get out of trouble.

Which characters from the movie will be in the game and are there any new characters?

You will have Wesley returning as well as Perkwarky and Cross. There are some new characters such as Arana and the Immortal.

In your opinion, what is Wanted Weapons of Fate doing to separate itself from the flooded market of shooters?

The whole idea of run and gun action is key for this title and with the added value of the bullet curving, it gives you a new twist on killing guys. Our cover system is also quite nice and feels solid. We are very fast and slick since you are an assassin where as other amazing cover games such as Gears of War, have a heavier feeling cover.

Will there be destructible cover?

Your cover will break apart if you stand behind there too long so you have to move from point to point. But since you are always in constant motion, there really isn’t time for the cover to break apart. We do have moveable cover as well.

Is there going to be co-op in the game, if not than why?

There is not co-op in the game. Making a co-op game takes demands an extreme amount of time and resources. We felt that adding co-op would have caused lots of gameplay issues and the biggest issue was curving with two people on screen. We just didn’t have the time to add that aspect to the game because it is just so difficult to pull off.

What about online play, can we expect to see that? If not, than why?

There is no on-line play as well for the same reason, time. Time is such an important factor in making a game and we thought focusing all of our attention on a single player experience was smarter. Other games have done it and worked out fine, Bioshock, Metroid Prime and Assassin Creed.

Why did it take so long for the game to come out after the movie? It’s almost been a year since the movie, when was the game started, were you always going to make a game based on Wanted even before the movie came out?

The intent was to release a game that could stand on its own and when wanted the film came out in June, it wasn’t ready to come out. And the DVD came out in December, which is a terrible month to release a game so March was a solid time to release the game. Plus it allowed us to get some more polish and make it better.

How big is the development team that is working on Wanted Weapons of Fate?

Grin has a team in Barcelona, Spain that was working on it. The team was a good size with some solid talent

How representative is the demo of the full game, what is different in the full game?

The demo is a small slice of the game, there is tons more to do with it. Once you get to the later levels, it really starts to get challenging. There are sniper rifle missions, mini-gun and when you get the dual machine guns things get interesting for the player.

Community Questions

LegendXp: What are all the weapons available?

Most of the weapons are pistol based since it was challenging to get a machine gun to curve bullets. We also have sniper rifle and machine gun set pieces.

Superman37876: Is the entire game focused around the curved bullet physics? It seems like it might get repetitive in that is the “standard” way of killing the enemies.

That was a tough thing to balance but was it great it that it doesn’t get boring. For some reason the more curving you do, the more enjoyable it gets. But we fix that issue with proper enemy AI so enemies will react to the player and dodge the curve.

Berad82: Any variety in single-player (e.g. alternate character/costumes? or multiple ways of tackling missions ala Hitman Blood Money?)?

There are lots of unlockable characters; we are up to about 10 of them right now. You can earn these or find some of the codes on the Blu Ray and DVD special features.

Nemesis Law: Flashbacks, does playing as Cross have different mechanics?

Sort of, Cross uses the double pistols where Wesley uses one.

Gobuffalo30: Is there going to be a limit on how many curved bullets you can do?

Yes, you have to kill enemies to earn the ability.

Digi_matrix: Will enemy variety be a problem? It seems like every level has a theme of having the same enemy character design. Plane had guys in suits and gas masks, one level has Green Arrow clones.

Character design is one of the hardest things to do in a game, it takes so much time and balancing to get them right. You have to worry about color scheme because they can get lost in the background of the game. That is why you will see so many enemies with a glowing red light or shiny spot, that signals to the player the weakness.

ATC 1982: How was multi-player incorporated into this game? Was it a priority or an after-thought?

There is no multiplayer in the game.

Diggy lee: Should a person watch the movie before playing the game? Will this game interfere with any movie sequel plans?

Totally watch the film before playing the game, it helps with the story and settings of the game. Cant comment on any potential sequels.

Evan Zinser: Did you and your team suffer from any major challenges when incorporating the “curve the bullet” function?

Yes, for sure. It has never been done before so we were starting from scratch and that is tough to do. There is no reference to work with so we are creating something totally new, that is fun but scary at the same time because you have no idea how the consumer will react.

Alex5523: Is there going to be DLC? What other features does the game have (knowing that there is only the curve bullet)?

You will have to play and find out. But I must say the cover aspect is really nice and smooth.

Wrathful Sin: While uber-violent and heavy in vulgarities, will there be a blood/censor switch for people who have to buy this game yet whine that it has those factors in it?(Like Gears of War 2 did with sparks for blood and static for cursing)

No, there is no sensor to shut off anything.

Thanks to Nick for doing the interview!