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Sarah Michelle Gellar stars in one of the most popular
TV series on Earth, so it's hardly surprising EA was
keen to bring the rather lovely face of the star to
console-dom. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is on the way
to Xbox and looking blinkin' tasty. Undead action is
so obviously the future.
Set to run parallel to the third series of TV shows,
the game features the delectable Ms Gellar roaming around
murdering dark forces with hot martial arts and pieces
of wood, as well as taking the undead legions to task
with missile weapons and magic. All the characters from
the show are in there, and the TV bods have worked closely
on the project to ensure fans of the series don't start
crying because Buffy's pants are the wrong colour. Which
is nice.
We fired off some questions to the development team
in the States to find out what it takes to save the
world every week. Fangs a lot for taking the time to
read the answers.
Interview by Johnny Minkley.
How does the game's story fit into the Buffy universe?
The story is designed to stand alone so that the game
can appeal to people who may never have seen the show
before but just want to play a very cool game. However,
there are themes, characters, locations and even funny
lines that will definitely mean more to those people
who are fans of the show as well.
How much license were you given with the franchise
- are there strict guidelines you had to observe?
The premise of the game is that it is a lost episode
from Season Three, so in keeping with the context of
the show we firmly conformed to the "happenings"
of that series of episodes. Buffy fans will be able
to pick up on this immediately. There were some great
things we've had the freedom of exploring because we're
making a videogame. One example is Slayer Power. It
not only looks cool, but using slayer power is a key
to the player's survival! We'll let you figure out the
rest on your own.
Why an Xbox exclusive? Are we going to see the game
on other formats?
The game will only be available on Xbox. The aspirations
of what we wanted to achieve with this game were just
bigger than we had originally intended, and it was just
a natural fit for Microsoft's Xbox.
Assuming you're speaking to some strange freak of
nature who has never watched Buffy, can you describe
what kind of experience they should expect from the
game?
The great thing about the game is that anyone can pick
it up and get caught up in it because, first and foremost,
it's a groovy game! Buffy is an amazing action-adventure
game with the heart of a fighting title. We have enough
excitement to entice the non-Buffy fan while still attracting
the fans with a deeper level of storyline and character
interactions.
What's your overall opinion of Xbox?
Working on a console before its release always has
its challenges but, in general, the experience has been
great. We've made a commitment to recreate the look
and feel of the show in the game, and Xbox definitely
has the power to do this. I hope Xbox will grow and
be a big success... as I hope will Gamecube and PS2.
The games industry needs a variety of different platforms
to keep it fun and interesting.
Has Joss Whedon had much involvement in the development
of the project?
Joss and the production staff for the TV series have
been very encouraging and supportive.
Can you outline the various Slayer Powers available
to Buffy in the game?
Slayer Powers can used to enhance standard attacks,
combination attacks or to power unique attacks. Buffy
has a number of unique special attacks in the game that
she can use to overcome different enemies. If we told
you now, where would the fun be of discovering these
on your own?
Which members of the cast have lent their vocal
talents to the game, and what do they make of their
digital incarnations?
We worked closely with the cast to nail down the likenesses
for each. What can we say about the dialogue? You will
see and hear Xander, Willow, Giles, Cordelia, Spike,
and Angel in the game.
It's obviously a really sharp-witted show - how
have you captured the humour in the game?
There are themes, characters, locations and even funny
lines in the game that capture the style and humour
of the show. With the help of Chris Golden and Tom Sniegoski
(who have written many of the Buffy novels and comic
books in the past) we have great game script that brings
an authentic touch to the game dialogue.
How does the fight system work, and what weapons
will Buffy have at her disposal?
Setting aside all of the damage that the Buffster can
inflict with fists and feet alone, there are a host
of different weapons available for both close and long-range
attacks. There are stakes, crossbows, holy water, hellfire,
shovels, sledgehammers, a water gun, the reaper blade
and others. Some of these can be combined with other
items to refill ammo or to create more powerful variants:
for example, you can combine holy water or hellfire
with the water gun to refill it. Alternatively, you
can combine holy water or hellfire with crossbow bolts
to create different types which can prove more effective
against different enemies.
Buffy can also use the environment to her advantage.
Say you're fighting a vampire but you have no weapons
to hand, what can you do? Well, how about you grab them
and throw them at that shard of wood protruding from
the wall? Or why not throw them onto that flaming oil
barrel? Things like that abound throughout the game
and will help you thwart the evil-doers endeavours.
What new features do you feel you're bringing to
the genre?
The engine was designed to create a realistic 3D environment-based
combat system. Different enemies will attack you with
various combat styles, forcing the player to adapt and
learn new patterns and combinations to get by increasingly
difficult opponents. What we've made is an action-adventure
game with more advanced fighting capabilities than you've
ever seen in this genre
What steps have you taken to ensure longevity?
Bribery...just kidding. Addictive gameplay engaging
story, some hidden secrets and cheats you may not be
aware of upon first glance.
Is this a long-term project that we're going to see
sequels to? We're sure players would like to control
some of their other favourite characters, too...
Stay tuned we have a few tricks up our sleeve in the
future beyond the first game. First things first: everyone
has to go and get Buffy 'cause it rocks! Patrick Garratt
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