Hi, I’m Sheldon Carter, the Producer of Dark Sector. I managed to bog down our Project Lead, Steve Sinclair, with enough work that I was able to screw him out of the honour of the first post on this Blog.
So, let’s get down to it: Everything you know about Dark Sector is probably wrong.
I liked that tag line just because of all of the mystery surrounding this project for the past months, but after the Game Informer article it’s not as true anymore. For us, it was pretty cool to finally be able to reveal so many of the secrets about the game, the setting, and to actually show the graphics and gameplay to the press. Even better was that it was really well received and it turned out to be a great article.
The build we showed Game Informer was not only cool because we landed the cover, but we also had a chance to focus test the gameplay with a few peeps in Chicago. Aside from re-learning that everyone except me seems to be playing Madden football (our focus test was during its release week), watching new players with the game gave us some solid insight on things to improve and to make sure there are visual answers to questions like:
- What did the trooper, who I just tore to ribbons with the glaive, have for lunch?
Yep – some guys want to see that stuff. Seriously, there was some great feedback that we have looked at and adjusted in terms of targeting, movement, and melee attack.
The story for the game is really starting to kick ass as well. I like Master Chief, and I like the testosterone pumped look of (Gears of War’s) Marcus Fenix, but I prefer a story arc and personality for the main character that is a little deeper. It’s pretty clear that character development is how television is consistently whopping Hollywood these days, and in a 15-hour game we have the same opportunity. Hayden Tenno is going through so many physical and personal changes through this story that I think we will be able to engage players’ minds as well as their adrenal glands.
The word from our marketing folk is that this Blog is for people not just interested in the game, but who also want the inside track on the type of stuff that happens in a game studio… I guess the only thing I can say is that we are starting a ‘stache off in the office this week. Basically, many of the guys (I suppose girls could get involved if they were so inclined) are going to grow moustaches. I’m not talking about anything fancy like a goatee (which is my signature facial hair) or a soul patch, or even cool handle bars. Just a straight up ‘stache ala Burt Reynolds. Everyone involved is putting up 5 bucks and he who lasts the longest without shaving it off, wins the pot. I’d post up some pictures once they all start to grow in, but for some of the guys on our team, this could take months! Either way - it should make the PR people squirm if they need pictures for press.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll try get some other members of the team posting – hopefully, with more interesting posts than me.
Sheldon Carter
Producer
