Icepick: Hey boys, what's the rumpus? "The Boss" and I appreciate you guys taking a moment out of your busy schedules and participating in this little sit-down.
I have heard through a friend of ours that you are developing a sequel to your very excellent crime simulation "Gangsters". Share with us a little about your organization and the development of this new title as we speak. Do you expect it to be a big earner?
Jay: Hothouse have been in business for over 4 years and over that period have completed 4 titles across 3 platforms; the most successful of which, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, has sold over a million copies in the UK. Currently in development we have Gangsters 2, the sequel to Gangsters: Organized Crime and various other European versions of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?. Hothouse currently employs nearly 50 individuals and are based in the heart of Bristol, England.
Icepick: Making a sequel was a smart play on your part, if you get my drift. A very smart play. How will it be different from the last "legitimate" business venture?
Jay: The display engine for Gangsters 2 has been completely rewritten. Although many won't have realized it the original Gangsters was in 256 colors. The new engine supports 16bit color and more detailed people and diverse buildings. Motion capture data has been used to animate game characters; there will be a marked improvement to the city and its inhabitants. The engine also supports weather, along with day, night and street lighting.
Objectives - Cities will have player objectives. These will vary from broad objectives such as wipe out the opposition in any way you see fit, through to elimination of specific individuals or businesses.
Non-grid cities - City layouts have changed dramatically, the generated standard grid structure is gone. We have designed cities with layouts that offer more strategic opportunities for the player. By running an event time-line in each city we created plots and objectives that are unique for each city.
Street maps - There are now several levels of magnification for the overhead view city maps. You can get a truly micro or macro view of the city. Maps have been rotated by 45° so movement of people on the overhead map matches the isometric view. Road names and city districts now appear on the maps for easier navigation.
Weapons - The weapons system for Gangsters 2 has been reworked, with more emphasis on range, rate and arc of fire. As an example a rifle will have a greater range than a machine gun; a bunch of hoods holed up in a dead end may well be able to pick off a couple of rivals with machines guns before they get in machine gun range.
We are also allowing bombs to be used in the streets against enemies as well as against buildings. Pistols with silencers will also be available for discreet hits! Weapons in the hands of gangsters with special skills are more effective. Arming your men effectively for their tasks will bring bigger rewards in Gangsters 2.
Icepick: I heard you was a stand-up guy, but to be safe you better tell us your life story. Were you brought in because they opened up the books? Or are you with the original crew that did this piece of work? Are most of the old crew still part of this family?
Jay: I've been with the family for just over 18 months and have worked on every Hothouse title excluding Gangsters. The original family members are still pretty much all in one piece, although we have lost a couple of guys but these have been replaced and others of joined to bolster the ranks.
Icepick: Here I'm going to have to get a little rough with you boys. "The boss" doesn't like bugs. The last "Bugs" he had to deal with is wearing a concrete overcoat. I assume you wiseguys can vouch for the quality of this merchandise before it hits the street, am I right?
Jay: With the depth and complexity of a game like Gangsters 2 it's always going to be fairly difficult to iron out every single bug. The game has now been in QA for some time and we are now tweaking bits and pieces to ensure that everything is tip-top. One thing that does stand out from the feedback on the original game is that the patches that we did release not only fixed reported bugs but also added other elements to the gameplay, many were quite surprised by this.
Icepick: Yeah, well it better be. "The boss" doesn't want to have to call any made guys in, get me? So tell us about family. Players will have some ability to tailor their crew to their needs after they've made the family tree, am I right? The boys get better at their jobs when you give them a job to do? What I mean is, say you got kind of an empty coat, a guy lookin' to be made in your family. He's a good enforcer with his fists, but can't pop a guy to save his life. Can he develop skills that they're not as good at?
Jay: Each episode in Gangsters 2 has set primary and secondary objectives that need to be completed; how this is done though is pretty much up to the player. If you are extremely successful and complete all objectives you will gain maximum experience points to allocate to your crew in the family tree. Most characters usually start with just two skills types, this can rise to four as you play through the game. Each individual skill has a level from 1 to 5, one being the lowest. As you allocate points to each skill this level will rise, although the higher the next level jump, the higher the amount of experience points needed.
Icepick: I like the idea of controlling the state as opposed to just a single city. Makes me feel like I could be somebody, you know what I mean? The original game had great re-playability value. Do you see the same thing happening with this? Is it possible to customize the maps to degree, or are they all pre-generated? Can they be randomly generated? Better speak up, bub.
Jay: Gangsters 2 contains 18 cities spread over 20 episodes, none of these are no randomly generated. We have created cities that are well balanced, give a realistic feel and a strategic challenge to the gamer without losing any of the enjoyment of conquest. We felt this wasn't 100% achievable with random maps.
Icepick: Thank you once more for this information you've shared. "The boss" thanks you for your loyalty and your time.
-Informant source, Jason Stapleton, Hothouse Creations.