In part one of our Ghostbusters Interview we looked at the Wii version of the game and all the co-op features it offers. Today we talk with Michael Fetterman, Executive Producer and Brendan Goss, Producer from Terminal Reality about the co-op modes in the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 version.
Co-Optimus: What was the primary inspiration for the new gear/weapon/gadget design that the Ghostbusters will be testing? Will the Ecto get any upgrades to test out as well?
Michael Fetterman: The new equipment had to:
Feel and look authentic to Ghostbusters. We wanted to stay true to the signature funky DIY ethic of the equipment, and to reflect that Egon & Ray are working with a little additional funding. Provide a very compelling range of tactical options that allows the player to develop his/her own preferred playing style while responding to a wide variety of dangerous ghost behaviors. Leave plenty of room for purchasing upgrades throughout the game to really level up the base equipment into instruments of pure mayhem.We came to Dan (Aykroyd) with what we wanted the equipment to do, and he applied the names and proper scientific principals to each of them, so they’re 100% legit, as far as paranormal science is concerned.
The additional powerups for Multiplayer came from think “what other cool things would the Ghostbusters team use while on the job?”
Co-Optimus: How extensive is the character customizability? Will I be able to bring this character into the co-op session?
Michael: You’ll be able to select your character and weapon specialization for each co-op session. Weapon specialization affects your initial ability/power with that weapon and allow you to upgrade that weapon when in campaign mode.
Co-Optimus: Can you describe the co-op modes in detail? Is there any persistence between sessions?
Brendan Goss: Ghostbusters multiplayer has an Instant Action and a Campaign mode. Each mode allows you to play various “Jobs” or game types at locations around the city, playing as the Ghostbusters team. Instant Action is a single Job; Campaign is a linked series of Jobs.
The six Job types include” Containment- where the goal is to find and capture/destroy all ghosts in the area, Survival, where the team needs to work together to stay alive, Protection, where players protect some of Egon’s devices from a paranormal onslaught, Destruction, where the goal is to destroy a series of Evil Relics that appear and spawn enemies, Thief, where players need to keep ghosts from stealing special Artifacts, and Slime Dunk- a more competitive mode where players try to capture the most Slimers!
There is persistence between sessions in the form of online ranking, statistics, leaderboards, and Most Wanted Ghosts. Most Wanted Ghosts appear at various times in the game; like Pokemon (!), the goal is to find and capture them all…
Co-Optimus: Will there be a co-op driving sequence with the Ecto 1?
Brendan: Unfortunately not; perhaps in Ghostbusters 2!
Co-Optimus: Back in 2007, IGN AU got a hands-on preview of the game in which they mentioned that "it's unlikely the game will have co-op throughout the [single player] campaign." At the time, [Creative Director] Drew Hayworth mentioned that the rationale was "that we so much want the experience to be you joining the Ghostbusters for the first time, and all the other characters are so indelibly that character, so I guess we would have to have two new guys as the Ghostbusters recruits…" The Wii version has the same story as the 360/PS3 version with this exact scenario as presented above - and it offers split screen co-op througout the campaign. What was the ultimate reasoning behind why the co-op campaign mode isn't through the campaign?
Michael: Really this comes down to two things.
One, the Single Player game and story just isn’t designed for a co-op experience; it’s really about being a new recruit. The banter and characters just couldn’t come off in a co-op setting, plus the amount of in-game cinematics and FMV’s make multiple players prohibitive.
And Two, when Threewave came on board to build the Multiplayer, we looked at what would provide the most replay-ability and co-op fun in the time we had. We wanted to promote more teamwork while letting players play as the original Ghostbusters team!
Also, in addition to ingame cinematics and cinteractives we use FMV’s to add depth to the story and to mask level loading. Having multiple characters that may or may not be present made it prohibitive to synch that to our FMV’s.
Quick, someone grab some graham crackers and chocolate.
Co-Optimus: What's your favorite co-op moment you've seen so far?
Michael: There isn’t much that beats wrangling ghosts with two or three of your friends at the same time. It’s a unique mechanic; players have an easier time of it when they work together and it feels great!!! Plus there’s those moments when Stay Puft shows up…