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An Interview with EA Level Designer Paul Pettross
By Sharon Maher
In The Lord of the Rings™ The Two Towers™, EA?s blockbuster game based on the second film in the hit trilogy, fans got their first chance to battle the creatures of Middle-earth™ in single-player hand-to-hand combat. While fans enjoyed the opportunity to heft Gimli?s axe or wield Legolas? bow, an obvious question remained: what would it feel like to join forces with other playable members of the Fellowship in the battle against Sauron?s evil forces?
The answer to this question comes this year with The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King. In this newest installment of EA?s The Lord of the Rings™ game series, fans can join forces as Gimli, Legolas, Aragorn, and other new and exciting characters and fight co-operatively to defend Middle-earth from Sauron?s minions. This time around, two players can command two separate characters in the same battle. Ever wondered what it would be like to match Legolas? bow with Aragorn?s sword against a horde of unyielding enemies? Here?s your chance.
With the release of The Return of the King only months away, EA has been working tirelessly on making this sort of gripping, co-operative gameplay a reality. And here to bring you all the details on this new feature is Level Designer Paul Pettross. With duties that include developing and testing the new co-operative gameplay, Pettross is in the perfect position to deliver the latest news on this new feature in what is sure to be one of the year?s biggest games.
Work on The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King must be a lot of long hours but also very rewarding. What are your duties on The Return of the King team?
I'm responsible for implementing paper design and scripting for several levels, as well as some general design duties. Paper design involves mapping out the general game space and documenting what the gamer's experience will be in various sections of the level. Scripting involves the actual implementation of everything we specified in the design documentation.
We hear this includes work on the new co-operative game mode. Can you give us some details?
I wrote general documentation for co-operative gameplay. As new co-operative gameplay features come online, I test them in a level we're building that has been made specifically to show off the multiplayer action.
Since you?ve had a lot of hands-on experience with this exciting new feature, how do you think it will add to the gameplay in The Return of the King?
I think co-operative gameplay will have a tremendous impact on the "fun factor" of the game. It will allow players to truly immerse themselves in the experience, because they will not only be able to "live the movie," but share those moments with friends.
Can you give us some examples of what players will be able to do in co-operative mode?
Players will be able to fight co-operatively against hordes of enemies plus choose characters that complement each other's fighting style. Players will also be able to help each other out by picking up power-ups that boost the other player. We'd like to have certain props in the game that both players need to work together to activate, such as large gate winches and powerful projectile devices like ballistas, catapults, and more. However, since we know a lot of siblings are going to play the game, we decided that some objects that are activated by one player should be able to inflict damage on another player. This will lead to some good "gotcha" moments and slightly competitive gameplay.
What has been the most rewarding moment for you, personally, while working on multiplayer?
For me, the most rewarding moment is watching other team members shout and laugh as they fight off massive groups of Uruk-Hai in our multiplayer level. They're obviously having a good time, and the experience is going to get better and better as development continues.
Any funny stories you have to share about developing co-op mode?
When the co-operative mode was first implemented, players could attack each other. This led to some very, shall we say, ?un-Fellowship-like? moments amongst the team members.
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| 1. | Battlefield Vietnam
PC-CD |
| 2. | James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing
PS2, GC, GBA, & Xbox |
| 3. | The Sims Bustin' Out
PS2, GC, GBA, & Xbox |
| 4. | Need For Speed Underground
PS2, GC, Xbox, & PC |
| 5. | Medal of Honor Rising Sun
PS2, GC, & Xbox |
| 6. | The Lord of the Rings; The Return of the King
PS2, PC-CD, GC, GBA, & Xbox |
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Battlefield Vietnam Update
The 1.01 patch is coming soon. Get a list of what will be fixed and added.
read the update >> |
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