We visited the lovely offices of Sony Computer Entertainment Australia down in the city of Sydney, and caught up with Senior Producer Steven Ter Heide, and Online Game Designer Eric Boltjes.
PALGN: Thanks for taking the time out to speak with us guys. First and foremost just give us a brief intro as to what you do for the development of Killzone 2.
Steven: Happy to be here! Well I'm Steven Ter Heide, executive producer of the game and I basically dictate what goes in the game and make sure everything that goes in is top notch and follows our vision.
Eric: I'm Eric Boltjes, Online Game Designer and I pretty much work out the kinks with the online aspect and make sure everything is working how it should be.
Steven Ter Heide(left) and Eric Boltjes(right)
PALGN: Alright so, this question you've probably heard about a million times over now, but we just have to ask. That E3 2005 trailer, you know the one guys. How do you feel about that trailer now, and do you feel you've lived up to your own vision for the game?
Steven: *laughs* Yes, that trailer. To be honest, when we first made the trailer we felt that it was just right for what we wanted to achieve for Killzone 2. It was exactly what we envisioned when we were in planning stages, and though some things in that trailer we couldn't quite get in on the final game, we feel we've matched and in some ways surpassed some of the aspects of the trailer. And without that trailer we wouldn't have reached the level we're at now with Killzone 2, so in a way we're thankful for it, but at the same time, there was a lot of pressure.
PALGN: Well you guys certainly made one pretty looking game, that's for sure. In terms of the pressure, there was a lot of hype surrounding Killzone 2, mainly circulating around the internet. How did the team take some of the internet hype?
Steven: There was a lot of pressure when developing this game and much of the internet hype was really hard to take in at points, especially when you see a nasty forum post about something they don't like about your game. Some of our guys really took it to heart as they've been working on some things for months, only to have it torn down by someone on the internet. We know it's just the internet, but the pressure of it all and the amount of work really made some things difficult to take. Of course on the bright side, we also had a lot of support which was great, and we can't thank the community enough for!
Eric: Yeah, the internet hype was definitely very difficult to take at points. We loved to listen to some of the feedback from the community as ultimately that's who we're making the game for, but sometimes it was really hard to take some of the nasty comments. You just want to post back arguing your point but you can't, and it was so damned frustrating! But at the same time, we're happy about a lot of the positive feedback we got from the community too.
Multiplayer: The soul of Killzone 2
PALGN: Well it's all over now and you guys can chill out for a little while! In terms of the community, how much feedback did you take in from Beta testers and such? When fans posted suggestions for the game, did you ever take them into consideration?
Eric: Absolutely! The beta was great for this in particular because we got so much feedback from people on balancing, bugs and things they didn't like. It was pretty funny with the beta testing guys though, as sometimes they gave us a massive angry rant on something they didn't like in the Beta, and the next day we've replied and told them we've fixed it. They reply back in surprise as they didn't expect such a prompt fix! But yeah we definitely took community feedback in, they are after all who we're making Killzone 2 for and we want the game to be the best it can be for them.
Steven: Posts in general suggesting things to be in the game too we definitely read into. Most of the stuff we couldn't really put in, because sometimes they're a little unrealistic, but there are a few small tidbits of things we have looked at and areally liked, and taken into thought for the development of Killzone 2. Even with the game out we'll still be looking into making improvements for the game for our fans.
PALGN: Big kudos to you guys for listening to the community so closely. Now that we're on the subject of the beta, with the actual Multiplayer aspect of the game, it's been praised for its Warzone game mode, which is a huge blend of several game-types into one. It reminded us of Team Fortress 2 with the classes but with huge twists and turns. What inspired the idea?
Eric: Originally we did have several game modes way back when we were still fleshing the Multiplayer aspect out. But the problem we found was it had no flow. So in a meeting we just thought "what if we put all these game modes into one whole match?". We added it in and our testers really liked it and kept coming back for more, and so ever since we've stuck with it. I think it's really given Killzone 2 that exact feel we want it to have, the feeling of an ever-changing battlefield. It really helps immerse the player and doesn't break the flow.
War is hel..ghan.
PALGN: Well we're not going to lie, it's pretty awesome online! As for the online aspects, do you think you guys will have Killzone 2 going into the more competitive gaming scene? You've got full clan support and ranking systems, so the game definitely has the features to move into the competitive scene.
Steven: Well, if our game were to be featured in tournaments, we'd be honored! We're certainly not expecting it to, but if we get the opportunity then we'll definitely be happy to see it moving into those scenes. We're going to be hosting our own little online tournaments for clans out there anyway, so either way there will be some competitive gaming in there!
PALGN: Guess we'll see over the coming months if it makes it into the big tourney scene then! Your engine for Killzone 2 has been praised for its technical prowess, particularly due to it being built from the ground-up for the PlayStation 3, and using the systems capabilities to its advantage. Will you be outsourcing the engine to other developers for PS3, or is it strictly an in-house thing?
Steven: We're definitely not going to outsource the engine, but we've been sharing a lot of the technology we've produced for the engine to other developers for the PS3. Many of the guys we share it with also share their own cool tech as well, and even Sony too bring in their own tech to help out. The engine itself is definitely a Killzone thing as its designed for that kind of game, but a lot of the tech we have, we're definitely sharing.
PALGN: A Killzone thing, as in, there's a Killzone 3 coming soon?
Steven: *laughs* We're taking a big break first, then thinking about any new projects!
PALGN: Fair enough, we had to try! And finally, there have been so many rumors on Downloadable Content for the game, whether it be inclusion of vehicles in Multiplayer or Split-Screen. Any word on what to expect and when?
Steven: All we can tell you right now is there is content coming, but we can't talk about what. You're just going to have to wait and see!
PALGN: Patience is a virtue after all. Thanks for your time guys, and enjoy your breaks!
PALGN would like to thank Rebecca Rice from SCEA for organising the interview, and Steven Ter Heide and Eric Boltjes from Guerrilla Games for taking the time out to answer our questions.
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