Jason Vandenberghe the creative director for Red Steel 2 at Ubisoft was kind enough to take some time out to answer a few questions on the upcoming Wii exclusive action game.
GamesRelay: Is Caldera the whole land and not just the city?
Jason Vandenberghe: Let's talk about the world of Red Steel 2 a little.
Caldera is acity in what is generally known as the "Nevada Territories". It's kindanorthwest of Las Vegas, off the beaten path a bit, in what'saffectionately known as the "High Desert" (a.k.a. the Mojave Desert) - an elevated, hot, flat, chunk of the Rocky Mountains.
The landsurrounding Caldera is named "Caldera County" as well, and one bigcrater was the most interesting landmark (a "caldera", for the curious,is another word for a big sinkhole or crater).
So, no, Caldera isn't the whole land. The "world" of Red Steel 2 is the Red West.
In fact, "the Red West" is a phrase used to describe the whole western part of North America.
GamesRelay: Will there be other places than desert in the game?
Jason Vandenberghe : But of course. The whole story takes place in and around the city of Caldera, and there's a lot of different kinds of environments in thatplace. Ancient temples, ramshackle slums, desert, huge modernfreight-moving systems... it's a real city. Then you'll roll on out intosurrounding canyons, where you'll find a pueblo-style mining town, ahuge semi-automated strip mine, old, abandoned underground tunnels, anancient ancestral monastery / temple clinging to the side of a cliff...
But if you mean "do you go anywhere cold, like the moon or something" the answer is no.
GamesRelay: Will there be weather effects in Caldera (rain, sandstorms, etc.)?
Jason Vandenberghe: Yes. When we were conceiving the 'mood' for each level, we tried to give the weather, time of day, and general atmosphere for each space a unique feeling, one that would fit the gameplay for that location. Honestly, there were a few times where our ambience people (lighting, VFX, audio, etc) showed us some stuff that we were convinced wasn't possible on the Wii... but they did it.
GamesRelay: Will there be night, dusk and dawn in the game?
Jason Vandenberghe: The gameplay takes place over several days, and the Sun in the Red West rises and sets just like it does in the real world. What I mean to say is that there will be a few night levels, yes.
GamesRelay: Are there living people anywhere? I know the inhabitants left but are there any remaining?
Jason Vandenberghe: Yes! Yes indeed! Crucial, key, power-granting inhabitants! You shouldbe discovering that in the near future, in fact what I can tell you isthere are four inhabitants of great importance the player that you willencounter repeatedly, get missions from, buy cool powers from, and who,in general, will help convey to you the Story. That is, assuming youdon't skip the cutscenes.
(By the way, every time you skip a cutscene, a fairy dies somewhere. I'm watching you.)
Thanks to Jason Vandenberghe over at Ubisoft for taking the time to answer the questions on the upcoming Red Steel 2.
