Conan
OnTheXbox.com Developer Q&A

On the Xbox: Thank you Mark Cooke for doing this interview with Onthexbox.com. Mark is the lead gameplay programmer on the upcoming action game Conan. Could you please give the readers a brief description of what Conan the game is all about?

Mark Cooke: Conan is all about giving the player the feeling of being the character Conan.  We’re going to drop players into Hyboria in the midst of a new story in the Conan universe that draws inspiration from Robert E. Howard’s original stories.  Conan will engage in fearsome combat with man and beast while exploring his environments, searching for treasure and rescuing maidens.

Gameplay is split between combat and puzzle solving but with a primary focus on the combat.  At Nihilistic, we’ve worked hard to give Conan a lot of options and provide a combat system with a lot of depth – there are multiple weapon types players can pick up or steal from their enemies at any time, a huge number of different combos and an overall control system that lets them do what they want when they want to do it.
 
OTX: Has the development team had any problems during the development period, be it issues with the combat system or sticking close to the Conan mythology?

Mark: From the beginning of the project, we knew what fans would be looking for in a Conan game – adventure, feats of strength, beasts to slay and a hearty helping of gore.  Since a large number of us on the development team were fans of Conan before taking on this project, keeping in the style of the Conan mythology was the easy part.

In general though, developing games is a constant challenge – that’s what makes it so appealing to a lot of us.  The key is of course overcoming those challenges and creating solutions that improve the game.  We’re always working hard to create the best experience for the player; that’s the end goal.
 
 

OTX: With other action games out on the market, like God of War, what is going to set Conan apart from the rest of the pack?

Mark: The biggest difference between Conan and other action combat games on the market is the number of unique combos Conan has and the depth of abilities that are exposed in those combos.  For example, there are combat moves that: disarm enemies, take their shields out of their hands and allow Conan to equip it directly, break enemies’ backs across Conan’s knee, stun enemies, light them on fire, etc.  The list goes on and on.

It all depends on what Conan is currently holding.  He can use two blades simultaneously, huge two-handed weapons, shields, torches – almost anything he finds in the battlefield.  Plus, he can switch in and out of these weapon types on the fly by just picking them up in the game world with no need to go to a menu to switch weapons.

OTX: Roughly how many levels or stages will be in Conan? How long do you expect the average gamer will spend on Conan?

Mark: There are roughly fifteen missions in Conan.  Although mission length varies, some are quite long – over an hour – but with our streaming system, Conan can navigate through these large environments without having to see a load screen mid-mission.  The total gameplay experience for a first time player is in the 10-12 hour range.  Of course there are plenty of achievements and unlockables, so if players want to get them all, they’ll have to play through more than once.
 
OTX: As with most actions games like Conan boss battles will be a big part of the gameplay. Approximately how many boss battles will be featured in the game?

Mark: There are a larger number of boss battles in the game.  Each one is unique, and there is a large amount of variety between the types of enemies players will face.  Conan will have to deal with a hulking elephant demon and a giant squid as well as some others that have a lot of tricks up their sleeves.
 
OTX: In a recent interview with Gamespot a main female character, named A'Kanna, was confirmed to be in the game. Will A'Kanna be playable? What will she add to the game?

Mark: A’Kanna is the lead female character in the story.  While she is not playable, she helps Conan throughout his journey at many points in the story.  When Conan first meets her, they band together to overcome their adversaries out of necessity.  From there, their lives become more and more intertwined and she helps reveal some of the causes behind the mysterious events that are occurring throughout the game.
 
OTX: Creatures and beasts have been a big part of the Conan folklore since the first bit of Conan mythology was released. What type of beasts will the player be fighting in Conan?

Mark: One of the beasts that we’ve revealed is the monstrous cave ape.  These creatures live in the underground Kush and Shem caverns and are four times the size of Conan.  The hulking beasts don’t have a lot of defenses but make up for it with strong offense that Conan has to be wary of or he will succumb to their strength.  Some of the cave apes can even rip boulders right out of the environment and throw them at Conan.
 
OTX: Compared to other action games like God of War, how violent and gory do you think Conan is?

Mark: There is a lot of gore in Conan.  For a while we were worried we might get an AO rating (we didn’t; Conan is rated M).  The game has a lot of constant gore that can happen at any time.  Enemies can be decapitated, have their arms removed, legs removed and be chopped in half both horizontally and vertically.  This limb removal occurs both dynamically depending on where a player’s sword strikes and in response to specific combat moves.
 
OTX: In press released when Conan was first announced it said there would be interactive environments. Is this still true about the game? In what ways will the environments be interactive?

Mark: The environments are interactive in two primary ways: objects that can be used to assist Conan in destroying his enemies and objects that Conan must interact with using his legendary strength that are blocking him on his path.

The first type of objects include the aforementioned weapons Conan can simply find in his environment but also a number of other useful items.  For example, in Stygia, spikes that protrude out of walls can impale enemies if you throw them at them.  There are also plenty of objects Conan can pick up and throw at his enemies – boulders, furniture or whatever else Conan can find in his environment.
 
OTX: Is there any plans to release a demo of Conan on the Xbox Live Marketplace?

Mark: Yes - a demo will be released very soon.  Please look forward to it and check it out!
 
OTX: Thank you for taking your time to answer these questions.