IGN recently talked to Bits Studios on Die Hard Vendetta. See what they had to say on their highly-anticipated shooter.

IGNcube: First up, tell us a little about Bits Studios and its history. Is it just us or were you once working with Nintendo on an anticipated title for N64 called Riqa?

Bits Studios: Bits Studios has been developing games for consoles for over 15 years, including Warlocked on the Game Boy Color, perceived as one of the best RTS games on any handheld system. Warlocked scooped IGN's Strategy Game of the Year Award on the Game Boy. ;)

During the Nintendo 64's lifespan we worked directly for Nintendo on a game title Riqa. Unfortunately due to the short lifespan of the Nintendo 64, Riqa was never to see the light of day although it was shaping up to be a fantastic game.

In the past couple of years we have kept a relatively low profile as we have been developing new and existing technologies to make use of the hardware available at our disposal today. Die Hard: Vendetta will justify our hard work in that time.

IGNcube: When did you first hear about GameCube, previously called Project Dolphin, and where do the beginnings of Die Hard: Vendetta fit into that timeline?

Bits Studios: Well we've always had a close relationship with Nintendo here at Bits and they first approached us about Project Dolphin in the autumn of 1999. At that point it was purely the hardware specs and they had some demonstrations running through software emulation. We originally started designing the game when the N64 was out, but in Spring 2000 we decided to start our design again for the Gamecube. For the first year we were just working with the emulator, hoping that Nintendo would deliver on their promises. Needless to say they did.

IGNcube: How many people are involved with the development of Die Hard: Vendetta?

Bits Studios: Die Hard: Vendetta has a core team of 25 dedicated programmers, artists, animators and sound engineers. But there are numerous auxiliary personnel involved in the creation of the game, ranging from voice actors to the stuntmen used in the motion capture.

IGNcube: Start us off with a dose of the Vendetta plotline. Will we only play as John McClane's, and what kind of interaction can we expect with his attractive daughter?

Bits Studios: Attractive daughter? So you like the model then, or do you just like uniforms ;-). In this game you will only play John McClane (well in the single player game), however Lucy McClane does play an important part in our story. She is now a grown woman in the game which, in a timeline sense, is set about five years after the events in "Die Hard with a Vengeance", and has followed her father into the police force. The game begins with Lucy getting involved in an "incident" which unravels into a whole heap of pain for John. As you can see I'm being a little bit cagey about the plot because I want players to experience the story fresh. Needless to say it's not called Vendetta for nothing.

IGNcube: Describe how Die Hard: Vendetta plays out. Is it based on short scenarios where you're delivered an objective before the level loads, or will you explore and learn more in real-time as you move along?

Bits Studios: Bits of both, but I wouldn't use the word "short". The player will start a location with some objective, which may very well change as events within that location pan out. The single player game is story-based however we've strived to make it as free flowing as possible where the player will discover what's going on and what they should be doing in real-time by talking to people or having to think a little. I personally don't like it when everything is given to the player on a plate, because you end up feeling detached from the game. I believe one of the strengths of what we have achieved with Die Hard Vendetta is the sensation that, when playing the game, you really are John McClane.

IGNcube: How is the GameCube controller used? Is it a dual analog setup? Are there any control features you're especially proud of?

Bits Studios: Yes, you control John McClane with a dual analog setup. We've spent a lot of time working on the control system; we designed the game from the beginning specifically with the console's controller in mind. In my opinion the control system is probably the single most important thing in a game. So many potentially great games have been let down by awkward or unintuitive controls. That said, we've pushed the envelope with regards to what you can do in a First Person Shooter, most of which I'm afraid I can't talk about yet. Sorry!

An example of what I mean about designing the controls with console users in mind is how we've implemented jumping (yes, you can jump in Die Hard: Vendetta). At any point the player can make John jump but we have also implemented auto-jumping. On a PC you have a mouse so it is easy to quickly look around and see where your feet are to determine where edges of ledges are. This becomes awkward on a console, constantly checking were your feet are, so in Vendetta if you run off an edge it will automatically jump for you, if you walk slowly off an edge you will just drop down. This immediately makes jumping an issue of timing, as opposed to positioning, far more satisfying for the player.

IGNcube: Can you talk about some of the weapons we'll take hold of? We saw some two-handed weapons in screenshots. *drool*
Bits Studios: There are numerous weapons available to John McClane in Vendetta; at last count there were 18. These range from a standard issue revolver, to some state of the art military hardware that the bad guys have got a hold of. All of the weapons in the game are based on real existing weapons, though one of them could almost be sci-fi, but it's real honest (we have photos to prove it ;-). On top of that there are numerous gadgets that McClane can use to even out the odds. We still need to correctly balance these weapons, and even though we are doing a lot of stealth based game play in Vendetta, it is primarily a first person shooter and there is nothing more satisfying than emptying a couple of clips into a bad guy.

As a side note, when we released the first screenshots, some eagle eyed gamers noted that McClane was right handed in our game, but in the films he is left handed. Having lived with the films for years we were aware of this fact, however some people found it visually strange seeing a left handed weapon (apologies to anyone who is left handed, this is no way an insult), so we put in a game option to let you setup John McClane to be left handed or right handed. It just so happened that when those screenshots were taken he was being played as a right-handed John McClane.

IGNcube: What kind of damage will result from weapons? Will you see lots of real-time damage to structures, and how do your enemies look with a few holes in their belly?

Bits Studios: Every character has unique reactions to taking damage to different parts of their bodies; you shoot a guy in his thigh he'll grab his thigh, if you shoot him in the groin, well.... And there are numerous ways to hurt characters, not just shooting, and they will all react accordingly. As for environmental damage, well it wouldn't be Die Hard if there weren't some very large set piece destructions. As they say, when John gets those feelings, insurance firms get nervous. Having said that, it also wouldn't be Die Hard if you went around sadistically shooting off individual limbs of characters. It's not that kind of game, yes Die Hard is violent but it's never sadistic. We've remained very true to the flavor of the films.

IGNcube: On that topic, you've commented in previous interviews that you may tone down the content for the GameCube version to shoot for a teen rating. Why make this change when Nintendo itself is fully behind M-rated titles such as the gory Resident Evil and gothic Eternal Darkness? You have to admit, "Yippie Ki-Yay you mother duckling" doesn't sound quite right.

Bits Studios: Ha Ha, "mother ducking", excellent. This has proved to be a very passionate area for the dedicated Die Hard fans.... Needless to say we listen to the fans. Watch this space, I think you will be hearing some good news shortly :-)

IGNcube: Have you considered adding in a language filter so you can make full use of the movie license, but also offer an alternative for those just looking for a good first-person shooter?

Bits Studios: That is very much an option, when we recorded the script we recorded two versions of the dialogue. So we are prepared for such a possibility. We want Die Hard: Vendetta to be available for everybody to play and if such a filter will help us achieve that then it will be given serious consideration.

IGNcube: How advanced will the artificial intelligence be? With McClane's notorious one-on-one encounters, don't you think it will require very smart enemies?

Bits Studios: We've developed a very sophisticated AI system in our game, which uses a powerful stimulus based system, so that the enemy can react to sound, vision, temperature and pain. The AI also handles team play so that two or three teams can fight each other independently of the player; this allows you to explore some really cool scenarios.

We designed the AI system so that an enemy can spot you, unless you are wearing a disguise. They can also work as teams. This means that if one of them spots you they will all come after you, but also if you identify and grab the leader you can effectively disarm the rest of the team. The enemies are also smart enough to work out when they are in cover or, if they need to pop out and take a shot at you from behind cover, they do!

The civilian characters are also fairly smart as they are aware of what is evolving in their environment and react to events and scenarios that arise around them.

IGNcube: How does the hostage system work? Can you choose to take hostages at anytime and how does that alter the environment around you?
Bits Studios: Stealth plays a really big part in DH: Vendetta, if you move in stealth mode you won't be heard and this allows you to pull off some cool things, ie You can take enemies hostage and this can have different effects on the environment around you simply by whom you decide to grab hold of. If you are up against a pack of enemies and grab the leader, the rest of the group will disarm. Grab the wrong man and you may find that they sacrifice his life to take yours!

There are subtle clues as to who the leader might be, maybe it's distinctive clothing or the way he talks, but one way or another you will need to figure out which man you want to grab hold of make sure it's the right one too!

IGNcube: How are you taking advantage of the GameCube hardware? Is the engine built from the ground-up, or are you scaling back technically to ensure it will run on a platform such as the PlayStation 2?

Bits Studios: Absolutely! We started designing this game with the Gamecube in mind, and we have really tried to take advantage of the systems features. Clearly we are still learning new things about the machine, I know that our next GC game will have even more cool stuff. One of the really cool visual effects you will see is refraction in water and glass, which looks very cool.

IGNcube: What aspect of the GameCube do you like the most?

Bits Studios: The controller is cool and the hardware is very easy to use but still powerful. We are doing some really cool things with the rendering pipeline. Don't get us wrong I am sure we are still just scratching the surface and are discovering new things all the time, but it is a well designed and thought out system.

IGNcube: How do you think it will compete visually with other GCN software when it's released? Give us some examples of effects or other visual touches we may be wowed by.

Bits Studios: We think it will. We have some really cool real time refraction, which we use for water, glass, and general display warping. There are also some very nice gameplay effects, but if we told you what they were we would have to shoot you... ;-)

Our lip-synching and facial system has also been a key feature in development. Creating realistic and believable characters that look and act like the real deal is never an easy task but is something we have replicated with very satisfying results. At the moment our lip-synching system can cater for five languages and counting.

On top of all this we have some stunning locations for McClane to explore. The attention to detail is certainly something that will add to the whole atmosphere and package.

IGNcube: Any plans for flashy animations around weapon changes, reloads, and such?

Bits Studios: Yep and more. The sniper rifle and flamethrower are my favorites. Every weapon has a cool animation associated with it, I used to change weapons just so that I could see the animation!

We have also worked hard to bring a cinematic feel to the game, both in terms of game play and effects, we hope you like them.

IGNcube: Will you support GameCube's progressive scan mode and 60Hz for PAL? Pretty please, we hear it's very easy to implement. And, what are the chances of a 16:9 mode?

Bits Studios: We plan to, Nintendo have told us it is easy too, but have not had time to try yet.

IGNcube: What kind of voice dialogue can we expect? Are any of the actors from the movies doing voice acting for the game? Are you pulling any samples from the films?

Bits Studios: Reginald Johnson, Sergeant Al Powell, from the original Die Hard film is performing the voice acting for his character. Otherwise all the other characters are performed by some very talented voice actors. As the game is set in LA, we have a multi national cast to help us build a true representation of Los Angeles through the use of local dialect and this definitely adds to the overall atmosphere and believability of the story.

IGNcube: You've mentioned you are already building unique environments for a multiplayer mode. What can you tell us about it? Will there be CPU opponents? Lots of options? How important do you think a multiplayer mode is to the success of the title?
Bits Studios: We are not sure how important multiplayer is to the success of a console title, but we love to play multiplayer. Our focus has been on the single player game, and the real factor affecting the depth of our multiplayer game is time. We have many cool ideas but I don't think we will have time to get them all in. I will just say that we will do the best we can in the time line we have.

IGNcube: What are the chances of vehicular usage and what kind of diversity in environments will we experience?

Bits Studios: As McClane you will be able to interact with vehicles as the game unfolds, but you will not be able to drive any. We wanted to focus all our efforts into building a believable and immersive play environment and story.

The Environments will vary depending on the location, but as it is set in LA, you play both within interior and exterior of key locations, such as a museum, police department, observatory and many more

IGNcube: How far along is Vendetta in development?

Bits Studios: Fairly far; all of the single player levels are built we are now play balancing them. Most of the work left is with Multiplayer, cut scenes, and more sexy effects (graphic and audio).

IGNcube: When is the title planned for release?

Bits Studios: Die Hard: Vendetta is currently on schedule for a release Q4 2002.

IGNcube: How long will Vendetta stay exclusive to GameCube? Is a PS2 or Xbox version already underway?

Bits Studios: We will be making further announcements on Die Hard: Vendetta at E3. Needless to say though, we have been leading on the GameCube and are concentrating on making it a very special game.

IGNcube: Thank you very much for you time. We can't wait to get our hands on it.

Bits Studios: Thank you. We are hoping to have a playable demo available at this years E3 show. Watch this space.


Source: IGNCube