Continuing on our Features segment, we have Joel chatting to Justin Withers, the Lead Designer at Acclaim on their latest wrestling title, Showdown: Legends of Wrestling.
Media We have a total of 18 screens (PS2) and 16 screens (Xbox) for this game.
My name is Justin Withers and I'm Lead Designer for the Showdown series. I've been working at Acclaim since 1998. Before Showdown, I worked on the All-Star Baseball series from ASB 2001-2004, primarily writing the play-by-play and color commentary.
The idea of wrestling as the legends of the industry in great. How closely involved are greats such as Macho Man, Sting, Ultimate Warrior and Diamond Dallas Page to the game?
For the most part, we really don't have much with them. We were very fortunate to get to spend a day working with Bret Hart though. He flew to Austin to record voiceover for the tutorial and he came by the studio and talked to the dev team. Just being able to talk wrestling with him was a great experience. We showed him his character model, briefly talked about the development of the game, and asked him for some of his ideas about how he'd make a great wrestling game. I'm sure if these wrestlers had more time, we'd get to do more with them. I strongly believe that many of them would like to contribute more. Getting to work with Bobby Heenan when recording commentary was an awesome experience too.
Did the team encounter any problems during development? How did you sort them out?
Every team encounters problems of some sort; the real skill in game development is being able to work around any problem or issue that is going to be a major roadblock.
How many gaming modes can gamers expect in Showdown?
We have everything from table matches, to cage matches, to battle royal and hardcore matches, to tournaments and classic matches. The classic matches seem to be getting some pretty good heat and people are already asking for more, so we're looking forward to really expanding on that mode and I think we've already got some great ideas about how to go about that.
How realistic are the portrayals of the wrestlers? Will the team stick to the "cartoonish" look of the previous games, or strive for a more realistic appearance like THQ's Smackdown! Series?
From the moment the game was in Austin with the new team, we wanted a more realistic look and feel to the game. Improving the models was our first priority. We definitely wanted a more photo-realistic look.
Did you feel hampered by the copyright rules and regulations in the wrestling industry? How did this affect the development process?
Since everything wrestling is basically owned by one entity, getting some reference can be a problem, but I'm very happy with how the models and arenas look in Showdown compared to previous games, and judging by the feedback I've read, other people are too. Since we don't have a style guide that would come with a license, we have to come up with our own ideas for presentation. The arena theme for the front end in Showdown is something we started talking about and trying to figure out right as the project began. The licensed arenas we have really stand out, as we were able to get some good reference for them.
How many hours can gamers expect to put in to complete Showdown? Any unlockables as incentives for repeat plays?
There are 73 wrestlers in Showdown and we wanted to create a game in which fans could play through the careers of their favorites in a reasonable amount of time. We didn't want to create a career mode that could take up to ten or twelve hours to play through. For us, it was more important to offer the chance to play through as many careers as possible than to only have time to finish one or two.
There are no unlockables in Showdown. The replay value comes in the form of the Showdown Challenge. Since the mode can be beaten rather quickly, picking different wrestlers to see what kinds of storylines they face is something we think people will find a lot of fun and get them to play more challenges.
Who's your favorite wrestling legend and why?
My favorite legend is Terry Funk (I'm also from Texas, so I have to keep it regional). Anyone that can take those kinds of beatings and still get enjoyment out of wresting is going to be tops on my list of favorites. Dusty Rhodes is a very close second.
How has the gameplay been enhanced from Legends of Wrestling II? What main differences will players find?
The first thing we did was we ripped out the ISP system. We didn't want to look at meters to be able to have fun and be successful at the game. The controls are a lot more reasonable for average gamers, but there's still a level of depth to keep the interest of the more hardcore wrestling game fans. We added more animations in which the wrestlers sell moves. This addition really adds a level of authenticity not seen in the previous Legends games.
Another thing we did was to bring the game speed back to normal. Showdown is heading toward a much more sim wrestling experience than previous games and I expect that to continue. Our goal is to create a wrestling experience that will really make sense to a savvy wrestling audience. Playing as a wrestler like Bret Hart shouldn't feel the same as playing as Andre or Big John Studd. We feel we're on that track. Differentiation of wrestling styles is what a truly great grappler game needs. I think we've only scratched the surface with what kinds of gameplay changes can be made to the wrestling genre.
In the game, who is your favorite wrestler to play with, and why?
I enjoy playing as Old School Andre because he has an Afro.
Graphically, which areas have improved the most from previous Legends of Wrestling titles?
The wrestler models have been reworked to be much more authentic, we added a bunch of new arenas including Madison Sq. Garden (which looks fantastic), and we've changed and improved the lighting and cameras.
What was your favorite part of working on Showdown: Legends of Wrestling?
By far, the best part of working on a game…well, there are two best parts. The first is the earliest stages of development, when we begin coming up with feature ideas and a design plan. Brainstorming and putting together a list of all the things you'd like to do and see implemented is a great experience. It's early in the project and the sky's the limit. My other favorite part of making games is the tweaking phase. Coming up with ideas about how to improve controls, presentation, or anything else. Seeing the game come together and trying to improve on decisions that may have been made over a year before is what keeps people like me making games.
If you could give us one reason at all to purchase Showdown: Legends of Wrestling what would it be and why?
Easy, Showdown is a lot of fun game to play. New modes such as classic matches and table matches come to mind… A lot of work went into creating a game that is both fun and challenging at the same time. It's a great multiplayer experience. Single player Battle Royal, trying to win without being eliminated, is one of the harder tasks in the game and I hope everyone jumps in and tries it out.
Thanks for the questions. I hope everyone playing the game is enjoying it and reminiscing about the good ol' days of wrestling.
