This week our Editor, Chuggy had a chat with Chris Zimmerman, Development Director for Sucker Punch's prolific platformer, Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus. Chris sheds some light on the ideas behind this ground-breaking title, and its development process.

Firstly for people who haven't read the review yet, what is Sly Cooper and The Thievius Raccoonus all about?
Sly's a raccoon thief from a long line of raccoon thieves. When Sly was just eight years old, a gang of master criminals broke into his family's house and stole the Thievius Raccoonus--the Cooper family's centuries-old compendium of thieving lore. Now that Sly's all grown up, he's on a mission to steal back the Thievius Raccoonus from the now-scattered members of the Fiendish Five, with the help of his two best friends and partners in crime, Bentley and Murray.

What's different about this game compared to other platformers, i.e. what's the games main selling point?
It's about being a thief--breaking into the heavily-guarded lairs of master criminals and robbing them blind. Sly's abilities and movements are all connected to his being a thief--climbing, sneaking around, jumping like a ninja from one precarious landing point to another, all just outside the perception of the minions of each master criminal.

Is there really a difference between cel-shading and "toon-shading" or did you just give it a different name because you felt like it?
Most products that do cel-shading do three things: they draw a black outline around items, they light objects with hard shadow lines, and they do cel-shading on everything. We wanted a richer look than most cel-shaded games have, so we drew black outlines around the characters, but not around anything else. We also have a custom lighting scheme to give the characters and environments a rich, rounded look. We think the game looks pretty different from most cel-shaded games, so we're calling it "toon" shaded instead.

What other characters will we see in the game and will the player have any control over them?
Sly has two buddies who help him out during the game. Bentley, a scholarly turtle, is the brains of Sly's outfit; he builds Sly's gadgets, gives him directions during the game, and deciphers the clues that Sly collects. Murray, a well-meaning but bumbling hippo, is Sly's driver. Most of the game you play as Sly, but you do get a chance to play as Murray and Bentley in later worlds.

What audience are you hoping to attract with this game and how are you hoping to achieve this?
We think good action-adventure games appeal to a wide audience, from young to old, from novice to hard-core. Sly Cooper has multiple layers of game play--the primary goal is to make it to the end of the game by moving from level to level, and we expect novice players will focus on this.

Many players will also want to collect the clues that are scattered through each level--if they collect all the clues in a level, they can open the vault in that level and earn a new power-up or special ability for Sly. The truly hard-core gamers will want to beat all the Master Thief Sprint challenges--a race from the start to the end of each level. Beating the Master Thief Sprint unlocks a special audio commentary track from us about the level.

Will Sly's attributes and personality progress throughout the game in any way according to the players' involvement?
The biggest way the player's action affects the game is with the vaults. Opening a vault earns gamers a new power-up or special ability. Some of these power-ups are just for fun, but many of them provide alternative ways to make it through a level, or to beat the Master Thief Sprint. For instance, one of the power-ups players earn early is the Raccoon Roll, which lets you roll through levels faster than you can run. It isn't very helpful when you're just trying to make it to the end of the level, but if you're doing the Master Thief Sprint it can be very useful!

Can you tell us about the gameplay options i.e. Vehicle and Boss?
Each of the five worlds ends with an epic boss battle. Also, we mix up the gameplay with an assortment of vehicle-based levels. Some of the vehicle levels focus on driving, some levels focus on shooting, and some levels focus on shooting *while* you're driving. Or driving while you're shooting, depending on how you look at it.

All in all, there's lots of different stuff to do.

It's been said that stealth is going to be one of the primary elements in the game, does this mean we won't get any big weapons like in Fur Fighters?
Most of the real destruction takes place in the vehicle-based levels, so don't expect to see Sly toting around a rocket launcher. Players who just want to blow stuff up will not be disappointed, though, as the levels are packed with stuff to break into. Plus there's a certain joy involved in sneaking up behind a bad guy and knocking him out without ever being seen.

What's your favourite feature of the game?
My personal favorites are Sly's master thief moves, like jumping to a tiny little spire on top of a tower, or running full speed along a skinny, little tightrope. Using these moves makes me feel... um... thiefy!

What have you enjoyed most about making this game?
Seeing Sly's character come to life. Every time we added something new--implementing new moves, finding the right voice, seeing the cut scenes for the first time--the character seemed to get deeper and deeper.

How easy has it been developing for the PS2? Please state your biggest challenge in developing this title.
We've had a great time developing for the PlayStation 2. Some of the things we've needed to do have been a little tricky, but the documentation and support from Sony Computer Entertainment has been top-notch.

Our biggest challenges have stemmed from building a game that was bigger and better than anything we'd done before. Dealing with the hardware was easy in comparison.

Do you have any ideas of a sequel yet?
The security surrounding our sequel plans far surpasses anything you'll find in Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus. The Sucker Punch offices are locked up tight as a drum.

After all, we may have taught Sly all he knows about being a thief, but that doesn't mean we taught him all *we* know about being a thief!

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Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus has been released by SCEA. It received a score of 9/10, winning our coveted Editor's Choice Award.