Developed by Reflections Interactive (an Atari studio), the masterminds behind
Driver and Driver 2 – which have sold more than 12 million copies worldwide
– DRIV3R is an action-packed driving adventure game that stays
true to its roots, incorporating the cinematic gameplay and gritty street crime
of its predecessors with ground-breaking graphics and three mammoth, wide-open
city environments: Miami, Florida; Nice, France; and Istanbul, Turkey.

Want to learn more? Sure you do! Here’s a small Question and Answer session
with Development Director Martin Edmondson . . .

What is your name and position on the team?
Could you give us a little background of your company?

Martin Edmondson – Managing and Development Director of Reflections Interactive
– founded by myself in 1984. We started created games on the BBC micro in
the 80’s but our most famous games have been Shadow of the Beast series for
The Commodore Amiga, Destruction Derby and Driver on the PlayStation and of
course Stuntman on the PS2

How long has Driv3r been in development for and,
what stage is it at?

It really depends when you count the start of development. The physics engine
which forms the basis for the dynamics side of the game started over 4 years
ago but that was originally used in Stuntman. Around 3 years ago work started
on Driv3r in earnest. Right now we are just scripting the missions, optimising
bits of the code and working on the out of car sections. The physics and dynamics
side of the cars has been pretty much finished for a while now.

Could you give us a rundown on the various cars
and gameplay styles available in the game?

There are around 70 vehicles you can drive. These range from cars, vans,
trucks, boats, bikes and so on – there is even a fully articulated truck in
there. You can drive around in the cab and when eventually you find a trailer
section you can couple up – you’re then in charge of a full 18 wheel articulated
rig – complete with airbrakes and airhorn ! As for the gameplay Driv3r can
be played in a number of modes. Take a Ride allows you to free roam around
the city and do whatever you like. There are a few little ‘games’ in there
to find but basically it’s just for designed for a 10 minute ‘destructive
blast’ The driving games allow you to jump straight into a number of quick
chases, checkpoint races and so on. This also includes the “survival”
mode for Driver 1 – 4 cops against your own vehicle. Finally “undercover”
is the main mission/story side of the game where tanner goes undercover with
his previous partner Tobias Jones and has to infiltrate a gang of car thieves
and ultimately bring them down.

How would you describe Driv3r and, how does it
differ from other games in the genre?

I would describe Driv3r as the most realistic simulation possible of Hollywood
and TV car chases. And I think that in itself separates it from other games
which may otherwise be described as similar. It has many features such as
the thrillcam and film director which don’t exist but I think the main difference
is in this different focus.

What did you learn and improve on from the first
games?

Well the first game was around 5 years ago so quite a lot since they are
not on similar hardware. The areas of improvement are pretty much any aspect
of the game you care to mention, although having said that we have tried to
remain true to the spirit of the original in terms of the simple pick up and
play knock about, destructive fun of the original. The realism of this destructive
fun is however an order of magnitude above the original Driver.

What games or movies have influenced Driv3r?

The most heavy inspiration came from the movies rather than other games.
Movie car chases to be more precise. The Driver, Bullitt, French Connection
and so on. I would say we were influenced more heavily by the older 70’s car
chases as most of the more modern chases do not stand up against the classics,
with the exception perhaps of Ronin.

Could you describe your favourite part of the
game?

I would say probably the realism with which the cars move and look in the
environment, which in itself is also pretty realistic. I don’t think the game
would work half as well if we had gone for arcade style handling or a cartoon
style interpretation of the cities. This has not come cheaply however, the
physics system which allows us to produce the realistic dynamics and physics
has been in development for over 4 years at Reflections

What games are you looking forward to in the
next year?

This one being finished.. Aside from that Halflife obviously, GT4 purely
from a technical perfection point of view. Don’t really get chance to actually
play games much these days.

How have you found Microsoft? How do they fare
with other companies from a developers point of view?

We’ve only worked with 2 – Sony and Microsoft and have had no problems so
far. Actually we know some of the Microsoft guys from the days when they used
to work for Sony…!

What is the predicted release date for Driv3r
in the US and UK?

Spring 2004 is the current plan.

What are your future plans? Will we see any more
Xbox titles from your team?

This is of course our first Xbox title but we will certainly continue to
develop Xbox titles so long as there continues to be a strong market for them.
Aside from that it’s too early to talk about other specific projects for the
future.

DRIV3R is expected to be available worldwide in Spring 2004 for PlayStation
2 and Xbox. Additional information about DRIV3R can be found online at www.atari.com.

Filed under: Interviews

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