Many gamers hear the term “online fighter” and immediately conjure up bloody finishing moves and bouncy ladies in bikinis. Those gamers obviously haven’t spent much time with Sammy Studios’ Iron Phoenix.
Set to release early next year, Iron Phoenix does melee combat like Martha Stewart does insider trading: so well it’s gotta be trouble. The game features a variety of melee-combat characters, but in a unique twist, their fighting styles are determined not by their appearance or “training,” but by the weapons they wield. No longer are big bruisers destined to molasses-like attacks. No longer are lanky fighters relegated to the realm of lightning-fast but powerless punches. This time, it’s all in the weapons.
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Much has been made about the game’s online multiplayer options, most notably its support of 16-player battles. But there are still stones Sammy has left unturned, including details about the game’s single-player component and a few lingering nuggets about multiplayer details.
We felt it was our job to unturn those stones, so below are the fruits of our interviewing labor. Sure, Sammy stuck by its guns a few times, but amid all the talk of an arcade-like spectator system and strategic team battles, we were still able to eek out a few new details for your eyes only.
DailyGame: You’ve said the Xbox is sorely lacking online fighting/melee-combat titles, but Unreal Championship 2 is adding a melee mode to its FPS roots. How would you compare Iron Phoenix’s melee action to that in UC2?
Tim Hess: Having played UC2, I can safely say that they are very different is terms of their melee combat. UC is a shooter at heart with melee combat elements; Iron Phoenix is a melee game with a shooter feel to it. If I really had to break it down, I would say that our projectiles are as slow as their melee, and our melee is as fast as their projectiles. If you want to shoot guns, buy UC2; if you want to fight with swords, have teams and organize tournaments, buy Iron Phoenix.
You’ve been pretty mum on the single-player details for Iron Phoenix, other than to say there’s a deep mythology involved. Will Iron Phoenix’s “story” mode feel loosely tacked-on, as it does in so many fighting games, or will the story be more substantive?
We’re purposely staying tight-lipped when it comes to single-player in Iron Phoenix because we want everyone’s focus to be exactly where ours has been: on the multiplayer aspect of the game. There will be a single-player mode in Iron Phoenix, but it’s primarily designed to make players better skilled and better equipped to go online and fight live opponents.
Well then let’s talk about the fighting styles as they relate to multiplayer options, then. The weapons in Iron Phoenix determine players’ fighting styles, but the same could be said about the weapon-wielding option in the past two Mortal Kombat games. What did you learn from those, and how have you applied it to Iron Phoenix?
We’ve looked to a lot of different fighting games, but we’ve also done the same with first-person shooters and even melee combat action games. Iron Phoenix crosses genres, and as a result, it has gameplay that is absolutely unique to it. This makes it difficult to focus on any one existing title for comparison.
Some multiplayer games are bound to be team- and strategy-friendly in terms of weapons selection. What’s been the best use of teamwork you’ve seen so far in playtesting?
The matches are so different each time we play that it’s hard to pin down. We don’t have CTF, where I could break down the best path to take, where to place snipers, etc. When the team is working together, using the voice communicator, coordinating which weapons to carry, using the terrain, running on walls, and pulling off team kills – that’s when the game really shines.
Along those strategic lines, talk a bit about the “Bloodlock” option for multiplayer matches. How’d that idea come about?
“Bloodlock” is a way to single out that one guy that is kicking — or cherry-picking — your ass and go toe-to-toe without interference from teammates. You can also treat it as a team play strategy, where you can selectively challenge a key opponent to a duel and pull them out of team battle. Once the Bloodlock is over, the winner rejoins the battle as if nothing happened.
So will the “Ring Challenge” mode also have a strategic element, since players can be spectators while another match is going on? Or was your intent with this “mode” more to get players into a game faster?
Most of us have played Counter Strike, Rocket Arena or played in the arcade. Being able to watch and talk smack is a part of the fun of that experience (yes, you can communicate with everyone during the matches). It also allows you to watch your opponents and figure out a strategy, like DOA Ultimate.
Are there various “submodes” within each of these larger multiplayer games, or are you sticking with the five core online modes? How much customization, if any, will players have over an individual game?
There are no submodes; we are sticking to the five core modes. As for customization, we will have a degree of player-controlled settings (i.e. no power-ups, no time limit, etc.), but we are still working on balancing to see which ones work best.
With the ship date now in February 2005, you’re implementing Xbox Live 3.0 features. like clans, Optimatch and the like. How will the game’s Optimatch system work when you’re going clan vs. clan? Will it average the rankings of each individual player, or will each clan have its own specific rank that the matching system evaluates?
We are still trying to determine how we want this to work. The way the system currently works, Clan matches are designed to be set up via the Tournament option, enabling everyone to be present for the match. If you have a Clan but only four members are present, and you want the fight to be even, what are the chances that there are any Clans with only four members online? Or a Clan with members who will drop out quickly enough to keep people wanting to play? Pretty slim. As I said, we’re looking into it, but no promises.
With the delayed release date, what else has the team been refining? Are there two or three aspects you’re particularly glad to have had the extra time to polish?
Graphics, sound, weapon tuning and overall performance have benefited the most. Basically, all the areas that really count. 🙂
Special thanks to Tim Hess for taking the time to answer our questions.
