GDC08: Prototype is all 'more' more

by James Ransom-Wiley { Feb 21st 2008 at 11:00PM }

Today's session was sponsored by the letters O-W-G. Radical took to the podium this afternoon to school us on open world game development, a chance to show us just how much "more" the team who brought us The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction has packed into Prototype. The equation looked simple enough: more + better = new. That equation is supposedly the key to creating a "next-gen open world." So does it?

Careful to remind us that this was a pre-alpha build, Radical ditched the PowerPoint slides and fired up the prototype Prototype. Ten minutes later, it was clear that the team had nailed the 'more' -- but the 'better' is not visible in the concoction until after pre-alpha, apparently. We watched as shape-shifting amnesiac Alex Mercer punched through chests and lopped off torsos, stealing his victims' appearances (and memories -- we're told). He jacked a tank and a couple of military choppers, fought some Gozer minions, and made Altair's nimble limbering look like amateur hour. (Dude just runs up building walls, all like, "Look, no hands!")

Gallery: Prototype: Open World, Open Mind (GDC08)

Even after the demo had ended, there was still 'more' more to be piled on: 20+ weapons, 40+ enemies, 5 bosses and hundreds of targets to de-memorize. An additional video (featuring a more polished build) revealed 'more' complexities to the combat: punting (bodies), air juggles, Reed Richard arms, and even stealth plays. In a move that puts Snake to shame, Mercer cloned a soldier, and then convinced the poor sap's mates to gun down the original.

Radical did eventually touch on the 'better,' offering some convincing theories about making a successful OWG. Another formula: reality + one fantastic element = better. The Prototype 'reality' is present day NYC, and the 'fantastic element' is a virus. This setting evolves into the meta game, which is broken up into zones: neutral zones, secure zones and infected zones -- and guess what forms when the zones collide ... war zones! The zones are just one piece of the 'structure' part of the game.

Radical believes that OWGs have the most potential to create interconnections between the fundamental parts of games, which include the aforementioned structure, in addition to AI characters, environments, resources and the central character (controlled by the player). Interconnectedness is developed through cascading simulation. Something like: Mercer jumps from a rooftop to the street, a car swerves into a crowd, people run, the military comes, Mercer steals a soldier's identity, and so on...

In a staling genre, Prototype is nearly fresh. The elements of 'more' and 'better' are beginning to form into precious new. We can't wait to see if it gets there.

Tags: gdc08, owg, prototype, radical, sierra