Experience the Godlike power of WAR and embark on an epic quest of vengeance and redemption – combining brutal combat, exploration and RPG style gameplay elements.
July 16, 2008 - We caught a peek at Vigil Games' upcoming action-adventure game Darksiders: Wrath of War at a recent THQ gamer's day event, but the post-apocalyptic title is also on hand at THQ's E3 booth in Los Angeles, and we sat down with the developers to try our hand at waging War.
In our first preview of Darksiders, we introduced you to the basic premise of the game: You play as War, one of the fabled Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, who helped prematurely destroy the Earth. Oops. In punishment for his mistake, he is stripped of some of his havoc-wreaking powers, and he sets out to discover what all went wrong and get his mojo back.
Darksiders is an unabashed action game. In our time with the E3 demo (running on an Xbox 360), we took War from a hub world into an underground dungeon filled with monsters and pits of molten lava. To dispatch the baddies, you'll use swords, scythes, guns, old-fashioned fisticuffs and other weapons, which are controlled by the face buttons (except for the guns, which are mapped to the right trigger). Weapons can be customized with various enhancements by collecting powerups throughout the game. These can be embedded in and swapped between weapons for complete customization. You can even upgrade your armor by collecting pieces as you progress and then take them to a smith, who will forge a complete suit.
The Jailer brings the pain.
As you fight the bad guys, you'll build up combos, which fills up your Wrath Meter, shown as a yellow bar at the top of the screen. This lets you use your Wrath abilities, which you gain as you move from level to level. Combat controls similarly to other games in the genre -- the left analog stick controls movement, the right controls the camera, the left trigger centers the camera, the right trigger fires your gun, and the lower face button jumps. Jump again in the air and you'll do a double-jump. Hold the button down after your double jump and War's black angel wings unfold, allowing you to float for a short while.
It's useful for crossing gaps, quickly escaping from enemies and solving puzzles. In one of the levels we played in our E3 demo, we hopped across a few lava-filled trenches to come face-to-face with some sword-wielding skeletons and giant bat creatures. The latter proved especially fun to kill thanks to War's very satisfying finishing moves. Jump in the air just right, hold down the right face button and War will thrust his giant sword upward through the critter's jugular vein until it falls out of the air. And if one of his buddies is nearby, you can quickly jump to him and do the same. We've always hated bats.
You can also perform finishing moves on other creatures the same way, but you'll have to whittle them down first -- once you see that they've been thoroughly weakened, you can dispatch them with style.
On the wings of War.
Puzzles are also an important part of Darksiders, and the one we saw involved finding our way through a dungeon and grabbing a sword that doubled as a key. To get there, we picked up flaming spheres of lava and flung them at doors, crawled up walls and jumped from ledge to ledge, used our wings to float from high places and then used what we learned to tie it all together at the end of the level.
And that's where Vigil's love of bosses shines through. We tried our hand at a couple different bosses and minibosses in Darksiders, and they were all impressive, from a giant ugly beast called the Jailer, who dropped cages of skeletons on us, to something called an Ash Coil that resembled the sand worms from Dune. We fought the latter atop our trusty steed Ruin, who not only can be summoned out of thin air at the touch of the shoulder buttons but also has flaming hooves. War's farrier bills must be murder.
Darksiders: Wrath of War is scheduled for release in 2009, and it's still a work in progress. Despite that, it looks good graphically, and the camera is working well -- a must for an action game. As we see more from this dark, demonic action title, we'll keep you posted.
IGN Comics: Let's run through the basic concept of Darksiders, both in terms of story and gameplay. What can fans expect?
Joe Madureira: Fans can expect tons of action. Epic adventure. Lots of varied environments, and really memorable characters. You play as one of the Four Horsemen--War. At the start of the game, Angels and Demons descend on the earth. The End of days is at hand. War is summoned there as well, and he wastes no time getting down to business. But something isn't right. He can feel his powers waning. The other Horsemen are nowhere to be found. War soon realizes that it's not time yet for this to be happening. But too late—the entire thing is pinned on him, and he is stripped of his powers and banished to the Abyss. There, before an ancient Council, War undergoes a trial, and is given the chance to return to Earth to prove his innocence, or die in the hell he's helped to create.
War must discover the fate of the other Horsemen, regain his power, and unleash vengeance on those who brought this plot against him! He will do this by battling against fearsome demons and angels alike, in both open exploration 'overworld' areas, as well as more puzzle/ traversal focused dungeon areas, which contain extraordinary treasures and powerful Bosses. There are tons of secrets and item rewards scattered throughout the game world for players to discover as they gain new abilities that allow them to explore further.
IGN Comics: As Creative Director, what role do you play in the development of the game? We know you've been doing the creature and world designs, did you have a hand in designing the gameplay as well? What about the storyline?
Madureira: I'm involved in a little of everything really. Now that our team has swelled to a pretty decent size, I've been acting in more of a management role, overseeing things like concepts, game design, and even things like animation, cut scenes and FX. I've developed the story since the beginning, but I must say it has gone through many changes, and the team has contributed a lot, not to mention we've brought in Joe Kelly to work on the game's script. Our team really is amazing, and I couldn't imagine making this game with a different bunch of guys.
IGN Comics: Your style is rather unique within the comic book community, and we're sure it took the team at Vigil some work to adapt your work into a game. Can you describe the process the art team at Vigil used to bring your sketches to life?
Madureira: It was a pretty collaborative process. I think the guys were always as excited as I was, if not more so about bringing these insane characters to life, so they really nailed it early on. We have a pretty standard process. First a concept, or detailed drawing is created for the creature (along with about a zillion rough thumbnails before we settle on one). Though I was originally the only one doing the character concepts, we do have a couple guys concepting characters besides me now, including the notorious Paul Richards (www.autodestruct.com)!
Once the concept is 'ready', it's looked over by myself, along with our design, character and animation leads to make sure everyone is on the same page, and begin planning how it'll be built. A rough 3D model is created, and we'll go over it and make any necessary adjustments to the proportions and overall silhouette at this point. Once that's ironed out, a tighter model is created with more detail. We do a detail pass on it, sometimes involving 'paint overs' over screenshots or renders to illustrate what needs to be done. At that point animators begin 'rigging' the character, which is creating its skeleton, which will determine how this thing moves around.
At this point, sometimes problems crop up that may need to be addressed, for instance, the character's shoulder armor is so big that it stabs him through the face when he swings a weapon, things like that. If there are no problems at this point, a hi-poly sculpt ( which is a ridiculously high detail version ) of the character is made, and this is used to generate the detail that will go on the creature's skin, muscles, armor etc. We do color guides for it, and the color is applied by a texture artist. This step may be tweaked continuously as the game develops and things like lighting changes. At this point we usually already have some base animations, and now that the character is 'done' the animators can go buck wild and create all of the creatures anims, and we have A LOT for each creature, including crazy death fatalities and 'interactives' that War can execute, and these are unique to every creature.
IGN Comics: Did you have to meet the team halfway, altering your designs to accommodate what they could do for the videogame?
Madureira: I had to change a couple of things I was doing, sure. We realized early on, things that look great on paper don't always translate well into 3D or when viewed in game. This is one of the reasons I stay involved from the very first concept, to the rough 3D model, all the way through to final sculpt and animation. I just don't believe you can bang out a drawing and hand it to the next guy and wait to see it in game! At least, it has never worked that way for us. It requires the involvement of several artists and animators for a month and sometimes two, for just a single character! War being the playable character took way, way longer than that. So you can see how much work goes into this stuff.
IGN Comics: We know this is your first videogame – were there any designs of yours that couldn't be incorporated because the game style wouldn't make that creature feasible, or perhaps ones that were simply too ambitious to pull off this time around?
Madureira: No, not really. In fact, the more insane the idea, the more we thought " Oh man, we have to do this!". We did cut a couple, but not really because they were complex or overly ambitious. Some of them just kind of sucked!
IGN Comics: Did you find your experience in the comic book industry helped influence or shape the way you approached designing this game? Was gaming a big influence on your earlier Marvel work or your current work on Ultimates?
Madureira: Definitely. I'd say one influenced the other, for sure. You can see the influence of anime and games all throughout my work, and honestly, pretty much all of Battle Chasers was me wanting to do something in U.S. comics that resembled Japanese RPG series like Final Fantasy, Suikoden, Etc. On the flip side, my comic style has helped our game stuff, by avoiding the hyper realistic trend in games today which can look pretty generic. All of these genres can benefit from being heavily stylized, and they all work really well together.
IGN Comics: We know you'll have to hide some elements of the game, but can you highlight a few of your favorite creations for Darksiders, and what inspired their looks?
Madureira: I'm pretty happy with how the Horsemen turned out. My favorites ( besides War of course! ) would have to be Fury and Strife. Fury was one of very few female characters I got to work on for this game, and Strife is just a badass. Part Ninja, part gunslinger, kind of a crazy combo, but everyone seems to really like him. I wish he had a greater role to play in this first game. As far as inspiration, who knows—probably some more crazy anime or manga series!
IGN Comics: Clearly gameplay must inform all elements of a videogame, even trumping design. Was it difficult to balance your artistic leanings with the requisite game requirements? Did creatures stem from elements the gameplay required or from your imagination?
Madureira: When we did it right, gameplay came first, before any concepts were done. That is absolutely the way to do it. Unfortunately, there were a couple instances, for various reasons, where we just started on a creature because it got everyone pumped, or there was some element about it we thought would work great (or we were pressed for time!) . Sometimes, this turned out to be great, but often, trying to cram gameplay into something after the fact does more harm than good.
We really try to follow procedure and build the creature around gameplay function, and not the other way around! I'm pretty game savvy anyway though, and even at the earliest concept stage, I'm always thinking about how what I'm doing is going to affect things like movement, combat, etc. It's just something you start to learn after doing it for a bit.
IGN Comics: We imagine the bosses in this game are, in a word, epic. Can you walk us through the process of designing one of them, and how you differentiated between a boss and a more ordinary creature? Clearly "bigger is better" is a governing rule in videogames, but were there any other elements of the game that influenced creating these monsters? Did gameplay factor in here more than it might for an ordinary "level creature"?
Madureira: It's very similar process-wise to creating one of our regular creatures (though even they tend to get pretty dang epic! ), but you're absolutely right that more gameplay considerations have to be made. First of all, a huge chunk of our levels are themed around whatever boss governs that particular area. So that's a large consideration right there. There is a lot more gameplay planning and potentially 'proof of concept' prototype gameplay that has to be tested to make sure it's actually going to be fun before we spend a lot of time building it. It's almost like designing a creature, and a level at the same time in some cases, so it involves quite a few more people working on it in the early stages.
IGN Comics: What sets Darksiders apart from other games? What gameplay elements make this title stand out from the rest?
Madureira: I think that it's pretty deep as far as action titles go. It's got a lot of things you might not expect in this genre, like character progression, item customization, open exploration, horseback combat, just to name a few.
IGN Comics: We know you've been a huge fan of games for a long time. What was your first videogame and what do you play now when you have free time? Are there any favorites at the office?
Madureira: Hah. My first game, or at least the first I remember is either Pitfall, or Combat on the Atari 2600. And some racing game that you had to play with that horrible paddle. I think it was called Night Driver. Man, it was sad. These days, I have to say sadly, that I don't have time to play much, but it should be a lot easier after Ultimates wraps up. The two games I most look forward to finishing are Resident Evil 4 on Wii, and The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, which for one reason or another I have started over a few times and managed to never finish! I play a lot of MMO's as well, and like everyone I am awaiting the Wrath of the Lich King!
GN Comics: Were there any moments during the development of Darksiders that surprised you? Any times where the reality of making a game was quite different than what you expected?
Madureira: Team size, and the resulting inter-office politics associated with it is probably the one thing I never really gave much thought to. We started with like four guys. We operated with ten for a while. That experience then was a lot different that it is today, as we have about 85 people and counting. Granted, we have some fantastic people, but—put enough people together in the same building, on the same project, no matter how close they are, or how much they love each other, they are going to bump heads once in a while. It's just human nature. I feel like we've got it easy though. I've heard horror stories from other studios out there. Game development is definitely borderline insane. But most of us wouldn't have it any other way!
IGN Comics: Now that E3 has wrapped, did you get a chance to escape the booth and check out what else is out there? Did anything really catch your eye, or were there any games announced or hyped that you're looking forward to?
Madureira: Unfortunately, I got to step out for like, 10 minutes tops. I missed a lot of the games I really wanted to see at the press conferences. There was not much on the actual show floor that blew me away. Fable 2 looks pretty cool. Not to beat the THQ drum, but Dawn of War 2 is sick, I am really looking forward to playing it. I'll be surfing the web for a while trying to get caught up on everything I missed!
IGN Comics: Let's hit comics real quick before we wrap up: Ultimates Vol. 3 #5. How far along are you with that issue? Any time frame on when fans can expect that on store shelves?
Madureira: That's really a Marvel question! I'm supposed to be done with it soon. Like, really soon. So I guess the answer is soon!
IGN Comics: Upon returning to Marvel, it had been some time since you had done any active work in comics. Was it like riding a bike or did it take some time to adjust and get your storytelling ability where you wanted it to be?
Madureira: It really was like riding a bike. Just really, really slowly. There is definitely something I get out of doing pages that is unlike anything else. Laying out panels, telling a story visually, it's awesome. I'd thought I was kind of over it, and that I'd much rather do illustrations or single concept drawings. While I get a lot of joy out of those, I have to say, I was surprised how much I missed banging out pages again! The timing of it, and having to juggle the game stuff and my personal life around it is what really made it a struggle.
IGN Comics: Given your commitments at Vigil and future projects there, do you see yourself working on another comic book project in the future? Any particular project or franchise you'd want to tackle if you could?
Madureira: THQ is talking about putting together a Darksiders comic. That would be pretty cool. I will most likely be involved with that if it happens. I feel like if I did another comic some day, I'd like to finish up Battle Chasers ( if I don't, rabid BC fans will kill me! ) .
IGN Comics: Beyond Darksiders and Ultimates, do you have any other projects in the pipeline? Anything else you'd like to mention to the fans out there?
Madureira: I really don't. I'm thinking about re-releasing the Battle Chasers TPB, with all 9 issues in it. I'd held off because it feels kind of cheesy since it's not a complete story, but so many people have asked for it at this point that it may be worth doing. A lot of the issues are just hard to find, and having them all in a complete volume would be nice. Other than that, nope. I'm focused on Vigil and our two projects: Darksiders, and the Warhammer 40,000 MMO.
Last edited by dk3dknight; 04-08-2009 at 02:46 PM.
Looking forward to the demo of this one. Any word on when we might see a demo??
The trailers look good and looks like a good time. But I fear it might be handicapped because of cross-platform. only on a dvd so probably 5-6 hours long.
Need a couple of games to get through until GoW III hits.
I may be in the minority on this, but pending how the demo of this plays, I'm rather more looking forward to this than the oh-so-gauche Dante's Inferno.
I may be in the minority on this, but pending how the demo of this plays, I'm rather more looking forward to this than the oh-so-gauche Dante's Inferno.
I agree with you. This seems more intriguing to me than Dante's. I won't be dropping in on this one without a demo first, though.
Somehow i completely missed Darksiders from my radar, not suprising really by all the big named releases lately and the hype surrounding them. A few good reviews started rolling out for this one, some 9s and 10s i look forward to hearing more about this game i really like the look of it
Ah, I can't decide if I want to get this game. I heard that it's a mix of God of War and Zelda (or so I've heard). But, I am not sure about the game's aesthetics (story/enemies/look, etc.). Is there news of a demo coming out for it so I can try it before I buy it?
I played around 3 hours at the 360 version yesterday
it is indeed a kinf of mix between god of war, zelda and devil may cry or onimusha
very fun, not the best graphics I ve ever seen but chara design is impressive, very well done!
Can't wait for this! I've loved everything Joe Mad! has done for the most part. Early reviews are pretty good. Hopefully people give it a chance, but I could see it slipping through the cracks with games like GOW3, Bayonetta, and FFXIII all coming in the next few months.
Got the game today. Haven't popped it in yet since I've been soooooooo hooked on Demon's Souls. I'll let you guys know what I think if I get a chance to play it tonight.
04-07-2009, 09:52 PM
Darksiders - Wrath of War
Similar Threads
All countries
Argentina
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Bulgaria
Chile
China
Colombia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Estonia
Denmark
Finland
Greece
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
Indonesia
Ireland
Israel
India
Latvia
Lithuania
Malaysia
New Zealand
Norway
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Singapore
South Africa
South Korea
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand
Turkey
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
Linear Mode
