Dawn Of War 2
(includes hmv.com exclusive content)
dawn of war 2: exclusive orks trailer
check out the screenshots
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hmv.com exclusive interview with dow 2 producer Jonny Ebbert
We recently met up with Dawn of War 2 producer Jonny Ebbert, who talked us through some of the major new developments in the game, told us what fans can look forward to seeing in the next chapter in the DoW series, as well as giving us a bit of an insight into what goes on behind the scenes at Relic... |
 Dawn of War 2 producer Jonny Ebbert (right) talks to hmv.com at Gamerbase in hmv Trocedero, London |
| It’s late December 2008, and we’re at an exclusive
Dawn of War 2 press event at Gamerbase in hmv Trocedero. There’s a select bunch of
DoW UK community people trying out the latest code, a few THQ types, one or two members of the gaming press, and the man everyone wants a word with – Dawn of War series producer Jonny Ebbert.
When we get a chance to finally talk to the main man, it’s clear that he’s been working some fairly crazy hours lately. “I’m pretty jet lagged” he says when we sit down with him. “The past few months we’ve been working 80 hour weeks.” We get him talking about the game though, and he pipes up right away. “In Dawn of War 1 we felt like we did three things amazingly well: savage melee combat gameplay, which up until then, no one else had really done anything like without it being very sterile. The focus on fighting and action, which is what Dawn of War has always been about. Finally, the over the top nature – the universe is based on the Warhammer games, which is very over-the-top. “So in Dawn of War 2, we took those three things and bought them forward, as well as adding innovations from other franchises like destructible environments and cover-based combat, and ‘real’ soldiers who jump into cover when they’re under attack, try to dodge grenades and so on. It makes them feel like a real bunch of guys, rather than just on-screen virtual units. “We’re using a modified version of the Company of Heroes engine, which has a lot of cool new toys in it, like dynamic lighting, which is all the nice little flashes in the game that light up the environment.” Multiplayer will always be a massive part of any Dawn of War game, and we wanted to know what to expect in the latest chapter in the series. |
“Well
we’re really trying to break the mould with multiplayer. Players like
a standard online mode, which they can have, but they get all the cool
new additions and innovations. We’ve also moved a lot of the base
building from your main base and out into the field – we want to bring
in a territory control aspect to the game. You build around points in
the field and try to maintain control of a portion of the map.”
And what about the different factions in the game? “Well we’ve got the Space Marines, they’re kinda like the Hero race. They’re few in number, but they’re really powerful and elite. Orks are great, everybody loves to play as them – they’re rowdy, they’re funny, one of my favourite races. We’ve also got the Eldar, who are kinda like the old race that are dying out, sort of like elves, but old and biblical. They have very mysterious powers. The final race are the Tyranids, and they literally are the greatest threat the galaxy has ever seen. They send out these massive waves and incinerate everything, and cause plenty of havoc.” Sounds good, but how do they actually go about making the game? We wanted to know what the first thing Relic do when they start work on a Dawn of War title. “Well the first thing we do is look at the original game and try and figure out which bits we wanna keep and make better. Secondly add all the new innovations we’ve been working on. The third thing is look at what new things you might want to bring to the genre itself, and try and make those steps. The last thing we’d ever want is for the genre to die out – you know, fighting games have sort of died out. Racing games have died out. We look at the RTS genre, and the titles are on the down-side – so we feel a responsibility to keep |
innovating and driving the genre forward”.
So after two and half years of development, Dawn of War 2 is ready, and Jonny and his team of loyal RTS devs have made a title that keeps the genre alive, and their dedication to both the franchise and the genre is extremely commendable. But enough of this talk about the game – it’ll speak for itself through the trailers, screenshots, and incredible playability. We quizzed Jonny on what other games he’s loved in 2008, and also wanted to know what he was looking forward to playing in 2009. “Well I’ve got a huge back catalogue of games that I haven’t got round to playing yet – Fallout 3; Gears of War 2; Call of Duty [sounds like he’s a shooter fan!]. As for 2009 – no questions asked, Resident Evil 5, holy s**t! I’m a huge Resi fan, and I can’t wait for this one.”And what about the tunes blasting out of the Relic sound system at the moment? “Most people usually have their iPod on while they’re at work, we don’t really have tunes “blasting” across the office so to speak. Personally I don’t buy CDs, I’m a iTunes addict, and generally I listen to Paul van Dyke, Tiesto and Ferry Corsten, that kind of stuff.” We let Jonny get back to working the room, talking to other DoW fans with all their questions they have for him. We leave feeling slightly upset that he uses iTunes and NOT hmv.digital, but quickly forgive him. He’s a thoroughly likeable chap, and his dedication and love for Dawn of War is extremely admirable to say the least. Dawn of War 2 is looking amazing, and we can’t wait to get our hand on it when it’s finally released – roll on February 20th! words: Duncan La Barre January 2009 |
