The Following Takes Place Between “24” and I-play’s New Mobile Spin-off

by Louis Bedigian

“Each element of the game has its own tension built in, whether it's defusing a bomb, avoiding detection from enemies or driving a car to a destination as fast as you can while avoiding collisions.”

Have you ever felt like you just had the longest day of your life? Jack Bauer knows that feeling better than anyone. He’s on his fifth longest day as we speak, battling terrorists with the desire to kill, the hunger for revenge, and who knows what else. His closest friends have been killed, and if he and Chloe O'Brian hadn’t succeeded in thwarting the terrorists’ plans, he would’ve been marked the one responsible. Losing President Palmer was no doubt the worst of it, but being framed for murder was only the beginning of Jack’s problems. A new threat is about to present itself, one that could make this the longest day he has ever had.

24, the enigmatic, one-day-to-save-the-world drama is astonishing audiences like never before with new twists and completely unexpected occurrences. Though I’ll always be partial to the first season, this could end up being the best one yet. 

Highlighting the success of how far the series has come is an all-new game designed exclusively for mobile phones. Not much was revealed when the game was announced, but the promise of living up to the show’s standards was just as intriguing as it was lofty.

Can it do it? Can 24 take the mobile game platform to the next level? With less than twenty-four hours to spare, we barged into Producer Jonathan Kromrey’s office and demanded answers. (We were wearing Jack Bauer cloaks at the time, disguised as CTU’s most important agent. Knowing how forceful Jack can be, Jonathan gave into our demands immediately.)

24 is coming to mobile phones at the start of the new season. Tell us all about it.

Jonathan Kromrey: I-play, the mobile games company, has secured a strategic partnership with Twentieth Century Fox's new unit Fox Mobile Entertainment to develop, publish and distribute one of the market's most desirable licenses – "24" – as a mobile game to a global audience.

I-play, in collaboration with Fox, aims to capture the time driven tension of the series and deliver a breakthrough in mobile game play. The game will stay true to the flavor and spirit of the enormously successful franchise which critics have hailed as the most intense, engaging and surprising program ever to grace a TV screen. Just as mobile phone communication figures prominently in every heart-racing episode of "24," players of the game will receive instructions, messages, and intriguing content delivered directly to their mobile devices. The clock starts racing the moment players begin to play, echoing "24's" signature real time motif in which every second counts and calamity could be less than 24 hours away.

How is the time-driven element of the show being implemented into the game?

JK: Tension is so inherent to the 24 show that we spent a lot of time crafting it so it was always at the forefront of the player's mind. Not only is each mini-game timed, but the 24-clock timer is always present. For some carriers we also support posting the time taken to complete the game so you can brag to your friends and challenge them to beat your best time.

How do you build tension on such a tiny screen?

JK: Each element of the game has its own tension built in, whether it's defusing a bomb, avoiding detection from enemies or driving a car to a destination as fast as you can while avoiding collisions. Some missions are direct and simple, where others involve linked missions that must be solved with the same Agent. Toward the end of the game the player will have to solve several linked missions in a row in order to solve the mystery and avert a nuclear war! 

Surveillance 

Players will receive instructions, messages, and intriguing content directly to their mobile device. Talk about that.

JK: We didn't want to do just another "run and gun" game and the show inspired us to create the original concept that the player's actual mobile phone could to be "upgraded" into a "spy phone" and grant the player access to the adventurous 24 world and work with agents like Jack Bauer. As an agent you receive emails from Chloe calling you in from the field to report to CTU. Each story element and mission description is displayed to the user as if the player were actually speaking to the CTU agent.

I know the game isn't due until season five begins, but can you tell us anything at all about the story that this game will follow?

JK: An encrypted message sent to the North Korean consulate is intercepted by CTU agent Chloe O'Brian that implicates the North Koreans in a possible attack on the U.S.A. The North Korean government refutes their involvement in any such operation and adds that any action taken against their people or their consulate regarding these outlandish accusations will be seen as an act of war.

How much is the show connected to the game? Will there be anything significant that stands out?

JK: I can't say much more than we worked closely with the show producers and the licensing team at 20th Century Fox. The development team [were] already big fans of the show before the project began.

Will there be any split-screen moments?

JK: Not this time. Maybe in the next game ;-)

Who do you control in this game? Jack Bauer?

JK: Your game persona is you, as a CTU Agent, but during the game the player controls the Agents he assigns to each mission. The characters you can control in the game are Chloe, Kim, Curtis, and, of course Jack.  

Puzzles 

Which of the 24 characters are expected to make appearances in the game?  Only season five characters, or will we see characters from the first four seasons as well?

JK: In addition to the four characters mentioned above, Bill Buchanan and President Palmer make appearances in the game.

In what ways will the story be presented in the game? Via text messages?

JK: Yes, emails from Agents and reports from the field. These can happen at the beginning or end of a mission, or even in the middle of one.

24 will have an interactive story, and thus multiple choices for the player to take advantage of. Does this mean there will be multiple outcomes? Multiple game endings?

JK: The initial interactive story elements were very ambitious and we've had to reduce them down during the final stages of production. Now the emphasis is on which agent the player selects for a particular mission, and how their appropriate skills determine the difficulty or "threat level" of the mission. This becomes critical at the later stages of the game when one mission automatically leads to another and there is no time to switch to a different agent!

One of the coolest things about 24 is the unique perspectives they use to raise tension during key sequences. How are these visuals translating to the mobile game? What can we expect this game to look like?

JK: The Art Direction for 24 was a major part of the game the designer was able to create a cool spy look for each part so it matches the show and the atmosphere. From infra-red surveillance satellite feed to the phone tracing game, each part has its own unique flavor and presentation.

Looks are important but can't compare to the importance of good gameplay. Can you tell us about the gameplay and the missions we'll be completing?

JK: The best games are easy to play, difficult to master, and have deep re-playability. BBB and I-play worked in conjunction to craft each of the missions with a core "one-button push" mechanic whenever possible and then provide as many of them as possible to the player. Missions can range from a simple code "Decryption" to chasing after a suspect in a car and having to ram him enough times to disable his vehicle and capture him; infiltrate a terrorist hideout and then when the smoke clears discover a ticking bomb that you have to defuse ASAP; disable a laser security system then trace a phone signal to discover the terrorist, then interrogate him. All these and more are in the game. 

“These vitals aren’t good, we need a doctor. Send in the other Jack!”

“Who?”

“The guy from Lost!”

24 ringtones are going to be released around the time of the game. Does this mean that the game's music and sound effects will be instantly recognizable?

JK: The iconic 24 theme tune and CTU ring tone are already instantly recognizable, but we aim to help make these more available on the mobile device, alongside the game.

How do you plan to promote the game to diehard 24 fans?

JK: Twentieth Century Fox and I-play together are planning an unprecedented marketing push behind the mobile franchise of “'24” to launch the first game. We are promoting the 24 mobile game through various print and online advertising, in-store retail pre-order campaigns and viral blogging. Additionally, we will be executing a "Be a CTU Agent for a Day," a national consumer promotion with FOX Television and 2K Games in which we will fly a winner and guest to LA for a tour of the 24 set and offer the chance to win a black Ford Explorer (like the CTU agents use in the show)!

Do you plan to start advertising the game during the show, and advertise new episodes (perhaps with a story snippet) within the game?

JK: I believe this is something that is being considered in future plans.

This is the first of many 24 games that are being planned. How often do you expect to release these games – one per year?

JK: We can't comment specifically on the frequency at this stage, but there will be more!

That’s good to hear. Thanks for your time Jonathan.