January 31, 2007

New Skies, New Dynamics – Heatseeker is “Burnout with Planes”
by Louis Bedigian 

“When you think of the Hollywood treatment of air combat, it's almost like a car chase; twisting, turning, nose to tail, and we wanted to get that sense of excitement and fun into air combat.”  

“Burnout with planes.” That was the design statement for the Impact Cam, a potentially groundbreaking new feature created for Heatseeker. Developed with high-impact, arcade-style action in mind, Heatseeker comes from the makers of Heroes of the Pacific. They’ve learned a lot along the way and have brought that experience to their latest title, which is being developed for Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 2, and PSP. 

“We saw Burnout and its collision camera work and thought, ‘We [have] got to get ourselves a piece of that,’ because it looks so good,” said Andrew Wensley, Senior Producer at Codemasters. “Having your missile tear into an enemy is cool, and seeing and hearing that up close, feeling the camera shake as your target blows to pieces in slow-mo is what we aimed for and what we got.”  

Heatseeker packs in “as many explosions as possible, so expect to go from 0 to 60 kills in seconds.” Wensley says that the game is arcade-based in a physical world where aerodynamics matter and missiles behave as they should. “We looked at real-world details and then worked with those to make gameplay features that matter, and then presented them in a really cool, impactful way. It’s accessible for gamers new to the genre, and fans of Ace Combat and Afterburner will find details they’ll love. We’ve got both a pure arcade handling model and a professional flight model to cater for both the gamer and the flight [sim] fans.”  

Heatseeker is a new flight/combat game due for release on three platforms: Wii, PS2 and PSP.  It makes sense that the game is coming to PS2 and PSP – those two work well together. But as far as gameplay is concerned, Wii is a different kind of game machine.  What makes these three platforms the best for this new game? 

Andrew Wensley: The PS2 / PSP do share a lot of similarities and work well together, particularly to button layouts as well as having a shared heritage. And you’re right, the Wii is a different kind of game machine with regard gameplay, but a Wii has more similarities in terms of brute horsepower to a PS2 than when compared to a PS3 or a 360, so it makes sense from that point of view to look at the Wii, PS2 and PSP for Heatseeker. 

Let's put an end to the question marks right now and ask:  Will the Wii version control differently from the others? 

AW: It’s easy to guess and get right. The Wii version does control differently from the others. The moment we saw that first video about the Wii, and saw the potential of the motion-sensing controller we just had to develop the game for it. 

And then when we found out about the pointer control system, which opened up a whole new range of possibilities as well. Heatseeker on Wii has not one, but two different control methods. You can use the Nunchuck as a joystick, so when you tilt to the right, the plane banks to the right (in arcade mode) and when you pull back on the stick, it climbs. 

Alternatively, you can use the Wiimote to steer the plane – it simply flies in the direction that you’re pointing. Both are really accessible and people get them like that [snaps fingers]. The proof seems to be in the fact that more people seem to skim the water and hilltops on the Wii than on the other platforms, just because they’ve got more control.  

Assuming the Wii version is motion-controlled, what can we expect from the PS2 and PSP versions?  Will the PS2 version have standard flight controls with both analog sticks employed?  And if so, how are these actions translated to PSP, which only has one analog stick? 

AW: It’s very much a case of playing to each consoles’ strengths and matching the ergonomics of the controller. IR Gurus – the developer of Heatseeker, previously created Heroes of the Pacific so they came with a lot of experience when it comes to controller set up. But some of the gamers who will play Heatseeker have played other flight combat games, so it was a case of examining other control methods and seeing what worked well – you know…if it ain’t broke – don’t fix it! 

On the PS2, we do use both analog sticks in the default mode, but in other control setup, the speed controls are there on the shoulder buttons, leaving the right thumb stick free for camera controls. 

When we moved over to the PSP, it was a case of making sure the control system supported the game that is right for the PSP. With Heatseeker PSP, we’ve got a quick-blast game, shorter missions with easy kills where you take to the air and come out as the hero is short bursts of gaming. So it was a case of making a control system that felt arcade-y and accessible. As we had a control method that essentially used one thumb stick, the basic transition was easy. After that, it’s a case of playing and adjusting the layouts so they work the best. 

Graphically most PS2 games that have appeared on Wii end up looking the same.  I would assume that'll be the case for Heatseeker...?  Or will there be some noticeable graphic differences? 

AW: Hey now! Don’t go lumping us with all those other guys. The Wii version of Heatseeker supports 480p for anybody with an HDTV. Additionally, we’ve found that in the transition to Wii, we were able to enhance a bunch of graphical routines to make the landscapes more lush, have better explosions, better missile trails and clouds as well as introduce improved water routines. And the planes cast shadows on themselves.  When you pull up in a F-22 Raptor, level out with the sun to your right and slowly roll right, the plane looks so d**n good!  

The Impact Cam sounds very exciting, allowing players to get up close with their kills in bullet-time. Tell us all about this – how it works, how the action is performed, and how much control players have over the Impact Cam. 

AW: Impact Cam – it’s one of the coolest features in Heatseeker and one of the most exciting of any air combat game. We’re the first game to use such a feature. Here’s how it came about:  

When you look at other flight/combat games, especially simulators, the combat is realistic. It takes place at 20, 30, 40 kms, just like it does it real life. They call it blip killing because with those other games, you rarely get to see your enemy, up close and personal, looking amazing and exciting. There you just got to kill a blip on the radar. One moment it was there and the next – it’s gone. 

Well, that was those other games. With Heatseeker, we wanted to bring the action up close and personal. When you think of the Hollywood treatment of air combat, it’s almost like a car chase; twisting, turning, nose to tail, and we wanted to get that sense of excitement and fun into air combat. 

[The] Impact Cam is our way of rewarding the player’s key kills, showing them the [coolest] explosions, from the sexiest camera angle. We have over 20 different angles to choose from. A set of heuristic rules determines which is the best to show, depending on range, relative angle, weapons used, altitude and frequencies. If you meet the criteria, then bang! You get to see the action. We tweaked it so that it’s always a reward, happening always often enough. When the Impact Cam kicks off, it’s time to sit back and enjoy your target blow to pieces in bullet time, with matrix style cameras showing you the good stuff. Come the replays, you get to play enough with camera angles there. 

Could you give us an idea of what the slow-motion effects will be like?  The game Burnout comes to mind, but I can't think of any that have done it in the air... 

AW: There [are] so many elements of Heatseeker that I love and the Impact Cam is my favourite. Just last week I got a 4 LRAM missile kill – all targets on screen, all blowing up and the camera angle was just right – my plane flew through the exploding debris – in slow-mo. Couldn’t believe it. It was the business. Me and the guys were all smiles – everyone nodding, grinning, going, “Sweet!” 

Is the Impact Cam a part of the feature that lets you "feel" what it's like to be a missile headed for its target? Or is this another feature? Please clarify. 

AW: Just by holding the fire button you can ride any weapon all the way home. Some of the impact cams give you a view as if you’re perched on top of the missile. Very cool indeed.  

What weapons and fighter jets are being included in the game?  Are they fictitious or based on real fighter jets? 

AW: All the jets in Heatseeker are based on real fighter jets. We’ve licensed planes from Lockheed Martin as well as Boeing. We’ve taken some artistic license with some of the weapon pods and pylon numbers so that they fit best into the unlock and progression structure. 

All of the weapons and their behaviors are based on real-world weapons. Air-to-air heat-seeking missiles are there as are beam riders and radar-active missiles. We use them for different gameplay situations. 

We’ve got free-fall bombs (1000lb, 2000lb, cluster bombs, fuel air bombs), radar-guided bombs, ground attack missile, free-fire rocket pods (my favorite spray and pray weapons), air launched cruise missile and torpedoes. 

Then there are the enemy weapon systems as well, all with a subtle twist. We’ve made sure they have their own uses in-game whilst being true enough to their real-world origins. Heatseekers get lock quicker if they can see the heat ports on the target. Beam riders have to keep the target in view – which can be tough, so we increased their payload to compensate and reward the player. 

Hey, I saw a rumor online that there’s a nuke included in the Heatseeker – that I can neither confirm nor deny at this point. But sufficed to say, if we did, it would be so cool, wouldn’t it?  

Is there going to be a story element?  Any non-interactive cut scenes to go along with the cool Impact Cam? 

AW: The setting, key events, the story – all of this is played out in front of you in Heatseeker.  We’ve made sure it all has a blockbuster treatment. We use spy cameras, surveillance planes, you get to see not just the enemy but buddies too go down in flames, just ready for you to avenge them. The story and its treatment is another area the team worked really hard on and has done a fantastic job. 

Will Heatseeker offer multiple play modes?  Are there going to be any multiplayer features for any of the three versions? 

AW: The PSP version of Heatseeker will feature multiplayer dog fighting as well as four other gaming modes. Very fun to get lock and shoot your buddy down. Unfortunately, this time around there won’t be any multiplayer on the Wii or PS2 versions.

Thank you for your time.

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