October 19, 2007

TNA iMPACT! Interview 3: One-on-One With Samoa Joe
By Louis Bedigian

“The models in this blow away anything that’s ever been done before.”

TNA wrestler Samoa Joe isn’t just the star of a video game – he’s also a huge gamer. Which is precisely why he’s thrilled to be a part of Midway’s upcoming TNA iMPACT! game. It is, according to Joe, “a reclamation of great gameplay put back into wrestling.”

He says that the current crop of wrestling games aren’t cutting it. “I think right now in general, wrestling games feel like a bunch of mini-games chained together. It’s more about timing a button press than it is about performing moves in the ring and actually wrestling.”

TNA iMPACT! is the change he’s been waiting for. “It’s going to be a new style of gameplay, a lot of fun, really in-depth, and I think the fans will enjoy it.”

To find out more about his role with the game, we sat down with the TNA superstar for info on motion capturing, gameplay, his experience, and more.

Samoa Joe gets a glimpse of his in-game counterpart.

Tell us about your motion capture sessions.

Samoa Joe: It’s going to be a fantastic experience. If we’re going to the game right you’ve got to get the moves right. The best way to do that is get the guys who do it [professionally] to go in there and do the motion captures. It’s been a very fun process, a very fruitful process. Some of us got a little banged up in the process but it’s been a good time.

Is it as painful as the real thing?

SJ: Actually, we have mats so we can fake it. Through the magic of video game technology we can pull our punches a little. It’s been very hospitable to us.

How did you get your face in the game? Did you do face mapping?

SJ: No face mapping. They literally took digital photos of our faces and stretched them over the game models. So the skin that you see in there is actually my skin. And you know, some of the guys had pimples that day so you can actually see them. But we want to get ‘em on a clear day and get ‘em re-shot.

Is this your first video game?

SJ: Third. I was in two King of the Coliseums in Japan and this is my first stateside video game, and the first one I’ve been involved with. I’m very excited about it.

When you first saw yourself in those games and now in this – how did that feel? ‘Cause in TNA iMPACT!, the effects are unreal.

SJ: No comparison. The models in this blow away anything that’s ever been done before. You saw how smooth the guys move and stuff. It’s been a good process.

Samoa Joe posed with fans and signed autographs at the Bound for Glory Fan Interaction.

By the way you talk I assume you’re a gamer?

SJ: Absolutely.

What do you play?

SJ: We [the TNA athletes] have games together. Right now it’s Halo 3, but Gears of War was a big staple. When stuff really needs to be settled, when there’s a really big dispute between two guys, it usually comes down to a sport game. It’s usually Madden or NBA Street. I’m more preferential to Street, but that’s just me.

So you could be having this huge rivalry going on in the ring, and then you say, “Let’s play a video game”?

SJ: Yes. I almost wish we could do that for Pay-Per-View, but unfortunately we’re not at that point yet. It’s always a good time.

Have you followed the pro game competitions at all?

SJ: Yeah. In fact, I competed in the MLG in a charity event last year. Myself, a man named Gandhi, Kurt Angle, and Forrest Griffin. We [me and Gandhi] absolutely destroyed them. It was a fantastic one-sided affair. We led in kill counts and got a big $6,000 check for the Autism Society. It was a nice charity game, a lot of fun. It was just sad that I had to clown some top-league players like that.

Fatal1ty is going up against a couple of pro ballers at E for All. Would you like to be involved with something like that?

SJ: Absolutely. We’d be more than happy to. I think when E3 or any big show comes around it’d be great if TNA had a huge presence there. Show ‘em what we got.

Would you play as yourself in TNA iMPACT?

SJ: I’m well too self-absorbed to play anyone else. I’d definitely just be me. [Laughs]

Is your work with TNA iMPACT! complete?

SJ: Oh no, I wish it was done. We still got more to do. I mean, we’re building a wrestling library from scratch – every punch, every kick, every headlock. If you can imagine how many moves are in pro wrestling… We’re doing ‘em all. It’s a lot of motion capturing.

Are you doing your own moves? Are the other TNA stars doing their own moves?

SJ: For the most part. The basic guys who handle motion capturing are myself, Senshi, AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Jay Lethal, and Sonjay.

What about the women of TNA?

SJ: We’ll have the ladies in there shortly.

Samoa Joe exchanges words with his rival.

They haven’t done any of the motion capture work thus far?

SJ: They haven’t yet but I’m sure they will be shortly.

Any face scans yet?

Yes. You know it’s funny, the Midway guys took forever on those ones. For me it was a couple quick shots. But it seemed like every time Christy Hemme or somebody went in there it was like a two-hour session. She said she had to do some weird poses and stuff. I don’t know what that’s about.

Ha-ha.

SJ: I mean I ain’t sayin’ anything about Midway but it was kind of weird.

That’s all the questions I have, thanks for your time Joe!

Photos and Story By Louis Bedigian

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