MI6 chatted to Steve Ettinger from "Griptonite" this week, about miniaturizing Bond and his Aston Martin for "Everything or Nothing" - the latest Bond outing on GameBoy Advanced...

Interview - Steve Ettinger (Part 2)
15th November 2003

MI6 chatted to Steve Ettinger from "Griptonite" this week, about miniaturizing Bond and his Aston Martin for "Everything or Nothing" - the latest Bond outing on GameBoy Advanced...

Improving Bond..


Above: Cover art GBA

UK - MI6 GBA Price: £24.99
USA - MI6 GBA Price: $29.99

 

Visually, what improvements will we see over previous Gameboy Advance games in "Everything or Nothing"?
Visually, this is hands down one of the best games we've ever seen. (We're not just saying that!) We are really pushing what is possible on the GBA. Every object, every wall, every texture, every NPC was fully rendered in 3D before being imported for use in our game. It's like doing the work of two games for one, because you are first building these pieces in 3D (using Maya in our case), and then exporting them and cleaning them up, and sizing and lighting them for use in a 2D-isometric game. It's a lot of work. But this was one of the most important stylistic choices for us to make. We didn't want another title on the platform with saturated colors, and cartoony people standing under
cartoony trees. Bond belongs in a real-world environment, and we took great pains to portray his world in a visual style that we think gamers will love.

How easy is it for someone who has never played a GameBoy Advance game before to pick the game up and start to play "Everything or Nothing"? What features have you included to help first timers?
There is enough tutorial help in the game so that an 8 yr. old could jump in and start playing, and we made sure to ramp things slowly so that gamers would have a positive experience from the get-go. But we would not say that this is an easy game. If it's challenge you're looking for, you won't be disappointed! (Play it on the hardest difficulty, and then we'll see who's really a super-spy!)

Why did you choose to integrate RPG features into the game? How will this affect the replay value?
We wanted to be really careful about this. Depending on how successful you are on missions, you get 'Style Points' that you can spend in the Q-Lab. One distinction we were careful to make is that you are never upgrading Bond himself. It's not like, 'Hey I just slayed this dragon, now James Bond has +1 accuracy'; no way! Bond is Bond. He's the man. These are items that Q developed that can help even the world's greatest secret agent. You can buy stronger body-armour, weighted handles, extra med-kits, and so forth. There is even one item, a nanotech device, which actually features nanobots, which heal your bodily damage over time. Very cool.

 
Above: The original Game Boy Advance


Above: Aston Martin Vanquish
 

Did you relate to any of the movies, or previous Bond games when trying to create a convincing Bond style atmosphere in "Everything or Nothing"?
How can you not relate to the movies!? We have all of them here on DVD, and you can be sure they all made the rounds! As far as previous games, there have been a lot of great Bond games over the years, and we looked at all of them, but really this game is something completely different. The thing we all have in common is that we are all delivering Bond, so you know you're gonna get gadgets and girls and guns, but I think the game-play of this particular title is very different from what has come before.

Finally, what are you most proud of with the game? What do you think Bond fans will enjoy the most?
Overall, our feeling is that while it was sometimes difficult to achieve a good balance between all of the various game modes required (stealth, shooter, and adventure), we're pleased with the result and we hope that the Bond fans world-wide have a great time with this game. Visually, the game is stunning, and game-play wise, rappelling is fun; stealth is fun; using Bond's weapons and gadgets is fun; driving is fun - we hope that everyone enjoys all aspects of the game, and that they enjoy the opportunity to "be Bond"!


"Everything or Nothing" GBA Wallpaper A
800 x 600 - 1024x768
 

"Everything or Nothing" GBA Wallpaper B
800 x 600 - 1024x768
 

Many thanks to Steve Ettinger. "Everything or Nothing" for GBA will go on sale in the USA on Friday 21st November 2003.

Images courtesy EA and Amazon Associates.

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