Yesterday was very busy for inFamous: Second Son Art Director Horia Dociu, who took part in Q&A sessions through both the Sucker Punch Twitter account and Sucker Punch Facebook Page.
Since there’s quite a few different topics Horia covers, we’ll put the questions and answers into the format we use for Reddit AMAs (questions are edited for clarity, answers are not):
After someone mentioned the cool way Outlast uses the DualShock 4’s light bar:
It would seem like a waste if we didn’t do something with the LED light :).
How many people are working on Second Son? Is there light at the end of the tunnel?
We’re in the polish stage right now putting the finishing touches on the game – out [March 21st] – there’s about 120 people on board.
How do you think inFamous: Second Son came along?
Second Son is coming along really well. We’re close to completing it, so there’s a lot of polish going in right now to make sure everything feels great for what will certainly be a lot of people’s first PS4 experience. We take that very seriously, and you can be a lot of people worked a HUGE amount of hours to make the game look and feel as good as possible!
After someone said inFamous is the best:
We’re working our butts off in the last few days of production to try and live up to all of your expectations. I know a lot of people on the art team that will require week-long naps after we ship!
Will we explore a more lively new city?
There’s a lot going on in the city, and we really invested heavily in upping the interactivity and destruction! It will be fun!
Any details on the karma system and how it will be shown?
Karma is certainly very important to our game, and you can count on a number of changes with the character and story!
Can we swim?
The game is about climbing on EVERYTHING and quickly traversing using super powers. You won’t miss swimming! ;).
What was the inspiration for making Delsin who he is and what he looks like?
I used the inspiration of the punk rock look mixed with the very west-coast feel of Denim. Also, he’s got clothes layered up because it’s fall time in the game and it [gets] damn cold here in Seattle.
Is there going to be online multiplayer?
We’ve focused on a story driven, open world game to tell the story of Delsin. There was no right way to do that with multiplayer. You do have control of Delsin’s good or evil actions, and that makes the game worth playing twice.
Are you going to release another trailer for the game?
We’ve got until March 21st for the game to come out, so I’m sure you’ll see a bit more before we’re done ;).
Will there be DLC? Will you guys continue making games in the inFamous franchise?
We’re just focusing on making [inFamous: Second Son] the best it can be before we can focus on what’s next. Thank you for the nice comments, we hope you love the game. We sure love you guys for supporting us. We’re NOT some huge studio, just about a hundred guys and gals working our butts off lol. so thank YOU!
Will it ever snow in the game, or will it be rainy most of the time?
We get about one snow day in Seattle every two years haha, so we didn’t invest in the technology to do snow right. The weather does look great though, and fog and sunsets and all that are just really beautiful when you see it in 1080 on a big screen!
Can we go inside buildings?
The game is all about speed and traversal. There are some interiors, but really you’ll want to spend your time dashing across rooftops and scaling walls in the flash of an eye. Just moving through the game is a joy!
How did you manage the gorgeous particle effects?
It’s a combo of having super badass programmers, and just plain kickass artists. We build the custom tech for this game to take advantage of the PS4, and the artists had lots of input into how we want the tools to work so we get the best results. I honestly feel like the effects, particularly super powers are some of the most interesting ever to be put into a real-time game engine! They’re just gorgeous to see at 1080 too!!
Will we be seeing Quest Field in Second Son?
We didn’t put anything in that we didn’t have explicit gameplay for. We wanted things that tied into the story and were fun to climb etc. You won’t miss it though, there’s a LOT of city to run around and explore :).
Do Delsin’s clothes change when you pick different karma?
We’ve got karma changes like the older games, but we’re also doing a touch of customization with the vest.
How did you come up with the logo?
Are you talking about the Second Son logo? That was inspired by stencil-art graffiti, which Delsin is known for. As for the design on Delsin’s back, that’s an icon Edward (our storyboard lead) and I came up with to symbolize Delsin’s dueal karma possibilities. Keep an eye on that logo ;).
How does Delsin’s appearance change with the karma?
He certainly looks different, but it’s not the extreme zombie-like evil level Cole reached. We wanted to make sure the character would still be relatable in all the new cut-scenes.
Is the karma system changed in any way?
Karma has always been very important, and we’ve made sure that it plays a big role in this game too. That’s about all I can say :).
Will there be any customization?
We’ve shown a bit of the custom vest stuff- Delsin is a DYI fanatic from graffiti to stencils and screen prints. So we thought that’d be a cool way for him to update his vest.
Will you see Zeke from inFamous 1 and 2?
Nope.
Is there going to be options for a second power, like inFamous 2?
One power at a time, but you can dynamically draw from different sources during battle. It’s like each power set is a different play style – quite cool!
Will this also be released on PS3?
The game has been crafted from scratch for the PS4! The things we’re doing are just not possible on PS3.
In addition to the Q&A, Sucker Punch brought out some images for inFamous: Second Son, including Delsin’s Guide to Seattle:
And here’s some concept art as well:
Are there any more inFamous: Second Son questions that you have? Let everyone know in the comments below.
