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    Discuss This Story Hot Bionicle NewsSunday, October 5th, 2003 at 1:45pm by Rich, BZPower Administrator

    New to BZPower? Click here to get started!

    Recently BZPower had to opportunity to ask questions of the producers of Bionicle: The Game. Now that Mask of Light has been out for a few weeks, we're going to move onto coverage of Bionicle: The Game, due out in just a couple weeks on PC, Xbox and PS2. Read on for some exclusive info, including a surpise that will be packaged with the game.

    How long did creation take for the game on each platform?

    Our �lead� version was the PlayStation2, which means that we fleshed out technology & gameplay required on that console first. This then led the development of the other three versions (GameCube, Xbox & PC). The whole process of bringing BIONICLE to life as a video game started in October 2001 with pre-design meetings involving the LEGO Interactive team. The external developer Argonaut Gameswere signed by the end of 2001 to begin designing & making the game.

    Our co-publishers Electronics Arts came on board on Jan 1st 2002 & were responsible for all the quality testing, localisation & manufacturing as well as lending their advice & expertise throughout the project.

    The GameBoy Advance version of BIONICLE is licensed to & published by THQ and developed by Mobius. The development time for a GBA is much shorter & this process started at the beginning of 2003.

    What sort of stages did designing crew go through to come up with the character design from the game?

    The first Toa character designed was a one-to-one digital reproduction of the play material, but once they were put into the game � the characters didn't look enough like �game� characters, so needed to be re-designed to suit the game. So LEGO Interactive tasked the art director at Argonaut to come up with something new.

    We took inspiration from all representations of the Toa � the DTV movie, the play materials, the DC comic and the web. We broke the character down into individual components � worked on what were the essential design ingredients for the Toa � the mask, the chest plate, the tools and the feet & injected them with a bit of muscle so they suited the gaming medium.

    Then the game design team invited comment from play materials, the DTV movie team and shared assets & ideas. From there it took three passes to fine-tune the final look of the Toa you now see in the game. The Toa Nuva & other characters came much quicker once we took into account all that we'd learnt from the Toa design process.

    How are the characters put together? Characters from The Sims were a basic texture slapped on a wire frame, will the Bionicle characters be any different?

    The Argonaut art team modelled everything as a digital model containing roughly 2,000 polys (triangles), then mapped textures onto this wireframe. The textures were then refined throughout the development process.

    What sort of software did THQ use to develop the worlds and characters for the game?

    PS2, Xbox, PC & GameCube were developed by an external development studio, Argonaut Games & co-published by LEGO Interactive and Electronic Arts. The GameBoy Advance version was licensed to & published by THQ & developed by another external development studio Mobius.

    The programming software for the versions that were created at Argonaut was MS Dev Studio. They used PhotoShop for texturing the worlds, 3D Studio Max for modelling the worlds & characters & MAYA for the animation.

    Will we hear our characters talk in the game, or is conversation between characters through text?

    Yes, the levels in the game are linked through �cut scenes�, this is where you will hear the characters speak. You will hear all the Toa, Turaga Vakama, Nokama & Nuju. Plus Takua, Takanuva and Makuta himself. We voice cast about 20 different voice talents to make sure we had 'sound-alike' voices to the DTV as we were not able to use the DTV movie actual voices.

    Many games now are first creating and releasing the software with an online-patch in mind. Is Bionicle: The Game going to have any online capabilities?

    No

    How many characters were created for the game? And can you tell us what characters to expect to see-other than the Toa, of course.

    As well as the Toa and Toa Nuva, you will see the Bohrok, the Rahkshi, Takua and Takanuva and Makuta in their video game forms.

    We also re-created Rahi for the game that existed as play materials, but also Rahi from the Master Builders set to give Makuta some new minions and the Toa some more enemises to battle against!

    What are the system requirements for the PC version of the game?
    The min spec for the PC game is:
    Windows 98/2000/ME/XP
    PIII 600MHz
    64MB RAM
    900MB hard drive space
    4 speed CD-DVD drive
    32MB Direct 3D Video Card
    DirectX 9.0 compatible Sound Card
    DirectX 9.0
    Keyboard, Mouse, Joystick & Gamepad

    How many people did it take to create the game?

    For the consoles versions & the PC, including all the teams at LEGO Interactive, Electronic Arts & Argonaut - about 120 people � covering design, programming, artwork, animation, testing, localisation, marketing and much more�

    Who are you guys, who are the producers of the game, and what games have you worked on in the past?

    There were quite a few different companies involved in producing the BIONICLE video game. LEGO Interactive (that�s us!) looked after the design and development of the game & worked with the external developers & publishers.

    Argonaut Games � where the game was designed, programmed, where all the art was done and the characters created. Argonaut Games have done Harry Potter on PSOne and Croc in the past.

    Electronic Arts co-published BIONICLE The Game, which means they added their expertise throughout the project, plus looked after all the quality testing, localisation & manufacturing. Electronic Arts is the worlds biggest video games publisher & is behind titles such as Lord of the Rings, James Bond, Harry Potter & The Sims.

    Really, it�s unfair to single out any people on this project as so many people worked very long hours to get this project completed. You�ll have to take a look at the credits in the game to see the long long list of people who made the BIONICLE video game possible.

    I have played the GBA version of the game, do the different consoles have much of a difference between them in the way of storyline?

    The basic story is the same, but it is portrayed very differently through gameplay on the console versus hand held. You play more characters on the GBA version, but the gameplay on the console is much more varied.

    Once the game was completed, were you happy with the general result?

    Yes, the entire team here at LEGO Interactive is pleased with BIONICLE The Game.

    From what I have seen, the game is made for the Pentium 4 when it comes to the PC. Why is that?

    The game is made for all PC's that fit the minimum spec, but because of LEGO Interactive�s partnership with INTEL on the PC version, the PC game has been enhanced for INTEL Pentium 4 HT (hyper threaded) enabled machines. The INTEL Pentium 4 HT machines have higher poly models (greater detail), enhanced shadows & water & sky effects.

    Can we expect to see any "Easter Eggs" in the game?

    No Easter eggs as such, but we might have left some cool cheats in the game.... ;)

    When was the game officially completed?

    Because each of the different versions of the game take slightly different lengths of time to develop and complete, the first version was finished mid-August and the last version mid September & are currently being manufactured.

    Will there be any promotions or new promotional product tied with the game such as a new poster or a new mask to help promote it?

    Exclusive to the game will be �Takua�s Staff� � this is a brand new tool that is available only with the game. In some countries it will be packed in the game box, in others it will be given away as part of retail promotions. You can also read all about it in The Game Bonus Content.

    If you ask me, Takua�s Chroniclers staff looks uncannily like Takanuva�s Kolhii Staff of Light in some ways. Keep an eye on BIONICLE.com to see how it fits into the BIONICLE story.

    The Bonus Content also includes amongst other things a cool Toa Evolution movie, showing the way Tahu has evolved from toy Toa Tahu to game Toa Tahu � watch them size each other up!

    -end interview-

    Pretty interesting stuff. Be sure to stay tuned as BZP brings you the first look at Bionicle: The Game as we approach the official release date.

    We'd also like to thank the producers of the game for answering our questions, and everyone at LEGO that facilitated the interview.

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