Thick Thighs Save Lives
NeoGAF's Physical Games Advocate Extraordinaire
RoboCop is one of the most popular franchises to date and has unarguably the coolest premise for a video game. Despite that, there wasn’t really a video game for next-gen consoles and the latest PC hardware until Teyon took up the challenge. This was great news from the start for fans of the franchise, especially with how well the Polish developer handled Terminator: Resistance.
Soon after its release, the game received some mixed reviews from critics, but at the same time, it was highly praised by players for truly capturing the essence of RoboCop. To understand the intricacies of adapting a classic IP and discuss the future of Teyon, we spoke with Piotr Łatocha, Game Director of RoboCop: Rogue City, over an email Q&A session. Read ahead for the full interview.
Q: RoboCop: Rogue City is Nacon's best launch to date and has been received extremely well by fans and critics alike. Did the team anticipate this level of success from the game?
A: Piotr: We’re thrilled to see how much people love this game. We’ve achieved a 95% positive review on Steam, which is fantastic, and the game had an amazing launch in terms of sales. So, what can I say? We are overjoyed that the hard work has paid off.
Q: How difficult was it to portray RoboCop in a video game because there aren't any RoboCop games you could have taken as a reference?
A: Piotr: Making the players feel like an unstoppable tank to fulfil the RoboCop power fantasy, emphasizing his slow and heavy movement while keeping the game challenging, dynamic, and fun was one of the biggest challenges we faced. I’m glad people think we found the sweet spot for that!
Q: Aside from RoboCop’s slow and robotic movement, which is lore-wise accurate, what other aspects of the character were difficult to get right in the game?
A: Piotr: One of the many discussions we had was how to approach the Auto-9 idea, making it interesting throughout the whole game without becoming repetitive and tedious.
Q: Did you consider making RoboCop: Rogue City in the third person?
A: Piotr: No, we wanted to have that immersion of being in the movie, being the character. However, we knew people would like to see Murphy on screen, so we made sure cutscenes and dialogues were in the third person, providing enough screen time for him.
Q: Did the team take any inspiration from Frank Miller's comic book versions of RoboCop 2 and 3?
A: Piotr: No, we were strictly focused on the lore based on RoboCop 1 and RoboCop 2.
Q: Can we expect to see a content roadmap for RoboCop: Rogue City, giving us a better look at the release window of new content and bug fixes?
A: Piotr: Sorry, but we don’t have a roadmap in plans.
Q: One of the gripes that fans have had with RoboCop: Rogue City is Auto-9. Fans believe that the team can do much more with the Auto-9 and would love to see it utilized to the maximum. Do you have any plans for that? If so, can you explain them in detail?
A: Piotr: The details are very simple; we currently don’t have any plans to rework the Auto-9 mechanics.
Q: Are there any plans to add more content to the game? Maybe more side quests, DLC, or potential plans for a sequel?
A: Piotr: Not at this moment, but only time will tell.
Q: Can you tell us how long the entire development cycle took?
A: Piotr: The game was developed for around 3 years in total.
Q: Since you had to get a lot of approvals over many things due to licensing, were there any ideas that you wanted to implement but couldn't or any ideas that didn't make it into the game for other reasons?
A: Piotr: We had a few ideas that we wanted to have in the game, but they were a bit difficult due to some copyright issues. However, I don’t want to go into any details here.
Q: Are there any plans to bring RoboCop: Rogue City to Xbox Game Pass or PlayStation Plus?
A: Piotr: Not that I know of at this particular moment.
Q: The game is set between the events of RoboCop 2 and 3. But if this becomes a series by Teyon, what part of the original story would you like to focus on next?
A: Piotr: That is a good question, but we haven’t thought about it yet, as we have covered all the most important topics in Rogue City. I need to think about it
.
Q: Has the success of Terminator: Resistance and RoboCop: Rogue City opened up more opportunities for Teyon? What's the next big IP you would want to work on?
A: Piotr: Yes, it has. It’s easier to talk about the future when you’re recognized as a company that can deliver something cool. There are some IPs that we would like to work on in the future, but I won’t give them away just yet.
Q: Is there anything else you want to share with the audience? Something we haven't touched upon yet.
A: Piotr: Thank you for the great support you have shown us so far. It really motivates us to work even harder and to deliver the best and most ambitious projects we can! Cheers!
exputer.com
Soon after its release, the game received some mixed reviews from critics, but at the same time, it was highly praised by players for truly capturing the essence of RoboCop. To understand the intricacies of adapting a classic IP and discuss the future of Teyon, we spoke with Piotr Łatocha, Game Director of RoboCop: Rogue City, over an email Q&A session. Read ahead for the full interview.
Q: RoboCop: Rogue City is Nacon's best launch to date and has been received extremely well by fans and critics alike. Did the team anticipate this level of success from the game?
A: Piotr: We’re thrilled to see how much people love this game. We’ve achieved a 95% positive review on Steam, which is fantastic, and the game had an amazing launch in terms of sales. So, what can I say? We are overjoyed that the hard work has paid off.
Q: How difficult was it to portray RoboCop in a video game because there aren't any RoboCop games you could have taken as a reference?
A: Piotr: Making the players feel like an unstoppable tank to fulfil the RoboCop power fantasy, emphasizing his slow and heavy movement while keeping the game challenging, dynamic, and fun was one of the biggest challenges we faced. I’m glad people think we found the sweet spot for that!
Q: Aside from RoboCop’s slow and robotic movement, which is lore-wise accurate, what other aspects of the character were difficult to get right in the game?
A: Piotr: One of the many discussions we had was how to approach the Auto-9 idea, making it interesting throughout the whole game without becoming repetitive and tedious.
Q: Did you consider making RoboCop: Rogue City in the third person?
A: Piotr: No, we wanted to have that immersion of being in the movie, being the character. However, we knew people would like to see Murphy on screen, so we made sure cutscenes and dialogues were in the third person, providing enough screen time for him.
Q: Did the team take any inspiration from Frank Miller's comic book versions of RoboCop 2 and 3?
A: Piotr: No, we were strictly focused on the lore based on RoboCop 1 and RoboCop 2.
Q: Can we expect to see a content roadmap for RoboCop: Rogue City, giving us a better look at the release window of new content and bug fixes?
A: Piotr: Sorry, but we don’t have a roadmap in plans.
Q: One of the gripes that fans have had with RoboCop: Rogue City is Auto-9. Fans believe that the team can do much more with the Auto-9 and would love to see it utilized to the maximum. Do you have any plans for that? If so, can you explain them in detail?
A: Piotr: The details are very simple; we currently don’t have any plans to rework the Auto-9 mechanics.
Q: Are there any plans to add more content to the game? Maybe more side quests, DLC, or potential plans for a sequel?
A: Piotr: Not at this moment, but only time will tell.
Q: Can you tell us how long the entire development cycle took?
A: Piotr: The game was developed for around 3 years in total.
Q: Since you had to get a lot of approvals over many things due to licensing, were there any ideas that you wanted to implement but couldn't or any ideas that didn't make it into the game for other reasons?
A: Piotr: We had a few ideas that we wanted to have in the game, but they were a bit difficult due to some copyright issues. However, I don’t want to go into any details here.
Q: Are there any plans to bring RoboCop: Rogue City to Xbox Game Pass or PlayStation Plus?
A: Piotr: Not that I know of at this particular moment.
Q: The game is set between the events of RoboCop 2 and 3. But if this becomes a series by Teyon, what part of the original story would you like to focus on next?
A: Piotr: That is a good question, but we haven’t thought about it yet, as we have covered all the most important topics in Rogue City. I need to think about it
.Q: Has the success of Terminator: Resistance and RoboCop: Rogue City opened up more opportunities for Teyon? What's the next big IP you would want to work on?
A: Piotr: Yes, it has. It’s easier to talk about the future when you’re recognized as a company that can deliver something cool. There are some IPs that we would like to work on in the future, but I won’t give them away just yet
.Q: Is there anything else you want to share with the audience? Something we haven't touched upon yet.
A: Piotr: Thank you for the great support you have shown us so far. It really motivates us to work even harder and to deliver the best and most ambitious projects we can! Cheers!
Teyon Wants To Work On More IPs After RoboCop: Rogue City
Game Director of RoboCop: Rogue City says the team wants to work on some IPs, especially after the success of Terminator and RoboCop games.
exputer.com
