14 DAY TRIAL // Chris Zimmerman, one of the original co-founders of the Sucker Punch development studio, says that his team has allowed the upcoming InFamous: Second Son to grow organically, without trying to include mechanics or story elements that would feel alien to fans of the previous two titles.
He tells Gamespot that, when work initially started on the title, a lot of ideas were being thrown around, and the team wanted to include as many of them as possible but since then it has decided to focus on a narrower set of ideas.
Zimmerman explains that the process is in many ways similar to parenting because, “You kind of have an idea about who your kids are going to be, or who you want them to be. And they often end up being something a little bit different than that. If you’re gonna be a good parent, you have to let them become who they are going to be. If you try to force them into being who you want them to be, you’re going to fail.”
Initially, InFamous: Second Son was supposed to be launched alongside the PlayStation 4 home console from Sony, one of the titles that would showcase the power of the next-gen device.
The Sucker Punch co-founder adds, “What’s the best execution of that core idea? A lot of that is going to come from the team, and some of that has to come from outside the team. It has to come from the customers, it has to come from the people that have a consumer view of it not just a producer view of it.”
At the moment, InFamous: Second Son is set to appear all over the world on March 21.
The game will focus on an entirely new character called Delsin and moves the action to Seattle, which is the scene for a coming showdown between the superpowered humans called conduits and a government agency that has labeled them as terrorists.
At the moment, Sucker Punch says that the protagonist will be able to use two sets of powers, based around smoke and neon, but teasers have suggests that two more will be offered when the game launches.
The developers have said that their focus is on the development of a solid game world and of cool mechanics for the battles, although they are also giving players a chance to affect the story via their choices.