Transformers Universe - Nick Cooper Interview - Transformers Universe is "complex at its heart"
4At a recent event we sat down with Nick Cooper, the producer of Transformers Universe, and found out about what Jagex are doing with the evergreen franchise, how they're handling free-to-play, and what they're doing to keep the balance between seasoned gamers and fans of the franchise who might be new to gaming.
During the interview Cooper went into a little bit of detail about the effort that they've put into the bots, some of which have been made specifically for this game: "Actually being able to create these guys, they're not just automatons, they're not just something that you pick that hasn't got any personality. These guys have all got their own separate [voice-overs], backstories, and really have got some serious personality. And we've been working really hard with Hasbro on that. Working on these guys and actually adding to Transformers lore is a big, big deal for us. For everybody on the team it's very cool."
Jagex will no doubt be pinning their hopes on Transformers Universe bringing in a decent mix of experienced gamers as well as new players, drawn in by the license. We were curious how they were planning on striking a balance between the two sets of fans: "This is something that we're concentrating really hard on, because if you widen the spectrum too much you can just be in danger of making something that's a little bit watery and just doesn't really appeal to anyone."
Cooper continued: "So I think we've done a really good job of making the game easy to pick up for most people, so we're expecting big fans of Transformers who aren't necessarily gamers to want to come in and see what Transformers Universe is all about. So we're needing them to be able jump in and have fun driving around, and have fun in the player versus AI area, and just experiencing the Transformers Universe.
"As far as digging into it is concerned, once you move over into the harder engagements and learning the bots - learning the bots is absolutely crucial. You can run in, you can shoot your mini-guns, and your SMGs and your plasma rifles or whatever it is, and you can have fun doing that. But then all of these abilities very much tie-in to a huge depth in the combat which is there. It's a complex game at its heart, it's fun to pick up and play, but there is genuine levels of skill... Learning the bots is absolutely crucial, and I think that's where the depth comes in, and that's where the progression comes in.
"For players that are new, and new to gaming, that just want Transformers, they'll get that. They'll come in and then obviously the skill separation system just means that you're not going to be fighting the people that have been playing it for a year. If you've just started playing you're coming in and you're hitting people that are at the same level of skill that you are. So if you're just bumbling around, shooting at walls and things, you're going to be playing people at the same level and the same type of enjoyment level that you want to be playing at. Hopefully that will give everybody what they're looking for."
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