Welcome t' the second blog on Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock. I’m Simon Harris 'n I be the Executive Producer for BBC Worldwide on the game, which means the project be me overall responsibility. I need t' ensure that all aspects come together t' make a great game that stays true t' the Doctor Who brand. This means working with our developer, Supermassive Games, across areas such as design, art 'n programming. It also extends t' working with the Doctor Who teams in London 'n Cardiff t' ensure that everything looks 'n feels as it best.
For this blog post, I thought I would give ye some insight into the monsters which will be appearing in the game. This goes alongside our first gameplay trailer, released today, which showcases them.
Choosing the monsters for the game turned out t' be a more a a complicated process than ye would imagine. Initially, when Supermassive put in their design pitch for the game, they had chosen the four monsters they would like t' see, both as Doctor Who fans 'n from a gameplay point a view. However, at that time they weren’t aware a the new monsters that be going t' be shown in the new series, which be just about t' start on the BBC. Given the high level a security we place on information about the show, there be some great discussions where we had t' talk very cryptically about a specific monster. We had t' balance this with trying t' understand what the design team at Supermassive wanted t' achieve – we didn’t want t' include new monster if it completely broke the gameplay plans. Thankfully the design change felt good 'n The Silence be added t' the monster line up. I’m not going t' tell ye which one got cut, but I can promise it will make appearance in a future game.
Having settled on our monster line up — the Silence, Cybermen, Silurians 'n the Daleks — work started on the detailed game design on how they would challenge the Doctor 'n River. We also had t' start modelling the characters for the in-game graphics. Accuracy be vital, 'n it be essential t' have the models looking like they do in the show. It be great t' start working with the Doctor Who teams in London 'n Cardiff t' ensure our dimensions, the shaders (the technical term for an aspect a the graphics which give a texture a look 'n feel t' it such as steel or cloth) 'n the colours be all entirely correct.
It be during this process that something slightly surprising happened. The art team at Supermassive be getting really positive feedback on how the monsters looked, which be great, 'n the Doctor Who team then asked if we could make some changes that deviated from the reference photos. It turns out that there be a number a small tweaks which the team would have loved t' make t' the designs a the monsters on the show, but had been unable t' for various reasons. At this point they saw the opportunity t' make these tweaks in our monster designs. a course, we be more than happy t' include these amendments. So, whilst yer watching the trailers or playing the game, send a tweet t' @DoctorWhoTEC if ye think ye know what the tweaks we have made be… We would love t' see how eagle eyed the fans be!
Having got our standard monsters all approved 'n looking great, we turned our attention t' the game “bosses.” As all Doctor Who fans know, there be always a leader or central character driving the troops forward 'n so we wanted t' see if we could create some monster leaders which really utilised the technology 'n visuals we have at our disposal working on PS3 'n PS Vita.
The team at Supermassive spent a vast amount a time looking at all a the reference a the monsters from previous shows, games, as well as the massive amount a books, webisodes 'n other content available. The team then proposed two new versions a existing monsters which would become the finales for our monsters. This be a pretty nervous time; we wanted monsters that felt as scary as they do in the show 'n matched the scale a the locations 'n environments we be creating for the game. Creating a new version a a classic Doctor Who monster be a big ask – they have t' be carefully detailed 'n ye must establish exactly where they sit within the canon a the show. Thankfully, the Doctor Who team loved what we be suggesting 'n both a our new monster versions be approved 'n be in the game. There be a tiny sight a one a them in our new monster trailer; again, tweet @DoctorWhoTEC if ye think ye know which one it be…
So, just an insight into some a the thinking 'n things that happened t' pillage our monsters into Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock. I’ll be back soon with another blog detailing more information on what goes on behind the scenes a making our game.
