Hellgate: London Developer Diary #2

German gaming site Krawall.de has tossed up the second installment to their ongoing Hellgate: London developer diaries with Flagship Studios’ Bill Roper.

When we were with Blizzard, we got used to extremely good cinematic sequences. The challenge we set down to every one of the studios we met with was that we wanted our cinematic sequences to meet or exceed Blizzard’s quality. That was a damned tall order, but we only wanted to work with people who were as dedicated to creating something amazing as we were. Blur accepted the challenge gladly, and seeing their first work on a HUGE screen at the Namco booth that year was breath-taking. It got across our world and the visceral nature of the game. It was really the perfect rollercoaster ride of demon-battling goodness.

Everything was really clicking at the show. The game was playing well, the cinematic looked great, and people were (getting) what Hellgate) London was all about. The hardest thing for me was to remember to say Flagship Studios when talking about the company. After nine years of talking about Blizzard, it would have been easy to slip back into saying it in the midst of the hundreds of interviews that happened during E3. Although I misspoke a handful of times, it was understandable and we all got a laugh out of it. The more I’ve said it over the years, the more comfortable and natural it has become. And the best part is it really feels natural to be a part of Flagship.