Written and Contributed by: Alex Rubens | Videogame Journalist | @alexrubens
When Shank, the latest stylish game from Klei Entertainment, was revealed, it created a buzz that spread through the internet for days. On the eve of its release, I talked to Jamie Cheng, Founder and CEO of Klei, about Shank and its development. He talks everything from inspiration to his favorite weapon in the game.
Alex Rubens: What was your main motivation in making such a different style of game?
Jamie Cheng: It was a spark of an idea that we couldn’t get out of our heads — working with Jeff to create a classic beat-em-up, and make it our own by way of amazing animation, visuals, story and our own flavor of gameplay.
How would you compare your original direction for Shank to how it turned out now?
You often hear about how much a vision changes over time. This is not one of those cases. Shank has always been about bringing in the influences of Desperado and similar aesthetics into a beat-em-up world, and we nailed that feel within the first couple months. After that, it was all about how to create a consistently solid experience throughout and polishing the core game mechanics.
How much of a focus is the story in Shank?
This was a key part where we differed from the classic games like Double Dragon — the story is not simply an excuse for the gameplay, but instead a focal point that we had to think about early on and throughout development. Watching people enjoy not only the carnage but also the character development that Marianne crafted is very satisfying.
Shank’s score has garnered much praise on the Internet, did you expect that it would be loved so much pre-release?
Vince and Jason’s work on the score is amazing, and I simply wanted to share that with everyone. The little promotion we concocted was a little experiment and also something we figured could drive more people to check it out, but I honestly had no idea what the reaction was going to be. Vince was really floored — but these guys deserve the recognition for sure.
Before EA had signed on to publish Shank, you had been showing the game off on the 360 platform but you had a Dreamcast controller there also, was this sense of humor always present throughout the development process?
We’ve always been a bit tongue in cheek and campy, and that totally shows in the game. Yes, we deal with mature content, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a bit of fun. I’d say more people laugh when playing Shank than I’ve seen in most video games.
When Shank first debuted at PAX 2009, the response was overwhelmingly positive. Did you expect this and did it change your direction for the game at all?
Like the score, we simply set out to make something we were passionate about and felt others might be, too. We walked into PAX thinking the fans would probably like it — who doesn’t like beat-em-ups and Desperado? — but we got these insanely big smiles and sweaty hands playing the game, and that’s when we realized that it wasn’t just us who loved Shank. He is pretty sexy, afterall.
Did we change direction because of it? No — I think that’s what was great — people loved the game for what it is and we’re absolutely unabashed about it.
The addition of co-op was a great idea in my opinion, had this been in the plans since the beginning or was it a late addition?
Okay now I take back my last comment — we were undecided whether or not to implement co-op, and in fact HOW to implement it properly, but after the reaction we got at PAX, and having every other question being “is there co-op?” we decided to take the leap. A lot of people are asking why it’s not online co-op, and the answer is that we had to take a stand in what was important to the end user. We decided that two separate campaigns, each with their own storyline and specially designed levels to take advantage of singleplayer and multiplayer, had to be made at a level we were proud of. We couldn’t do that, and also add online, so we made the choice to choose the core experience over features.
What is your favorite weapon in the game?
Later in the game you obtain an Uzi. It’s actually a little more difficult than, say the shotgun, to use effectively, but if you can get the hang of it, it’s brilliant at dealing rapid damage.
Where did you draw inspiration from when crafting Shank?
Visually: Jack Kirby, graphic novels, Golden Age comics
Aesthetically: Movies by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino — specifically Desperado and From Dusk Till Dawn
Gameplay: Double Dragon, Soul Caliber, Prince of Persia
When does Shank come out and how much will it cost?
Game launches really, really soon. August 24th for PSN, August 25th for XBLA. PC version will be out in the Fall (we’re working on it!) and the price is $14.99 or 1200 space bucks.
[Images courtesy Klei Entertainment. Video courtesy Klei and GameTrailers. For more information visit ShankGame.com]
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