Why was multiplayer cut from PROTOTYPE?
Tim Bennison: From its inception PROTOTYPE was planned first and foremost as a single player open-world/action game. Naturally, with Alexs genetically mutated shape-shifting abilities, we started to explore what would happen if he were to sub-divide into two PROTOTYPEs and what kind of multiplayer gameplay we could create around that concept. Weve been looking at this potential multiplayer idea much more closely as PROTOTYPEs development has been progressing, and while its a great concept and gameplay bonus, our conclusion is that we wont be able to pull it off with the same level of quality and polish that were aiming for with the original single player story.
We want gamers to really dig into the main elements of PROTOTYPE find out about Alex and his past, play through all the storyline and uncover everything there is to find out in the Web of Intrigue, explore all Alexs different powers and abilities, and use the Deceive or Destroy gameplay to get through the game in multiple ways. As you can see theres already a ton for us to deliver just in PROTOTYPEs single player experience, so we really need ALL of our resources focused on shipping what we originally set out to do PROTOTYPE as a ground-breaking, single player open-world/action title.
Why not delay PROTOTYPE past 2008 to include multiplayer?
TB: PROTOTYPE was concepted as a single player open-world/action title and its always been our goal to ship the game in 2008. So while the prospect of adding a multiplayer component to PROTOTYPE has definitely been something weve been entertaining, weve made the decision that we cant fit it into our original plans delivered with the same level of quality/polish as the rest of the game this time around. Keep in mind we envision PROTOTYPE as a franchise, so hopefully it will do well enough at retail, enabling us to make a sequel and if/when we get to that point multiplayer will definitely be on the table from the start.
Is there any possibility to include PROTOTYPE multiplayer as post-launch DLC?
TB: Post launch downloadable content is something were currently evaluating for PROTOTYPE from many different angles including multiplayer content such as co-op. Obviously were hoping that PROTOTYPE does well at retail and supports DLC and a sequel because we have a lot of creative room left to explore.
