November 30, 2006 - When PlayStation 3 launches in Europe next year, there's one game that will be at the top of everyone's must-have list - MotorStorm. And for good reason too because, although it's a first-generation title, it not only shows the sheer grunt and visual prowess of the machine, it's also the first true step into the next generation.
Martin Kenwright, CEO of Evolution, is understandably happy with the project that's dominated his last three years then, and couldn't help but smile when IGN UK visited his Cheshire studio to talk about the conception of his latest baby and what's next for Evolution.
IGN UK: When I first saw the demo of MotorStorm at E3 '05 I never thought you'd manage to get close to it with the actual game, yet you have
Martin Kenwright: I don't think anyone thought we could do it! But I've been in the industry for 20 years and nothing we included in the trailer was implausible, which is why I always knew it was possible. Besides, if there's something in the trailer that isn't in this game you can bet it will be in the next one! As for last E3, it was almost like the best and the worst for us. We were killing ourselves to create a great demo, especially after setting the benchmark so high the year before and, for technical reasons, the week before, we missed the deadline for the [Sony pre-E3] presentation. We hold our hands up for that. But we got it on the show floor and the irony was the excitement went from zero to hero - when everyone saw it they thought it was great.
We thought let's do something we enjoy, to create something memorable and make a game the likes of which people had never seen before. That was the whole ethos behind MotorStorm, to create the superlatives: the best, the biggest, the widest and the deepest. We wanted to create tracks that were on top of giant mesas two miles up, but also in the mud at the bottom of the deepest canyons.
Ultimately, we're thrilled with the result, even though we didn't squeeze in all the super-complex physics and animation. But MotorStorm now isn't the fate d' complete, it's the curtain raiser, it's a hint at what's to come next because we've only just started.
Martin Kenwright: I'm proud for everybody. I could go on about how great Evolution is but MotorStorm's success will be down to the quality, commitment and calibre of the guys who worked on it. But it's great to get that feedback for the guys who've worked on the game, because at the end of all their hard work they'll have something memorable to look back on. As a business we've been walking up until now, but now we're ready to run.
MotorStorm launches in Japan in two weeks. What do you have planned for the European version when it launches alongside the console next year?
Martin Kenwright: Obviously, online is going to be a major component - not just multiplayer but also downloadable content. We want to invoke the same kind of response from gamers for that extra content as they got when they first saw the game. We don't want to offer more of the same, we want to give people something that excites them and is something they can really talk about. But what we're confident of is that we've created one hell of a wrapper and the opportunities for what we can put inside are immense.
I'm putting together a road map that's going to take us into a whole new fantastic space in gaming. Obviously I cannot disclose exactly what we're planning, but I'm quietly confident we can do something amazing in this market.
So I'm currently planning out projects for the next five years and I'm having to predict what I think will be in market at that time. As a result, I'm putting together a road map that's going to take us into a whole new fantastic space in gaming. Obviously I cannot disclose exactly what we're planning, but I'm quietly confident we can do something amazing in this market.
Our focus right now is on exploiting the whole MotorStorm phenomenon, if you can call it that, to keep that momentum going and keep working closely with Sony. We're certainly looking to develop a few new killer IPs down the line too.
IGN UK: Do you think MotorStorm has set the bar for other developers to match, especially because you managed to create a game that looked exactly like the early demos? That Killzone trailer look pretty special but
Martin Kenwright: There are some world class developers out there and there are some great technologies that are in development - because we're already working on some of them. In the next few years I think you're going to see an amazing change in terms of plausibility and believability, with amazing technologies introduced, incredible examples of cause and effect, brilliant AI
Within five to ten years will be competing directly with the movie industry in terms of visual fidelity, except we'll have the edge because our medium is interactive. I think games like Killzone will start setting the bar for what is possible.
