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Mercurysteam on their unique take on Castlevania with Mirror of Fate, interest in working with Contra
A portion of a GameSpot interview with David Cox...
GS: Many longtime fans of the series are going to be attracted to the new perspective, but there were some elements when I was playing the demo that seemed to differentiate from the past games, specifically, if there was a lantern or a candle, you couldn't actually whip that and get a subweapon recovery item, and likewise, when there was a low-level enemy like a skeleton, it took maybe four or five hits to take them down. I'm assuming this has a lot to do with the emphasis on getting new abilities and making it feel rewarding. Are design decisions like this final, or are they still in development?
DC: What we're trying to do is create a unique take on the Castlevania universe. We're not trying to make another Castlevania game that's like all the others; we're trying to do something new and something different here. You do get replenishments for your secondary items from barrels and chests, so you don't whip candles, but you do get your hearts, if you like, from those environmental objects. I think one of the things that we're trying to do is make something that's stand-alone, that has the essence and feeling of Castlevania but is new. That's really important to us. We're not looking to remake, or retry…when I say I'm influenced by Castlevania IV, I'm not saying I'm remaking that game, but there are things from that game that I really like, and I'm incorporating them. What's important to me now is that we address the fans of Lords of Shadow. The fans that bought the first game, you know, what do they want? They want more of the same; they want to know about the Belmonts, they want to know about Dracula, they want more of the cool combat that they've had. I want to give them something that they're going to be attracted to. At the same time, I want to bring over some of the fans that might not have liked it. I want to bring them in too. There's always going to be people, you know, that don't like what we do. You can't please everyone all of the time, and we would be crazy to try and do that, but what we're trying to do is leave our own mark on the series. When people look at Lords of Shadow 1 and 2 and Mirror of Fate, when it's all said and done, I think they'll have a better perspective on what we've tried to do here in terms of the series itself. And after that, we'll pass the torch on to someone else and let them bring their creative vision to it, let them do what they want to do with it. This is going to be something that's kind of unique. Let me say that if you liked Lords of Shadow, you are going to love Mirror of Fate and Lords of Shadow 2.
GS: Once you guys close the book on Castlevania, what other worlds do you want to create?
DC: Mercury Steam has a couple of really cool ideas that would be fantastic to work with. It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Contra, and I'd like to do something in that universe, but there are so many exciting possibilities. At the moment, all of our focus is on Lords of Shadow and trying to bring that legacy home. We want to exceed everyone's expectation. That's what we want to leave behind.
Full interview here
GS: Many longtime fans of the series are going to be attracted to the new perspective, but there were some elements when I was playing the demo that seemed to differentiate from the past games, specifically, if there was a lantern or a candle, you couldn't actually whip that and get a subweapon recovery item, and likewise, when there was a low-level enemy like a skeleton, it took maybe four or five hits to take them down. I'm assuming this has a lot to do with the emphasis on getting new abilities and making it feel rewarding. Are design decisions like this final, or are they still in development?
DC: What we're trying to do is create a unique take on the Castlevania universe. We're not trying to make another Castlevania game that's like all the others; we're trying to do something new and something different here. You do get replenishments for your secondary items from barrels and chests, so you don't whip candles, but you do get your hearts, if you like, from those environmental objects. I think one of the things that we're trying to do is make something that's stand-alone, that has the essence and feeling of Castlevania but is new. That's really important to us. We're not looking to remake, or retry…when I say I'm influenced by Castlevania IV, I'm not saying I'm remaking that game, but there are things from that game that I really like, and I'm incorporating them. What's important to me now is that we address the fans of Lords of Shadow. The fans that bought the first game, you know, what do they want? They want more of the same; they want to know about the Belmonts, they want to know about Dracula, they want more of the cool combat that they've had. I want to give them something that they're going to be attracted to. At the same time, I want to bring over some of the fans that might not have liked it. I want to bring them in too. There's always going to be people, you know, that don't like what we do. You can't please everyone all of the time, and we would be crazy to try and do that, but what we're trying to do is leave our own mark on the series. When people look at Lords of Shadow 1 and 2 and Mirror of Fate, when it's all said and done, I think they'll have a better perspective on what we've tried to do here in terms of the series itself. And after that, we'll pass the torch on to someone else and let them bring their creative vision to it, let them do what they want to do with it. This is going to be something that's kind of unique. Let me say that if you liked Lords of Shadow, you are going to love Mirror of Fate and Lords of Shadow 2.
GS: Once you guys close the book on Castlevania, what other worlds do you want to create?
DC: Mercury Steam has a couple of really cool ideas that would be fantastic to work with. It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Contra, and I'd like to do something in that universe, but there are so many exciting possibilities. At the moment, all of our focus is on Lords of Shadow and trying to bring that legacy home. We want to exceed everyone's expectation. That's what we want to leave behind.