Killzone 2 developer: "Blu-ray is not a luxury"

by Sid Shuman
October 15, 2007 00:00 AM PST

GamePro's Sid Shuman grills Killzone 2 producer Steven Ter Heide about the lethal planet of Helghan and Killzone 2's new gameplay...including jumping!

Read the full interview.

What environmental hazards will players find on the Helghast's home planet? How will these hazards affect the player?

The Helghast homeworld is called Helghan, and it is a very hostile place. The Helghast have adapted to the living conditions by using special goggles and breathing equipment. They have also learned to harness the power the planet offers and have turned them into weapons. For example, the ARC weapon you can see in the demo is powered by lightning. The player will encounter more environmental hazards, but we'll save details on those for later.

It is not a luxury to have Blu-ray, but rather a necessity. I mean, the level that we showed at E3 topped out around 2GB!"

--Steven Ter Heide, producer, Killzone 2

What can you tell us about Killzone 2's multiplayer mode?

We are not talking about the details of our multiplayer campaign just yet. It will however be an extensive component of Killzone 2, linking to Killzone.com as well as into Home.

The first Killzone didn't allow you to jump. Will Killzone 2 add this feature? Why is this feature important, or not important?

We felt that navigating small obstacles was annoying in Killzone, but we also wanted to keep everything grounded in reality. In Killzone 2 you can jump, but you will not be able to fire at the same time. The player will also be able to perform lots of context-based actions that will be all in first-person (such as lean and peek). The feeling of immersion is very important to us.

Squad artificial intelligence was a sticking point in the first game. What will Killzone 2 do to improve its A.I. of enemies and squad members?

Helghan is a hostile place

With Killzone Liberation we already saw improvements in AI behavior. They were able to target destructable or explosive objects, flank you, and work together. For Killzone 2 we have improved on that even further. The world is more complex with lots of physics objects and destructible environments, which means the AI has to navigate and be aware of all of that. They also have to be more aware of each other and their enemies, as we will see many more characters on screen at the same time. We are making sure that the AI is ultra challenging, and each character has unique and recognizable behaviors, allowing the player to judge the situation and decide how to deal with them.

It's pretty obvious (at least to us) that Killzone 2 has some of the best graphics ever seen. What is it about the PS3 that allows you to pull off this kind of detail? And would you say it's accurate that the in-game E3 footage surpassed the E3 2005 CG cinema?

The E3 2005 trailer was all about setting our ambition and goals for the game. We wouldn't have created that movie if we did not think we could deliver that [level of detail]....We've created our own proprietary technology to drive the game, and this is using many of PS3's specific strengths.Large quantities of data can be streamed because we have a great deal of storage capacity. This allows for the level of detail you can see in the game.

It is not a luxury to have Blu-ray, but rather a necessity, as compression only gets you so far. I mean, the level that we showed at E3 and Leipzig topped out around 2GB!

Read the full interview.