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Analysis of Golden Compass Game

June 8, 2007 20:08 by Jason Perlman

Tagged with His Dark Materials Videogame 8 comments

Game Informer Magazine writes: The announcement of "The Golden Compass" game is super-exciting for some and completely off the radar for others.  The biggest question is how to make this world into a fun game.  Sega has recruited developer Shiny, known for Earthworm Jim and games based on "The Matrix" trilogy. This will be Shiny's first project after the departure of founder David Perry and the signing with developer conglomerate Foundation 9.

"A majority of the core team is still intact during (the transition) and we are constantly learning how to better bring a film experience to an interactive format," says lead designer Dax Berg. "No matter how much we love the book, the film, or the universe, it is our goal to create the gameplay first, and then wrap the narrative of the universe around that. If you try to do it the other way you often do not end up with a solid game."

Harry Potter's next challenger

The announcement of "The Golden Compass" game is super-exciting for some and completely off the radar for others.

Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy, published between 1995 and 2000, has sold millions of copies worldwide but still has yet to claim Harry Potter-like status. New Line Cinema hopes to raise the profile of this epic fantasy tale when it releases a film based on the first book, "The Golden Compass," Dec. 7. Fans of the books are wild with speculation regarding how the series will be translated to the screen. But perhaps the bigger question is how to make this world into a fun game.

Sega has recruited developer Shiny, known for Earthworm Jim and games based on "The Matrix" trilogy. This will be Shiny's first project after the departure of founder David Perry and the signing with developer conglomerate Foundation 9.

"A majority of the core team is still intact during (the transition) and we are constantly learning how to better bring a film experience to an interactive format," says lead designer Dax Berg. "No matter how much we love the book, the film, or the universe, it is our goal to create the gameplay first, and then wrap the narrative of the universe around that. If you try to do it the other way you often do not end up with a solid game."

Shiny plans to mix exploration, platforming, stealth, minigames, puzzle solving, and even some brawling as you take control of Lyra's massive bear friend, Lorek. In the books, Lyra is known for her ability to talk her way out of sticky situations, so Shiny is incorporating this into gameplay as well.

"We've created a deception minigame within the game which is played out in a series of flowing conversation rounds where Lyra attempts to win over her opponent by means of persuasion," says co-lead designer Ken Lee. Players will use this against non-player characters and enemies alike to obtain information and gain access to blocked locations. Aside from verbal dodges, Lyra will also physically evade captors in minigame form. This makes a little more sense than artificially tacking on some punch and kick combos.

Lyra's daemon, Pantalaimon, will be able to morph into four different animal forms with a quick press of the d-pad. One of the forms, an ermine (think weasel), will help Lyra balance on ledges and highlight hidden paths. The alethiometer will serve as a tool for hardcore players to get deeper into the game.

"Throughout the game Lyra can find or come across dozens upon dozens of questions about the world," Berg says. "The player can pull meanings from these questions and attach them to appropriate compass symbols depending on their current knowledge and scope of the world. The more meanings they match correctly the easier it is to divine a correct answer which in turn unlocks more areas/aspects, and lore in the game."

"The Golden Compass" will contain 13 different stages that follow and extend outside of the book and film. While the core gameplay will remain essentially the same across the various platforms, it doesn't mean motion controls are out of the picture. "We will be taking full advantage of Sony's Sixaxis controller and many aspects of the Wii Remote and its nunchuk," Berg says.

As far as movie tie-ins go, we're definitely excited about the potential for "The Golden Compass." Let's just hope it can deliver to the lofty expectations of the constantly growing set of "His Dark Materials" fans.

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