Gotham City Impostors dev says concept was laughed at

Monolith Productions lead game designer Craig Hubbard talks about some of the difficulties of pitching Gotham City Impostors, and how he responds to the skepticism.

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Not even Monolith Productions, the developer behind the newly-released Gotham City Impostors, would deny it's a bizarre concept. In an interview, lead game designer Craig Hubbard says he understands the skepticism surrounding it, and relates how the team pitched such an offbeat game.

Hubbard wrote on the PlayStation Blog that several pitches were met with laughter, based on the fact that it had "guns, killing, and a distinct lack of Batman." So the team set about explaining the concept in more detail, easing skepticism that Hubbard says is probably still shared by some players.

The decision to make a multiplayer-only downloadable game, he says, sprung from F.E.A.R. Combat, which he claims is "the most fun" he'd experienced in game development. "The team was small and enthusiastic. Our development process was extremely flexible and highly efficient. And the game played well from day one and only got better as we refined it." So when it came time to work on the next game, they opted to make use of the tech with the Batman franchise.

He says the Impostors idea came from people's own desire to be like Batman, but in a multiplayer space there could only logically be one. "[Batman is] just like the rest of us... except with way more money and a much nobler moral code," he said. "In other words, there's nothing stopping any of us from stepping up and becoming an 'Almost Batman' except having the will to do so."

As for using the Batman license without actually including Batman, Hubbard suggests that the opportunities of the world made it worth it. "Not only does the impostor concept stand out in a marketplace teeming with military and sci-fi shooters, but we believed that the combination of Batman-inspired gadgetry with the ability to completely customize your loadouts however you see fit would result in a furiously paced, gravity defying, tactically diverse game experience unlike anything else out there."

The pitch obviously worked, since the game released this week. If you want to read more about the game from the eyes of a former skeptic, check out our beta field report.

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From The Chatty
  • reply
    February 9, 2012 10:15 AM

    Steve Watts posted a new article, Gotham City Impostors dev says concept was laughed at.

    Monolith Productions lead game designer Craig Hubbard talks about some of the difficulties of pitching Gotham City Impostors, and how he responds to the skepticism.

    • reply
      February 9, 2012 10:21 AM

      I spent a little bit of time with the demo on 360 last night, and found it to be a great deal of fun! Will be buying it for the weekend, to have a break from MW3/Gears 3....

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        February 9, 2012 10:55 AM

        I went to download the demo and saw there were over 100 micro-transactions for the game (all cosmetic options for your character I assume). That turned me away from even trying it.

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          February 9, 2012 11:50 AM

          The thing is basically everything in those microtransactions is earnable in the game. They are just for the people who dont want to wait and earn them.

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          February 9, 2012 6:44 PM

          you can buy stuff with money if you dont want to unlock them like normal for free. from the quicklook it didnt look too bad in game.

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      February 9, 2012 12:43 PM

      Yeah the game is great, reminds me of an old school FPS with a modern FPS twist to it.

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      February 9, 2012 1:55 PM

      I wouldn't let that all that micro-transaction stuff put you off, mate. It's a great game, from the time I spent with it. And the previous poster is spot on, you can earn all that stuff in game....all that stuff you saw, is like all this "time saver" packs you see now...i always find that stuff amusing, cause I always thing, why do you even want to play the game, if you buy all that stuff? Why don't you just buy the strategy guide, read it, and then can say you have "played" it....none of that stuff has ever made sense to me....long short short....GCI is a great, fun game....sorry for rambling...

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      February 9, 2012 8:03 PM

      Loving the game. I had a few friends over after work today to check out the trial on 360. We really enjoyed the change of pace and comical nature of the game. A welcomed switch from MW3. I dropped the 1200 points hoping to give my friends some incentive. I signed on after dinner, and all three had bought and were playing "Imposters." As for all the aesthetic DLC, it doesn't bother me, but we all found it strange that the trial tab was the very last item listed in the 107 page, "extras" section.

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      February 10, 2012 5:47 AM

      No wonder publishers are dropping like flies these days... They're so out of touch...

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