So you know that we here at CB Games have really made it well known that we dig the fighting scheme in the movie-to-game iteration of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. So to gather up a little extra knowledge of the game before it finally hits the retail circuit, we figured we would throw a few questions at the Senior Producer at Disney Interactive Studios, Nick Bridger. Check it out below.

CB Games: One of the biggest complaints from hardcore gamers, regarding movie-to-game LPs, is the lack of depth and challenge in the gameplay. And while POTC: AWE has a really cool looking sword fighting system...how long will the game be and will there be varying difficulties to separate the challenge for casual and hardcore gamers?

Nick Bridger: This is always one of the most difficult things to address in movie license games simply because the stigma surrounding them is one of poor quality, so people, especially those in the media, are instantly on the back foot before they've even begun to play the game.

Since the outset, we wanted to really try and make something that felt a little different, that harked back to the golden-age of pirates with the flamboyant swashbuckling, but such dark, dangerous seedy times they were. The sword-on-sword combat had two goals in mind: the first is make it all feel theatrical; the second was to make it really feel like you were connecting with the sword, rather than hacking and slashing your way through combat. With these in mind, we are able to create a system that is easy for the casual player to enjoy, but for the hardcore gamer, they can really get deep inside the game and use the system to earn notoriety, and even take it online to see where they rank against everyone else in the world.

For a mass-market franchise, it's incredibly important to try and feed both sides and hope that everyone will enjoy the experience, no matter their skill level: the casual gamers need to be able to play through the game and enjoy the experience, whilst the hardcore gamers will get much higher rewards out of the system.

CB Games: Since POTC for the Wii will be utilizing the Wii-mote, will this make it easier, harder or more skill-oriented for gamers to fight multiple opponents and has this opened doors for new or different kinds of attacks using the Wii-mote?

Nick Bridger: With any new technology it takes sometime to really bring out the best in it. The system we used in the final product was borne after months of iterative design to get something that feels right and is a lot of fun. More skilled players will get higher rewards, whilst the less skilled can still progress through the game and not get frustrated. I think we're only just beginning to scratch the surface of what's possible with the Wii controller and this has given us a good foundation to really push this in much more creative ways for the future!

CB Games: Given the game's unique fighting mechanics, will there be a versus mode for two-players?

Nick Bridger: The fighting mechanics are incredibly complex and in it's current iteration just didn’t suit two players fighting each other but it has given a huge amount of ideas for the second iteration of the system, something we’re only just beginning to realise the potential of. Of course we have lots of two player challenge modes - combat and co-op - in the game as well as a two player dueling system as well.

CB Games: Well, while we’re on the subject of multiplayer...will Pirates AWE make use of any of the next-gen consoles' online functionality, or will the two-player mode(s) stay strictly local?

Nick Bridger: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End always started life as a single-player action adventure, and we didn’t want to try and retro-fit a multiplayer mode on the to game simply for another tick on the back of the box. We do have Xbox Live support on the Xbox 360 where you can track your online Notoriety rankings against the rest of the world and, of course, you can earn a variety of Achievements.

But, it's important for us to not try and bite off too much than you can chew, and to concentrate on creating the game you want for this specific version of Pirates otherwise you'll likely end up with an average multiplayer game that just doesn’t fit with the rest of the product, something the majority of games suffer from. You must design the multiplayer from the start of the project so it's as a natural fit to the game as the camera system is or the combat system. We didn’t want to include anything in this iteration of Pirates that we didn’t feel would justify the brand, so we're saving it for possible future titles…



CB Games: For the Xbox 360 and PS3, the graphics are simply astounding. How much of the system's resources are being used for the game, or rather, has Pirates of the Caribbean pushed either the Xbox 360 or PS3 to any limit?

Nick Bridger: We're just beginning to scratch the surface of what these machines are capable of. Graphics will continue to get better, but for me it's the smaller details - the facial expressions of the characters, the physics systems added to the hair that really make a difference. Of course this all takes up a huge amount of system resources, but Eurocom have exceptionally good and exciting proprietary technology that really allows us to concentrate on the gameplay and atmosphere which are the most important in any game, whilst the artists can finally really build these huge, beautiful, realised worlds.

CB Games: If the game proves to be as successful as its movie counterpart, could there be any further video game spinoffs or sequels of Pirates of the Caribbean?

Nick Bridger: Absolutely. We see Pirates of the Caribbean as such a rich brand that we've hardly even begun to explore. The world of Pirates is incredibly exciting and the possibilities are endless! Disney Interactive Studios plans to make more Pirates of the Caribbean games in the future that will continue to explore different parts of the pirates’ world.

CB games: Following up on that last question...if the fighting mechanics for the next-gen systems prove to be huge fan-favorites, is it possible we could be seeing this feature return in games not necessarily associated with Pirates of the Caribbean?

Nick Bridger: I couldn't possibly say, but the plans we have for the systems are really something we'd like to remain very unique and exclusive to Pirates.

CB Games: Thanks Nick, for answering our questions and best of luck with the game.