Ryse: Son of Rome - Crytek developed three prototypes before deciding on final version
Ryse: Son of Rome was originally a first-person Kinect game, and after "toying with various ideas" how to blend the point-of-view "with the potential of Kinect," Crytek created three different prototypes, with the winner resulting in the game coming to Xbox One at launch. The firm has also released a video documentary and it is posted below.
Speaking on Xbox Wire, senior producer Brian Chambers said that one of the prototypes was one exclusive to Kinect, a second one combined Kinect and the Xbox 360 controller, and the final version was only played with a controller and had a third-person perspective.
"Every version had its fans within the company, but over time we saw people were increasingly leaning towards the third, controller-based, prototype that showed Marius on screen," said Chambers. "This also tied in neatly with the fact we were now imagining Ryse as a much more cinematic, character-led experience.
"Our earlier vision of a more on-rails offering just didn't seem compatible with the ideas for the game we were now committed to. And so, with all that in mind, we presented this reinterpretation of the game to Microsoft. They shared our excitement and agreed that a shift to third-person perspective and more controller-led gameplay was the right path for Ryse.
"Our decision to change the game's perspective and control scheme naturally meant it would take longer to finish. There was a lot of work to be done; work that seemed likely to make Ryse a very late entry into the Xbox 360 catalogue of games.
"Many of the original ideas for what the game should achieve have survived, and the adjustments along the way have always been about taking steps forward. We’re thankful that we’re not in a situation where these changes were forced on us for negative reasons, but rather that they represent the growing ambition of Crytek as a company and the increased belief in Ryse as a game that really push boundaries and take players somewhere new."
The team also decided to use its CryEngine 3 to develop the title, which also helped the team in his decision to release the game on Xbox One instead of Xbox 360.
"We were already developing a very high-end game, and the leap to the new system was one we were confident of being able to make," added Chambers.
Ryse: Son of Rome is a launch title for Xbox One and is expected sometime in November.
