Injustice targeting "elaborate story" and strategic stages
Injustice: Gods Among Us isn't just about having Batman beat up on Superman, it's also focusing on a deep story and strategic use of the fight arenas, according to creative director Ed Boon.
Talking to the US PlayStation Blog, co-creator of Mortal Kombat and creative director of Injustice: Gods Among Us, Ed Boon, has told of the team's aim to be more substance than style.
Boon highlighted Mortal Kombat's story mode as a case in point, saying that people perhaps weren't expecting it to be as robust as it was.
"So we want to continue that tradition and offer a deep, elaborate story experience in Injustice. And with these [DC] characters, who have decades of history behind them, there’s a ton of stuff to draw from. We can’t wait for people to see the Story mode in this game."
Story details are scarce, but Boon hinted at an example of NetherRealm's commitment to fleshing out its well-established characters with flourishes of its own. Superman, in particular, will have a more contemporary feel, "Our Superman isn’t quite the same Superman that you grew up with," suggested Boon. "...and he plays a big part in the story."
NetherRealm's push for a deeper fighter also extends to the levels themselves, "We wanted to shake up the fighting game formula in terms of the environment and how you use it," Boon said.
"Different characters use the environment in different ways; that will really affect your strategy when facing certain characters on certain backgrounds. Power characters can pick up a car and throw it, while the more agile Gadget characters might use the car as a springboard."
The backgrounds will also feature as part of the combo system and be part of the process of mastering a character, "The stage select will be something you care about now, instead of just mashing the X button," Boon asserted.
So far, just a handful of characters have been confirmed for the brawler, with Nightwing and Cyborg the latest to be seen in action, but Boon said that the team is aiming for a "sweet spot" of in the region of 20 or so characters.
He also suggested the possibility of adding some unexpected characters further down the line via DLC, as was the case when Freddy Krueger was added to Mortal Kombat.
Finally, Boon suggested that NetherRealm could move away from fighters in the future:
"If [Injustice] does well, we would like to see our next step be a non-fighting game, maybe something unique in its own right. This is our first step in that direction."
Injustice: Gods Among Us launches next year. Watch the video from Comic Con below.
