Everyone’s Favorite Animated Ogre Is Back In “Shrek 2”

by Louis Bedigian

Developed by Luxoflux, the creators of True Crime: The Streets of LA.

People don’t usually love ogres.  I mean look at them, they’re big, ugly, and usually obnoxious.  What’s to love about that?

Of course, you could say the same thing about a certain Fat Bastard.  He now holds a special place in our hearts (mine at least), but that’s only because of the man behind the fat: Mike Myers.  If anyone can make you love a character for what’s inside (the thing that parents tell us counts the most), it’s him.

One of his most popular characters is not unlike the ugly and obnoxious ogres I previously described.  The difference is what Mike Myers adds to the character – a likable charm that you couldn’t possibly hate.

After you’ve rushed to the theater to see the new film, extend the fun at home with the video game.  The graphics are top-notch, the story is said to go beyond the film, and best of all it’s being developed by Luxoflux.  If you’ve been living under a rock for the past two years, Luxoflux is the developer that brought you True Crime: The Streets of LA.

I haven’t had the chance to play Shrek 2 yet, but I was lucky enough to chat with the game’s Art Director and Project Lead, Joby-Rome Otero.  He tells us all about the gameplay, the story, its use of movie-quality graphics and more.

Does the game follow the same story as the second film?

Joby-Rome Otero: The game follows the film's major events and goes beyond the movie to explore more of the world of Shrek, Donkey, Fiona and their buddies. We explore areas that offer the best combination of action, puzzles, combat and the personality of the film, particularly the humor.

Which game genre does Shrek 2 belong to?

JRO: Shrek 2 contains elements of action, platformer, adventure and even music games, but I think it's just innovative enough to make one scratch their head a little in answering that question :)

Shrek and the gang are back for more hilarious fun.

What is the gameplay like?  Moviegoers know what to expect from the film (more hilarious comedy), but game players do not know what to expect from the game.

JRO: Shrek 2 could be called a four-player, action-adventure platformer. Shrek and company deals with combat, puzzles, death defying leaps and mini-games together and each character sometimes gets the spotlight to themselves in specially designed interludes called "Hero Time." The player is always in control of one of four characters they can switch between at any time.

Players can expect movie-based levels and characters as well as original land characters.  Each playable character has his or her own unique special abilities that are vital in different situations so clever players will find that there's usually more than one way through the same situation. This will lead to a lot of replayability.

Screenshots indicate that the game has multiple camera angles.  Is that the case?

JRO: Yes, that's true. The game camera mode changes to give the player the best view of the action. Our goal was to let the player be immersed in the game and never have to worry about the camera. Even so, we give the player control of the camera if they want it.

Subtle fairytale jokes are one of the best things about Shrek.

How much has the game changed since its unveiling last May?

JRO: Last May we were only able to show two levels and five characters in a very early build with very few FX, which has a dramatic impact on the feel of the game, and the combat was not finished. The game is now finished and features 10 unique playable characters, powerful combat, complete multi-player functionality, bonus levels, voiceover, hints, mini-games, "Hero Times" and on and on.

Additionally, we had almost no cinematics at last year's E3 as we were almost entirely focused on the gameplay at that point. Since an emotional connection with the player is critical in a game like this, the cinematics play a huge part. We love to see how the player gets a grin out of seeing the look on Donkey's face when he burro-blasts something in a cinematic and then the player gets to do it right after.

Which graphic and animation programs were used to create Shrek 2's impressive visuals?

JRO: We use 3D Studio Max 5 for all 3D content and Photoshop for 95% of the texture and touch-up work. We also use ACDSee, Character Studio as well as some awesome proprietary tools.

Run for it!

Are there any movie sequences in the game?

JRO: We were able to tackle all of our storytelling via real-time, 3D cinematics using our game engine and a mix of storybook interludes and NPC moments.

Awesome!  Tell us about the enchanted worlds players will visit.

JRO: Players will visit all the big, new locations in the movie such as "Far, Far Away" and travel through the "Spooky Forrest," a place inspired by the Shrek 4D Ride at Universal Studios. We also visit familiar locations like "Shrek's Swamp" and original locales such as "The Dwarven Mines" and "Jack & Jill's Farm."  In "Jack and Jill's Farm," Shrek and Co. are trying to get jobs as delivery guys so they can gain entry to the fortified labs of the main villain but in this version Jack and Jill aren't around but the Three Little Pigs are and they're doing a great job of running the place into the ground. They need you and you need them, so it's win-win for everyone :)

There's always a funny premise for visiting each location.

Looks like a party game.

Who is the game geared towards?  Who is your target audience?

JRO: We believe the game will appeal to the same audience as the film - everyone. We worked hard to make sure the game could appeal to all ages as it has a wide variety of gameplay, it's simple and intuitive, but has innovation and depth to keep more seasoned gamers happy. Folks who don't play many games will have fun with it because of the humor, personality and the multiplayer ability.

Thank you for your time.