No, honest, it's not a straight port… honest!
HEXUS:Hi, thanks for taking the time to talk to HEXUS.gaming, but first off, can you introduce yourself to our readers?Daniel:I’m Daniel Palix, producer. Prior to joining the Dark Messiah of Might and Magic team, I was producer of the online mode on Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow on the Xbox, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Chaos Theory for the Xbox and PS2 and Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Double Agent, again for the Xbox and PS2.
HEXUS: What are the biggest changes you are bringing to Dark Messiah of Might & Magic: Elements for the Xbox 360? It’s not going to be a repeat of the PC game is it?
Daniel:For the Xbox 360 version, we are providing a variety of new content, as well as improving on the existing levels.
On the solo part, new scenes have been added, thus providing an additional hour of game experience. These will be “epic” optional zones, offering a bit more challenge and different gameplay than the rest of the game and granting special rewards.
A lot of rebalancing has been done, in order to keep the challenge level equal from start to end. The graphics were enhanced, focusing on lighting and post treatments.
The multiplayer was also completely reworked.
HEXUS: We hear that Dark Messiah of Might & Magic: Elements is powered by the Source engine. Are you working closely with Valve for the Xbox 360 adaptation?
Daniel:Yes. There is a strong collaboration, as there was with Arkane Studios. This helps us utilize the Source engine to its fullest potential. It’s a powerful engine on PC, but on Xbox 360 it creates miracles…
HEXUS: You mentioned Arkane Studios just then, are you working with them for this new adaptation of Dark Messiah of Might and Magic?
Daniel:Definitely. We came with our own ideas about what to do with the X360 game but we worked closely with Arkane to make sure these changes would not cause new problems. Their knowledge of the game and the engine is very valuable to us. They also made some of these changes themselves.
HEXUS: There’s a lot of key presses for the PC version of Dark Messiah and the gameplay style is ideally suited to a mouse and keyboard, how are you adapting the Dark Messiah of Might and Magic gameplay to the console? Will we notice any significant change?
Daniel:The console gameplay focuses on the same mechanics that are so attractive in the PC version. We realized that the pad control together with the new autolock and d-pad quickbelt systems enabled you to play even more naturally and let you focus even more on your tactics as well as on the experience itself. It confirmed our first feeling that Dark Messiah of Might and Magic would be an incredible experience to bring to a home console system.
