With The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, players will not only be challenged to survive Butcher Bay, but will also engage in a new single-player experience and, for the first time in the Riddick universe, take action in intense multi-player combat. The game introduces the ominous Merc-ship Dark Athena, which sits silent like a marauding spider, awaiting helpless prey in the dark reaches of the galaxy. Players must face a large, bloodthirsty operation led by the dreaded Captain Revas and her slaves-turned-controllable combat drones, storm though death-defying events and fight fierce enemies in a battle of malice and gore. Below is our exclusive interview with former lead designer at Starbreeze Studios (the team behind Dark Athena):
PX360: Can you please introduce yourself and give us a brief pitch on Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena?
Ian Stevens: My name is Ian Stevens and I’m the Head of Game Production at Tigon Studios, formerly Lead Designer at Starbreeze. Assault on Dark Athena is our follow-up to Escape from Butcher Bay (arguably the best movie-based game ever and an Xbox classic). Dark Athena is due out in April for the Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3 and PC.
PX360: What were the main reasons to revisit this story and what kind of history does the development team have with the Riddick character?
Ian Stevens: Assault on Dark Athena tells a brand new story in the Riddick universe, and everybody involved in making this game was there for Escape from Butcher Bay as well – Starbreeze, Tigon, and Universal. So we’re all very familiar with the character and the universe ☺ As far as “revisiting” the story goes, players should be excited about the fact that Assault on Dark Athena includes a ground-up remake of Escape from Butcher Bay on the disc!
PX360: We noticed that Dark Athena includes both the new and the original Riddick game in full, how did this decision come about and have you been pleased with it?
Ian Stevens: We wound up including a remake of Escape from Butcher Bay because there were technical issues that kept the original release from being backward compatible. We basically broke the Xbox hardware to make that game look the way it did and when that hardware configuration changed for the 360, it wouldn’t work. But when you see just how amazing the remake looks and plays – in our new engine with all of Dark Athena’s gameplay improvements – you’ll probably be very glad that we wound up going down this road, because it’s awesome to see just how far we’ve pushed that remake.
PX360: What major changes/upgrades were made to the original Escape From Butcher Bay game (graphics, audio, controls, etc.)?
Ian Stevens: Everything you can see – all of the assets: environments, characters, animation, sound – the whole package. Then, all of the enhancements we’ve made to the gameplay systems for Assault on Dark Athena are retroactively a part of the remake as well. We’ve also included the additional content that we created for the PC version. And then there are achievements. So for anyone who played the original and wants to play it again, or hasn’t played it yet – this is an amazing upgrade that’s absolutely worth playing!
PX360: Tell us a bit about the story of Assault on Dark Athena and how it plays into the Riddick universe?
Ian Stevens: Good question – Dark Athena takes place immediately after the end of Escape from Butcher Bay. Riddick and Johns, escaping the Bay, are caught by the Dark Athena. Whereas Riddick was more on the defensive in EfBB, this story puts him on the offensive and it’s a literal assault on this poor group of Mercs that were dumb enough to shanghai him. You really don’t want to capture Riddick…
PX360: How was it working with a mega movie star like Vin Diesel, was it a pleasurable experience and do you have any standout moments that you remember? Any other major voice talent included?
Ian Stevens: Vin is just great – he’s the head of Tigon Studios and very involved with the Riddick universe whether its being explored in games or film. He’s an extremely talented creative that really understands and respects the gaming medium and his contribution is always meaningful. He’s also committed to amazing multiplayer experiences, so it makes working on the title easy with so much enthusiasm from everyone, including Vin. Other major voice talent in Dark Athena sees Lance Henriksen as Dacher, Michelle Forbes as Revas, and Wade Williams as Spinner. And of course Vin as Riddick.
