Whether it’s on foot or in your car, Midway Games is ready to heat up March with their release of Wheelman on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. We had the privilege of speaking to Simon Woodroffe, creative director on Wheelman, over the weekend and were able to pick his brain on a variety of topics relating to the title. From Vin Diesel’s involvement and input on the title to the possibility of download content, Wheelman is shaping up to be one of March’s most anticipated titles.
PX360: How did your job at Midway Games come about and what does your job entail?
Simon Woodroffe: I'm the Creative Director on Wheelman, my role is to run the design department, promote the game's creative vision and, above all, make sure it's a fun experience for players.
PX360: For those who haven’t been following the development of The Wheelman, could you fill us in on the storyline and any of the significant lead characters?
Simon Woodroofe: The game puts the player in control of Milo Burik (played by Vin Diesel). He's an undercover agent sent from the USA to Barcelona to uncover and stop a criminal plot that's taking place in the city. Initially, details of what exactly the plot is are sketchy, and Milo spends some time working for each of the major criminal gangs until he gets to the bottom of what's going on and puts a stop to it. I guess the most important secondary character is Lumi Vega - initially appears to be a small time thief, Milo quickly begins to realize she knows more than she's letting on.
PX360: Could you describe the gameplay of The Wheelman? Is it primarily a driving-oriented title or will there be a lot of segments where gamers will get to control Vin Diesel’s character?
Simon Woodroofe: The game is heavily focused on action driving gameplay - but the player always has the choice to get out of the car and control Milo directly. Many missions in the game have sections where gun combat on foot is an option - and the player is usually free to make their own mind up how to approach any given situation. Wheelman's driving is really something special and unique however - the game allows players to do things in a car with the sort of grace and freedom more usually associated with on foot gaming. Our objective from the outset was to make the player feel like the world's greatest action driver - and I'm confident we have achieved that.
PX360: Can you go into detail of one of the defining moments the development team had when creating The Wheelman?
Simon Woodroofe: I think, when we realized just how fun and powerful the Vehicle Melee system felt, everyone in the team was inspired. It was such a natural progression from our driving mechanics to allow the player to quickly and easily attack other vehicles, it quickly became one of the central focuses of the whole experience.
