By Jim Rossignol on November 19th, 2011 at 2:19 pm.
Blue noticed that Radical have put out a trailer detailing their approach for New York in Prototype 2. The so-called “NYZ” will be far more detailed this time, with the city divided into three zones, allowing them to increase the visual fidelity and density of detail in the city. There’s loads from the devs and a bunch of game footage in the video, which I have posted below. It’s looking more and more promising.
(Echoes of a BLDGBLOG article wot I wrote.)
19/11/2011 at 14:44 Navagon says:
I’m confused. America does have more than one city, right?
19/11/2011 at 16:02 Rikard Peterson says:
Yes, there’s Los Angeles too. That’s where Hollywood is.
19/11/2011 at 16:44 Museli says:
There’s also Parts Unknown, where many wrestlers come from. I think it’s in the middle somewhere.
19/11/2011 at 19:29 Amun says:
Yep, there’s only New York City here. I live in the US, so I should know.
19/11/2011 at 19:41 Nalano says:
It’s been done, better, by very many people.
21/11/2011 at 12:30 Iskariot says:
I happen to know that New York is the only city in the world.
19/11/2011 at 14:57 MaXimillion says:
“These zones are unlocked in a linear fashion”
“Prototype 2 is a completely open-world game where you can go wherever you want whenever you want”
I…just…what?
19/11/2011 at 15:11 DickSocrates says:
Like GTA, you play the story and new areas open up.
19/11/2011 at 15:19 MaXimillion says:
I understood quite well how it works, it’s just that they’re saying two contradictory things one after another
19/11/2011 at 15:12 KauhuK says:
Moonwalking trough the sky. Shufflin every day.
19/11/2011 at 15:32 alilsneaky says:
SO much bloom….:\
19/11/2011 at 16:29 sinister agent says:
Setting it in New York with three unlockable zones seems rather ill-advised, especially for the sake of graphics, considering some of the incredible work done by GTA4 modders.
It seems weird to me how obsessed everyone is with New York. I can understand why everyone’s obsessed with London, as there are only a handful of other cities that even compare to it in Britain, but the USA has so many other massive, famous cities. Surely there are other places to set a game in that wouldn’t cost you any American sales?
Still, that gripe aside, it’s interesting to hear about their thoughts going into the character of the zones. Any game with a good sense of place is welcome, really.
19/11/2011 at 17:30 luckylad says:
I’d have to agree with you on that one. The thing is that there are not as many NYC “type” of cities outside of the northeast. Take Dallas for example. It’s a huge city with a large population but the population density means that you’ll find yourself traveling from place to place rather than getting places quickly. The only two cities that I think would be able to easily fit a good sandbox city outside of the northeast would be Chicago and LA. And while LA gets quite a bit of attention also, I am surprised that we don’t see more Chicago presence in video games.
19/11/2011 at 18:10 The Innocent says:
Agree with both points. But I’d love to see (good) games set in places like Philadelphia, Boston, Miami, Seattle, Washington DC, or Atlanta. Places that generally go unconsidered. Las Vegas feels overdone in my head, but I can’t think of many examples beyond San Andreas, and that game compressed the vastness of the American West into something manageable.
Also, in a Prototype game, where your main mode of transportation can be tentacle’ing a jet or helicopter, I wouldn’t think it would be too difficult to make getting around a larger map satisfying instead of a drag. Getting around in Just Cause 2 was always a joy for me.
19/11/2011 at 18:59 Nalano says:
games set in Miami: Driv3r, GTA Vice City
games set in DC: Fallout 3, Midtown Madness 3
games set in Chicago: Midtown Madness, Driver 2
games set in Detroit: Deus Ex Human Revolution, Saints Row, Saints Row 2, Midnight Club 3
games set in Las Vegas: Driver 2, Fallout New Vegas, GTA San Andreas
games set in Philadelphia: Fallout 3
games set in Atlanta: Midnight Club 3
games set in San Francisco: Driver San Francisco, Midtown Madness 2, GTA San Andreas
Now, I wouldn’t mind seeing a game set in Philadelphia or New Orleans, but when designers pick a locale, they don’t want to limit themselves. That’s really the crux: It’s not “I want to set it in Philadelphia,” it’s “I have to justify why it isn’t set in New York,” which means listing what Philadelphia (or Chicago or Boston) have that New York doesn’t, and then listing why they don’t need what New York has but Philadelphia and Chicago don’t.
Then there’s also the simple bias of writers and designers: Most are located in New York or Los Angeles, so most games, books, movies and TV shows are situated in New York or Los Angeles.
Finally, you say New York isn’t as dominant in the culture as London. True, the country is larger, but New York is not “Philadelphia but bigger.” Culture-wise, New York is the dominant force. See the previous point, after all.
19/11/2011 at 21:48 The Innocent says:
games set in New Orleans: inFAMOUS 2
I don’t think anyone is saying that games don’t take place elsewhere, or that NYC isn’t a major cultural center of the US and the world. As far as I can tell (this is certainly what *my* point is) they’re just saying they’d like to see more (quality) games elsewhere. We’ve reached the point where most non-New Yorker gamers could probably draw a fairly elaborate map of Manhattan.
Also, Fallout 3 never went to Philadelphia (it did hit Pittsburg though), and Stilwater isn’t Detroit.
19/11/2011 at 22:21 Nalano says:
You’re right about Fallout 3; my bad.
That said, Stilwater – that fictional industrial Michigan city – is Detroit just as Gotham is New York.
19/11/2011 at 23:46 battles_atlas says:
Prefacing my comment with the acknowledgement that NY is the only US city I’ve been to, isn’t the major limitation the sprawling nature of American cities? LA is the most egrarious example, but many others seem both spread out, and grid-based. It doesnt make for the most inspiring environment to explore. One city I have visited that really should be realised in a game is Vancouver, which has an awesome diversity of environments within and around it. And for one day GTA to visit Asia, Africa or South America, what an enjoyable change of scene that would be. No more New York though, please
20/11/2011 at 01:30 Nalano says:
“egregious,” not “egrarious,” but at any rate, yes, most American cities, like old Roman colonies, follow a grid pattern. Plus, they’re very spread out. But that alone is no excuse not to include them.
Also, I’d like to see South American cities, suburbs and favelas in scenes that don’t involve shooting your way through them.
20/11/2011 at 02:14 Fumarole says:
New Orleans is also featured in Left 4 Dead 2.
19/11/2011 at 16:51 westyfield says:
En Why Zed.
19/11/2011 at 16:56 JKjoker says:
so it doesnt work like the original game where the city started pristine and then gradually turned into a hell hole, it just starts divided in “zones” and stays that way though the entire game ?
i hope im misunderstanding it because this sounds like a huge step backwards
20/11/2011 at 03:18 archimandrite says:
My experience in the first game was that the city was very bland and same-y. I think that’s what they’re trying to fix.
19/11/2011 at 18:59 Lord Custard Smingleigh says:
New York made a certain sense in the first game. Large well-known bustling metropolis full of interesting things and places… But can be cut off from the rest of civilisation fairly easily because it’s an island.
Although Prototype: Hong Kong would have been better.
19/11/2011 at 19:05 Brumisator says:
This is good, Prototype’s New Yorek City was terribly boring. It was just a grid with buildings in exactly the same pattern in the entire world.
19/11/2011 at 22:19 Nalano says:
reply fail
20/11/2011 at 01:13 luminosity says:
Why would anyone be living anywhere near NYC after the events of the first game? Surely it’d have made a lot more sense to set it somewhere else.
20/11/2011 at 01:20 Syra says:
is this even coming out on pc…
20/11/2011 at 07:17 bill says:
Need emergency posts!
I’m stuck at work with nothing to do, and I’m coming down with a cold, and there’s not even anything to read on RPS….. sigh.
20/11/2011 at 07:23 The Infamous Woodchuck says:
yeah, that frustrating moment when you look into RPS for amusing news but you found nothing
20/11/2011 at 15:46 zhangss says:
http://bit.ly/bwW0Bk
http://bit.ly/bwW0Bk
21/11/2011 at 12:37 Iskariot says:
I want this game. Badly.
I had great fun playing the first Prototype.
It is a great and promising IP that needed some development.
It seems Prototype 2 is the next stage.
First day buy for me.