One on One
Producer Ralph Lämmche walks us through ONE, the premier fighting game for N-Gage
With the release of ONE imminent, we thought it would be a good time to catch up with game producer Ralph Lämmche to talk about the game's relationship to the original, the 3D graphics, the name change, and other topics of interest to dedicated fighting game fans. Featuring fast-paced action, 3D graphics, customizable fighters, and motion-captured animations, legions of N-Gage fans are eagerly awaiting this one.
N-Gage.com: In a nutshell, how would you describe ONE?
Producer Ralph Lämmche: ONE is a 3D "beat em up" that shows the N-Gage muscles in terms of 3D gaming! It is a complete new game and should not be mixed up with the old ONE that we did for the original N-Gage device a few years back.
Can you describe some of the fighter customization players will be able to enjoy?
Player characters are completely customizable from hairstyles to tattoos to accessories to shoes with millions of possible combinations!
How did you implement fighting game controls across the wide variety of N-Gage handsets? That sounds like quite a challenge.
In fact, this challenge turned out to be a blessing in actual game development! We had to focus on 4-way controls plus the use of two gaming buttons! It's amazing what you can achieve when you concentrate on the core! We use single tabs, double taps and holds combined with the four directions and the result is amazingly intuitive!! Double tap forward is a quick push forward… to give you some idea…
ONE uses motion capture for extra smooth on screen graphics. Can you explain a little about how this was done?
We rented a Motion Capture studio in Frankfurt that basically had the same equipment that was used for some of the special FX in Lord of the Rings or Star Wars Episode 1-3.
Then we hired Tommy Carruthers, an exceptional well trained Martial Artist who has over 30 years of experience in different styles and techniques. He slipped into a special suit and we recorded over 300 unique animations that we used in the game! That's why the animations are absolutely outstanding! Especially when it comes to mobile gaming…
ONE was also available for the original N-Gage game decks. What is different this time around?
It basically only has the name in common and a few of the graphic assets and animations. The engine was build up from scratch and the whole gameplay is totally different. The old ONE was a great learning experience and we used it to make this the game that the original ONE should have been! Everything is different from controls to actual fighting, to the story mode to the character models to the music to the menu.
At one point, the game's name was ONE: Who's Next? Why did it change?
Ask marketing ;)
Even though we saw a prototype of ONE running on 3D hardware at the last GDC conference, rom what I understand, on its initial release ONE will use 3D software rendering only, because 3D hardware acceleration is not yet available in the N-Gage SDK. Is this correct?
That is exactly the case! For this version we totally focused our efforts on software rendering! I think people will be very surprised with the result in a positive way of course!
When 3D hardware support is added to the N-Gage SDK, will there be a re-release or free upgrade for users to the hardware supported version?
That would make sense wouldn't it?! ;)
Who are the developers behind ONE and what other games have they worked on?
ONE is a 1st Party Nokia game and the result of a very good relationship between Nokia and Barcelona-based Digital Legends! For more information visit their website.
