Twice a month, the official Killzone site interview a Guerrilla employee about the Killzone franchise, working at Guerrilla, and game development in general. This week, they were granted an audience with none other than lead artist Arjen Bokhoven.
Please tell us a little bit about your role at Guerrilla.
Currently I'm Lead Artist for the Environment Art team on our PS3 project. My responsibilities are to maintain our levels production schedule and distribute high-level tasks among my artists, in addition to being general support for the team. James Mason is my right-hand man in this process, but where his activities are of a more technical/creative nature, I'm just a n00b so I bang on drums. Oh yeah, and during crunches, I'm responsible for getting new content as painlessly as possible into our game.
What areas within your role are you most focused on at present?
At this moment we're putting the finishing touches on a demo. This is eating up most my time currently.
How deeply involved were you with Killzone: Liberation?
I was overall Lead Artist on that game, and it really was a labor of love. So yeah you can say I was quite involved.
How do you feel about the way that Killzone: Liberation was received by the public and Press?
I think it's great people love the game so much, and I personally feel proud that we managed to pull off such a high-profile title on the PSP. Everyone thought we were nuts when we announced that we wouldn't go first-person, but people seem to be all over the game regardless.
Which aspect of Killzone: Liberation do you feel most surpassed your expectations?
The gameplay for sure. I think that the reason why this game is so much fun, is the random factor combined with tactics. You can approach a level from multiple playing angles, giving players a better sense of control that would have been lost if we made everything super linear. The graphics I never doubted about. Neither about my immodesty by the way.
If you were responsible for a sequel to Killzone: Liberation which feature would you most like to see changed or added?
I would have liked to catch grenades and throw them back (imagine that in multiplayer!), I also think we would have to make our vehicles more of a core mechanic instead of just part of certain levels.
Which Killzone: Liberation level did you enjoy the most?
The good old Docks level, simply because we know it so well and played it to death. I also really love the Islands levels, if only for their kick-ass cutscenes with Cobar.
Which Killzone Universe character is your favorite and do you think we'll be seeing more of them in the future?
Rico for sure. He's a jivin' lean mean baaad aaass cat, he's got the strength of the bear, speed of the turtle but his only problem is that he's such a nice guy. No mean streaks at all, love the guy.
Finish the following sentence: "My previous development experience with handheld games prepared me for developing Killzone: Liberation on the PSP because…"
…I know what it takes to get decent graphics on such a small screen. I know what needs to be toned down or exaggerated in order to get to a satisfying result. The only thing that you can never be prepared for is working with other people, but you can't make these kinds of games on your own now, can ya?
Hugely disappointingly, it seems that Guerrilla Games, developers of the Killzone and Horizon series, may be done with Killzone for good.
1 was fine, overhyped as a " halo" killer
2 was a graphical beast at the time, and felt heavy
3 was good a refinement of 2 but not much else. weird audio issues environment were to quiet
shadow fall was pretty but bland
Shadowfall had great Multiplayer though. Too bad the campaign was meh at best. It did have the occasional great moment sprinkled in.
I played through 2/3 multiple times. I played through the original once, but it felt pretty lukewarm for me. I couldn't be bothered to beat Shadow Fall. I got a couple hours in and just went "I'm done". Never touched it again. It was awesome on the tech side, being a launch title, but it didn't even match up to the first game when it came to actually having fun playing it.
3 in 3d was an amazing experience to be had.
Although not many experienced it as intended for good reasons.
You forgot the ai advancements on the playstation 2 killzone one you could have a full team of bots doing everything even playing the objective that was a big thing.
In killzone 2 they always flanked you and when available used the high ground.
Playing killzone 2 no hud 5.1 audio was/is awesome
I dont mind if someone else takes up the mantle for the KZ franchise. We are several years removed from the first game. It certainly could use a remake to gauge interest in the rest of the series. I know it has its fans... Im thinking of how a proper reboot can rekindle that old dormant flame and bring in a new generation of fans in the process.
You forgot killzone mercenaries on the ps vita but it was the worst selling sony game for awhile there.
Would like a new IP before Horizon 3. Just because games take so long to make these days.
The PlayStation 3 may not have been the strongest generation for Sony, but there were still some diamonds in the rough that deserve a revisit as PS5 remasters.
Even if they could just remaster and put on PSVR2, some would still look great as VR titles and could do a whole lot to bolster the headset w these exclusives! I'd imagine the investment of reworking these titles into VR would be way less than building new games from the ground up, and they could be amazing experiences, and VR often makes flat games feel fresh again. The Resistance and Killzone games are particularly what I want to see!!
I played killzone 3 in 3d and it really changed the game per being immersive.
In vr, that would be even more awesome.
Funny you mention that... my son wanted to play some PS3 games in 3d on my PS tv and he was blown away by how good KZ3 was. It really was a great addition to the game. Im surprised there have not been more 3d games from that era being ported to the PSVR/VR2.
resistance 1-3, killzone 1-3, uncharted 1-3, uncharted golden abyss, folklore, socom 4 , motorstorm, twisted metal, MAG, heavenly sword
Killzone 2+3
Sly Thieves in Time
Crack in Time
God of War Ascension
Motorstorm
Modnation racer
Infamous 1+2
Killzone trilogy in VR would be amazing bonus points if they offer shadow fall.
There was a psvr1 Killzone project that supermassive was working on at one stage which wasn't up to scratch and Sony brand it back in house I was hoping we would see that on psvr2 eventually.
Personally I'd love to see some more love or acknowledgement of psvr2 from Sony in general it was a expensive headset and Sony barely acknowledge it's existence
The amount of work needed to remaster these games wouldn't be beneficial on a financial and business sense.. MGS4 would probably be the best bet as it would need the least amount of work!
The time is perfect for a resistance fall of man game campaign coop multiplayer
The resistance series is str8 trash to me. Socom 3 I would welcome. Or killzone MP.
Resistance was ok but Warhawk and Starhawk was better and kept me coming back for almost a decade of fun and petty revenge on the loud mouth unskilled players 🤣
Edit I loved capture the flag dropping the pot on the flag carrier was extremely satisfying as well as transforming your plane in bot form and stumping them to death 😱
The Amsterdam-based studio reflects on its humble beginnings, beloved franchises, and growth through the years.
Up there with the top tier in the industry. Love Guerrilla Games - Horizon Burning Shores is simply STUNNING.
Same. They nailed it with Horizon. The trouble is I also want a new Killzone! Can't I just have it all?!
I have yet to play Burning Shores as I just started Forbidden West (bought at launch, just unwrapped last weekend LOL) and playing on PS5.
man...I still can't believe the graphics especially now I'm playing it on my LG OLED. that graphics and with stable performance backing it up, GG really is the master of their craft!
32.7M sales in the Horizon franchise! With 8.4M coming from Forbidden West alone! Truly a hugely successful game and franchise as a whole. Looking forward to Horizon III
One year after realease HZD sold 7.6 million.
https://www.noobfeed.com/ne...
So not a drop off.
Unless you're saying a HFW should have sold as much now as HZD sold in 5 years?
It's been 3 games, this includes Call of the Mountain. Also no, its a great improvement over HZD.
lol you are comparing:
HZD: 28 February 2017 - May 2023 (6 years+)
HFW: 18 February 2022 - May 2023 (1 year+)
We will see if it surpass original number.
@shane, 2 full main games, 2 DLC add ons, 1 VR spin off game, oh and a an official LEGO set.
Not too bad for an ip that's only been on market for 6 years
Wow, very impressive. I didn't know the numbers were so high for Forbidden West. Still playing through it myself
Yooo, when I first saw that Killzone 1 footage at E3, my friends my brothers and I were like, Holy shit! When it came out, it didn't look exactly like it, but we sunk so many hours into 1 & 2.
I even liked Killzone: SF, it was a spectacle to look at, and even today it looks good. I hope they make a new one. Can you imagine how that will look, and they can get some modern FPS pointers from Bungie.
Such a wonderful studio. They deserve all their success.
The Decima Engine is absolute 🔥 I'm just mad they have abandoned Killzone.
They are probably working on mutiple projects. One of them is Horizon 3, but another is a multiplaer game and probably somehting else.
New: Arjen Bokhoven Interview
Lead Artist, Killzone: Liberation
Twice a month, we interview a Guerrilla employee about the Killzone franchise, working at Guerrilla, and game development in general. This week, we were granted an audience with none other than lead artist Arjen Bokhoven."
Please tell us a little bit about your role at Guerrilla.
Currently I’m Lead Artist for the Environment Art team on our PS3 project. My responsibilities are to maintain our levels production schedule and distribute high-level tasks among my artists, in addition to being general support for the team. James Mason is my right-hand man in this process, but where his activities are of a more technical/creative nature, I’m just a n00b so I bang on drums. Oh yeah, and during crunches, I’m responsible for getting new content as painlessly as possible into our game.
What areas within your role are you most focused on at present?
At this moment we’re putting the finishing touches on a demo. This is eating up most my time currently.
How deeply involved were you with Killzone: Liberation?
I was overall Lead Artist on that game, and it really was a labor of love. So yeah you can say I was quite involved.
How do you feel about the way that Killzone: Liberation was received by the public and Press?
I think it’s great people love the game so much, and I personally feel proud that we managed to pull off such a high-profile title on the PSP. Everyone thought we were nuts when we announced that we wouldn’t go first-person, but people seem to be all over the game regardless.
Which aspect of Killzone: Liberation do you feel most surpassed your expectations?
The gameplay for sure. I think that the reason why this game is so much fun, is the random factor combined with tactics. You can approach a level from multiple playing angles, giving players a better sense of control that would have been lost if we made everything super linear. The graphics I never doubted about. Neither about my immodesty by the way.
If you were responsible for a sequel to Killzone: Liberation which feature would you most like to see changed or added?
I would have liked to catch grenades and throw them back (imagine that in multiplayer!), I also think we would have to make our vehicles more of a core mechanic instead of just part of certain levels.
Which Killzone: Liberation level did you enjoy the most?
The good old Docks level, simply because we know it so well and played it to death. I also really love the Islands levels, if only for their kick-ass cutscenes with Cobar.
Which Killzone Universe character is your favorite and do you think we’ll be seeing more of them in the future?
Rico for sure. He’s a jivin’ lean mean baaad aaass cat, he’s got the strength of the bear, speed of the turtle but his only problem is that he’s such a nice guy. No mean streaks at all, love the guy.
Finish the following sentence: "My previous development experience with handheld games prepared me for developing Killzone: Liberation on the PSP because…"
…I know what it takes to get decent graphics on such a small screen. I know what needs to be toned down or exaggerated in order to get to a satisfying result. The only thing that you can never be prepared for is working with other people, but you can’t make these kinds of games on your own now, can ya?
Edit: WOW! DIDN'T HEAR IT WAS IN PRE-PRE-ALPHA!!!!!! That's great!!
I DIDN'T TALK CRAP ABOUT THE GAME.
What happened to Pre-Pre Alpha?
@GReddy-racer
Why should I piss off?
After all that crap of people defending the developer for saying their Pre-Pre Alpha and now they are pretty much in the and have been in the beta phase and people jump on me? What happened to "FordGTGuy you have no idea how gaming development works" go to?
I'm not saying anything bad about the game i'm just saying that if Bungie would've said something stupid like that you guys would've blasted them.
BTW I like how you said Piss Off in the form of a question so I will reply NO!
it would be better if they just took out the E3 demo to the PSNetwork.
lmao i cant wait for this game:D and i mean the ps3 version;)