The
Serious Sam Franchise has been one of the most popular and most
traditional shooters on the PC. Coming out of nowhere (Croatia) and
taking the gaming world by storm, both Serious Sam and Serious Sam: The
Second Encounter have done very well with the GamesFirst! reviewers.
Now, Gotham Games and Croteam have put together an Xbox version of
Serious Sam, combining both of the PC games and all jazzed up for better
graphics and intense four player action. Don't miss our
interview with David
Nottingham, Producer for Gotham Games.
Q: For starters, why is Sam so damn serious?
Well, saving the Earth is a serious job. And serious job, needs serious
people. Sam is serious. Serious Sam.
Q: For the console gamer who may not be as familiar with Serious
Sam, what can they expect when they fire up their Xbox?
Humor and action blast straight in their face. Without a rest. Better
be ready.
Q: Were you stunned by the success of Sam on PC?
No. We always knew what game we have on our hands, the world didn't.
So, world is stunned, not we. Seriously.
Q: The bad guys in Serious Sam are just plain freaky. Explain the
inspiration for the hoards of ghastly enemies Sam faces.
All enemies are inspired by ours neighborhood friends or their pets.
Q: Which is your favorite weapon in the game?
Definitely the cannon. Big black pirate cannon that shoots giant iron
balls and smashes everything in front. Devastating weapon, the one that
you will turn to when you face the roughest trouble.
Q: Which bad guys do you relish obliterating the most?
Headless kamikaze is our favorite. This bad guy runs straight at you
with bombs in his hands, screaming all the time (Aaaaaaaa...). Well, at
least, he screams until minigun starts its singing. Also, nothing can
pump adrenaline like breaking all the bones of Kleer Skeleton with
shotgun from a pinpoint range.
Q: In your office, who kicks the most ass when you play
Deathmatch mode?
Anyone who plays with Groovy Gregory or Santa Sam character. Those are
so damn funny, that you can't fight them because of laughing tears in
your eyes. Mysterious Mia character has some BIG advantages on her side,
too.
Q: Tell the future Xbox Sam fans how they might get through
all 36 levels unscathed.
Play cautiously, avoid enemy attacks and their bullets, shoot anything
that moves and don't smoke during the gameplay. If you keep like that
through all 36 levels, you have some chance to get through it unscathed.
Nooo, just kidding, it's impossible.
Q: Let's explore Sam Stone the man. Tell us about his sensitive
side.
What side?
Q: What will the future bring for Sam in the console market?
Sam came to stay. Consoles will never get rid of him.
Q: Please explain Sam's fashion sense. I mean, red high-tops and
yellow t-shirts don't exactly seem like proper
save-the-earth-from-complete-destruction attire.
Hmm. Hotshots here in Croatia dress like that. Don't you?
ABOUT CROTEAM
Q: Is there anything you can point to in your background (say,
being dropped on your heads as children) that can explain why you guys
have such twisted imaginations?
In fact, I can. As kids, we watched too much of Tom & Jerry cartoons.
Q: Are your offices a dangerous place to work? With the non-stop
carnage in Serious Sam, it seems that one would have to crawl to their
desk to avoid flying spitballs and other projectiles while you guys are,
um, creating.
Yes, it's dangerous, but we all mastered sidestepping. Only the newbies
face some troubles with accommodation.
Q: Do you guys stand out in your country or is everybody as nuts
as you?
We are here considered as normal people. So, according to your
standards, I guess you would say all Croatians are nuts :)
Q: What is the typical day like for a Croteam developer?
I wake up before noon, enter my Ferrari and driver drives me to the
office while I drink champagne. There I'm reading internet news and
drinking coffee. Afterwards, I play some single play games, till I get
hungry. It's time to eat pizza and McDonalds fast food, which really
exhaust me so I must take a nap. After waking up, I'm ready for a good
Deathmatch game that I play till late afternoon, when it's time to go
back to my mansion where six blonde chicks are waiting for me. Then
clock rings and it really wakes me up from a dream. It's early morning,
and I walk to office where I work hard until night falls. Exhausted, I'm
coming home, where my beloved one waits for me to prepare her a supper.
As always, truth is somewhere in between :) Unfortunately, closer to the
second version :(
Q: Americans are dumb. Name something that Croatia is famous for
so we can get a better idea of what your country is like.
I shouldn't say this because of potential flooding of tourists, but
Croatia is the most beautiful country in the world, with warm and clean
sea, more than thousand islands, and equally beautiful continental part.
Air is clean and food have a taste. Water is fresh, and you can drink it
from the pipes. Over 95% of the girls are slim and beautiful, fats are
really rare. Also, here you can found architecture influenced by all
great empires that raged around (Roman, German, Turkish,...), some of it
more than thousand years old. What more man can ask?
Q: You are obviously Sci-Fi fans. What movies, books, comics,
etc. do you turn to for entertainment and inspiration?
On the first place it's Star Wars series. It perfectly blends hero
character, epic story, fight between good and evil, action and fun.
That's our goal, too. Serious Sam is Arnold Schwarzenegger meets Star
Wars universe type of game. And I must tell you Sam is much bigger
hotshot than Luke could ever be. Other than that we watch all Sci-Fi and
Epic movies (Gladiator) we can found, series like Simpsons, Southpark,
Northern Exposure, we read Heavy Metal, Hitchhiker Guide To The Galaxy,
etc.
As a group that is outside of the U.S. or traditional game hotbeds in
Europe, what unique perspective can you lend on the state of the gaming
industry?
I can see some trend towards a realistic war games, horror and violence,
probably influenced by a boiled present situation throughout the Earth.
We are offering an alternative. Mindless, non-realistic, but fun frantic
shooter. Cure for all your troubles. Such games we need more. Games are
games, made for fun and relaxation, not to imitate reality.