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Lucasfilm Games’ Craig Derrick Talks Indiana Jones and the Great Circle - "a spiritual successor to Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis "

Neonzel

Neonzel

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www.lucasfilm.com

Lucasfilm Games’ Craig Derrick Talks Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

The executive producer for Lucasfilm Games shares insights into the story and gameplay of Indy’s newest video game adventure.
www.lucasfilm.com www.lucasfilm.com

For an Indiana Jones adventure to truly shine," explains Lucasfilm Games executive producer Craig Derrick, "it needs a globe-trotting journey with a strong historical element—something grounded in reality yet wrapped in mystique or relevance. With The Great Circle, Todd Howard and the team at MachineGames struck gold by centering the story on a real-world mystery: a number of ancient sites around the world align on a perfect, unbroken circle, yet the reason behind this alignment has eluded people for centuries."
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An Indiana Jones adventure feels especially apt for gaming when the character is tackling puzzles, which Derrick notes is a "core gameplay element" of The Great Circle. Movie audiences are well accustomed to Indy using his wits to outsmart booby traps and navigate ancient passages. Great Circle players will be able to do the same.
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We wanted the player's primary focus to be on using their brains before their brawn, although punching bad guys is also a lot of fun. In many ways, we envisioned this game as a spiritual successor to Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis and other classic adventure games. It's about thinking, discovering, tracking down clues, and sometimes just a bit of luck to get through the various traps, tombs, and threats encountered—all while capturing that over-the-top Saturday matinee feel that defines an Indiana Jones adventure."
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The recent gameplay trailer has introduced players to a pair of new tools that will be available throughout Indy's journey: a journal and a camera. The journal, as Derrick notes, will help the player with "discovering clues, gathering vital information to solve later puzzles, documenting your journey, and pulling out the map to figure out where to go next." It's a poignant accessory in the classic Indiana Jones vein.
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The camera is a bit more unusual, something audiences haven't seen Indy employ in the feature films. But as Derrick is keen to point out, the character has indeed used just such a device in The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones television series. "A little-known fact about Indy is that as a young man he becomes an aerial reconnaissance photographer during World War I, so why we don't necessarily call that out, this game leverages a little bit of that aspect of his character." In The Great Circle, the camera will allow players to gather useful information and aid them in uncovering hidden details for various puzzles. "It's a fascinating addition to Indy's toolkit," says Derrick, "adding depth and new dimensions to the gameplay."
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I know some people wanted something more akin to modern Tomb Raider or Uncharted. But I'm happy it's more puzzle-focused. It makes sense for Indiana, and I think it also helps to differentiate it from those games. Can't wait to play this, it's definitely my most anticipated game for the rest of this year.
 
sir_crocodile

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I'm sure it'll be a great game, but it's not what I'd want from "a spiritual successor to Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis" lol
 
Platy

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The more i see of this game, the more it looks like it is 90% puzzle and 10% action but the marketing is trying to market the opposite
 
MacReady

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I like the sound of this.
Platy said:
The more i see of this game, the more it looks like it is 90% puzzle and 10% action but the marketing is trying to market the opposite
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Yeah I guess since it has a AAA budget and showing puzzles and such 90% of the trailer wouldn't be too exciting to most people.
 

padsports

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Strong words.

The youth from today will never understand how it was to wait for a loading assets distributed across 11 disks.
 
Yerffej

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I know it's minor... but seeing him hang there with pants that defy gravity really makes me want better cloth tech to come along. Lighting and sharpness and shadows are good. Clothes need a revolution.
 
Toriko

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This game in no way feels like a spiritual successor. I don't mind and am excited about it but I am not expecting anything like fate of Atlantis. The game design is completely different
 
GulfCoastZilla

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Platy said:
The more i see of this game, the more it looks like it is 90% puzzle and 10% action but the marketing is trying to market the opposite
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This….I have no interest in this game if it's majority puzzle solving.

Another case of "cool game to have in your library but not the blockbuster I'm looking for"
 
GingerbreadMan

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Derrick is a fan of older LucasArts games. He was pivotal in making Tales of Monkey Island, Return to Monkey Island and the Double Fine remakes, even when the company was against resurrecting older IPs. I think he's genuine here.
 
shoal

shoal

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Early Butcher Bay comparisons, now Fate of Atlantis? They know how to hype me up.
 
Speedstersonic

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Oh don't do this to me. I def want to get it, but saying this is hyping up my expectations for this and idk if that's a good thing.

Fate of Atlantis is a gem of a classic for me.
 
NinjaScooter

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I have a faith that Machine Games can make good on the narrative and vibe of Indiana Jones. My issues with the Wolfenstein games, which I mostly really enjoyed, were more on the gameplay side of things namely encounter and level design.
 
Zekes

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Yerffej said:
I know it's minor... but seeing him hang there with pants that defy gravity really makes me want better cloth tech to come along. Lighting and sharpness and shadows are good. Clothes need a revolution.
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Yeah this kind of thing bugs me more and more as graphics get better
 
GeeTeeCee

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Emperor's Tomb probably isn't anywhere near as good as I remember but I absolutely loved it at the time. Only ever played that and the Temple of Doom one.
 
Fat4all

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Speedstersonic said:
I never got a chance to play Infernal Machine. Is it worth a playthrough? Does it have a decent narrative and puzzle gameplay for an Indiana Jones game?
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its a great platformer with some genuinely good level design, just exploring the levels is fun as heck

the puzzles are a bit heavy with platforming iirc, tho there's a bit of variation

story is decent
 
Speedstersonic

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Fat4all said:
its a great platformer with some genuinely good level design, just exploring the levels is fun as heck

the puzzles are a bit heavy with platforming iirc, tho there's a bit of variation

story is decent
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Sounds good, i love exploring levels in old platformer adventure games like the OG Tomb Raiders. I might pick up the GoG copy since seems like that runs the best on modern hardware.
 
Santar

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Speedstersonic said:
I never got a chance to play Infernal Machine. Is it worth a playthrough? Does it have a decent narrative and puzzle gameplay for an Indiana Jones game?
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The big problrem with the game is it feels terrible to actually play.
It's incredibly stiff in both control and movement and combat feels awful.
It was dated even when it first released, which might explain some of it.
 
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Speedstersonic

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Santar said:
The big problrem with the game is it feels terrible to actually play.
It's incredibly stiff in both control and movement and combat feels awful.
It was datef even when it first releade, which might explain some of it.
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Yeah i remember people talking about it having tank controls. Not a fan but i can deal with it. I have more patience for tank controls these days surprisingly
 
Sargerus

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Infernal Machine is amazing. Too bad the PC port is a downgrade compared to the N64, and that is a bitch to proper emulate.
 
louris

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99% sure this is buzzwords to create hype among middle-aged gamers (sob). But I'd be more than glad to be proven wrong, Fate is amongst the GOATs.
 
Santar

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Speedstersonic said:
Yeah i remember people talking about it having tank controls. Not a fan but i can deal with it. I have more patience for tank controls these days surprisingly
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It's not the tank controls. I never had a problem with those. Tomb Raider and classic RE's are great.
It just feels super stiff and janky.
Indy feels less like an agile adventurer and more like a brick.
 
Jazar

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ArjanN

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GulfCoastZilla said:
This….I have no interest in this game if it's majority puzzle solving.

Another case of "cool game to have in your library but not the blockbuster I'm looking for"
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Eh, i think there'll still be a bunch of shootouts and fistfights and chase scenes, but a bigger focus on non-combat stuff (puzzles/exploration/traps/stealth/talking to NPCs etc) fits Indiana Jones better than it just being a shooter/brawler.

it kinda helps avoid the Tomb Raider/Uncharted thing where you're machinegunning down waves of dudes every level.
 
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