While many gaming publications and websites have bashed the game, Game Informer in the latest issue placed it in the 35th spot of the Top 50 of E3-2006 saying that the sword-slashes are replicated accurately on screen with the Wii-mote.

Bonjour,
My name is Marie-Sol Beaudry, producer of Red Steel here in the Ubisoft Paris studio. We?re excited to share bits of information here on the ongoing development of this Wii exclusive launch title. Along with me, you?ll get to hear from our creative director, lead designer, art director and others on their areas of expertise.

We were really excited by everyone?s response to the Nintendo Wii at E3 and were thrilled to showcase Red Steel at the Nintendo press conference. After working so long on this project in complete secrecy, it was great to not just show the game but to also let people play it for the first time.

For this initial Blog entry, we want to talk about the Wii controller and how we?re using it to it is fullest.

The challenge for working on a new system, especially one that has such a focus on the interface with the Wii controller is that everything we?re doing in the game is directly effected by the controller. This includes everything from level design, overall game design, movement and storyline. When we first received the controller our imaginations were limitless but then we spoke to our programmers and determined that there were guidelines and rules of which we?d need to adhere to in regard to both functionality as well as game play.

In other words, while the shooting was fairly straight forward, point-and-shoot, it was the sword play that proved to be a true challenge. We quickly learned that wielding a sword and manipulating the controller was a lot of fun, but we didn?t want to force people to become actual professional swordsmen ? just have fun. Also, we have to consider the animations of the sword and matching it up with what you see on screen. We didn?t want any delay whatsoever in response to what was happening with the controller and what you saw on the screen.

We?re continuing to tweak the controls to optimize the game and ensure it?s a great experience on all levels, for example keeping the precision and accuracy of the aiming but working on the sensitivity and the stability. Also the sword fighting is going to offer more diversity in movements and couple of special moves I will not talk about this time...

Red Steel Developer Blog #2
Hi everyone, this is Marie-Sol! I want to take this week as an opportunity for some of the key developers behind Red Steel to introduce themselves and let you know what they’ve been up to lately.

Nicolas Eypert



Hi, I'm Nicolas Eypert; I'm the Creative Director of the game. My task is to direct all the design departments so that we deliver on our original vision. This can be compared to being the director for movies.

At this step of development where game systems like sword fighting, combat, sounds and all others, are now in the actual game levels, I’m going through all the game again and again to see how does the mix does and what we can fine tune to make sure we deliver on our original vision.

Roman Campos Oriola



I am Roman Campos Oriola and I am the Lead Game Designer of the project. I am managing a group of designers who are in charge of all the game mechanics. Currently we are focusing on tuning the sword fighting system.

Stephane Bachelet (the Bachelor)



My name is Stephane Bachelet and I am the Artistic Director on Red Steel. I am in charge of designing the graphic ambiance of the game for places, interface, SFX and lighting. My everyday job is now to supervise all the graphic designers’ creation to check that they create maps that fit with the artistic direction we have set up.

I’ll explain to you at the end of July all the improvements and new graphic directions we have made since E3.

Jean-Baptiste Duval (JB)



Hi, I am Jean-Baptiste Duval and I’m Associate Producer. My role is to be with the team, not the field every day. I’m in charge of the project & timing follow up. I can be seen as the team’s worst enemy.

But I’m also here to help them to accomplish their work, so I’m also their best friend! My team is the best one, working on the best project ever!

Jerome Colette



Hello, my name is Jerome Colette; script writer on Red Steel. I am in charge of all the storyline including dialog and character design. Lately, I have been checking the voice casting to be sure the voices fit the characters.

More people to be introduced and more details to be revealed very soon!

Cheers,

Mary-Sol