MyScience.ie

 

‘Mirror’s Edge’ is a revolutionary offering from DICE and EA Games that sets new standards in first-person movement and game world lighting, says Eoin O’Brien, the game’s Derry-born producer.

Speaking at a sneak preview of the much-anticipated –and soon-to-be-released– title in The Science Gallery on Wednesday, O’Brien revealed that the game started out as a typical first-person shooter, but soon morphed into something centered more around the realistic body movement of the main character, Faith. 

“Most first-person games focus on the gun. We focus on the body instead,” says O’Brien, a senior producer at the DICE studio in Stockholm.

More on this (and some cool video) after the turn.

Speaking of which, Faith “realistic body proportions” are quite deliberate, says O’Brien.

“We didn’t want her to look like she was designed by a 16 year old boy,” says O’Brien. (Any 16 year old boys in the audience care to disagree?)

In terms of the game mechanics, Mirror’s Edge definitely allows you to see more of your character’s body than you normally would in a first-person computer game. For example, when you jump, you can see your legs extend out in front of you, and when you grab onto something, your arms appear on-screen.

These renditions are not strictly accurate by real world standards, but they make for original gameplay.  This preview will give you a feel for the action:

 

 

You can perform innovative moves too, like turning around in mid-jump and shooting the people behind you –an urbanised version of the Parthian Shot, a military tactic developed by ancient Iranians. (O’Brien revealed that ‘Parthian Shot’ was almost the name of the game.)

Getting the character’s movement right was “a war of attrition over three years,” says O’Brien, who started out in chemical engineering, but ended up in EA’s marketing department before eventually becoming a producer at the company.

Mirror’s Edge was built using the Unreal Engine, but some major mods were carried out, especially to the in-game lighting.

“The Unreal Engine is great, but sometimes the light can look a little flat and unrealistic. So, we worked with a Swedish company to develop an in-game lighting engine called ‘The Beast,’” reveals O’Brien.   

And, finally, good news for those who don’t have a Playstation 2 yet –there’s a PC version coming soon. Watch this space for updates.