Dante’s Inferno hits the shops this week and EA’s PR machine is going in to overdrive and have confirmed that the game will be advertised during the Superbowl. These advertising slots are the most expensive in the world and are usually taken by blockbuster movies so it just shows how much money EA are willing to spend. IndustryGamers has an interview with Inferno Executive Producer, Jonathan Knight, which reveals some interesting news.
Firstly, there is no sequel in the works, “I’ve read the entire divine comedy and I’ve given it some thought, but there are no plans,” said Knight, but then revealed “We are working on expansions to Dante’s Inferno that will be coming out soon, like a prequel campaign that shows the dark forest and unveil.” Sounds like some Dante DLC to me.
Knight has the odd combination of a dual degree in theatre and programming, hence the rather odd choice of turning an ancient poem in to a game. He was asked if there were any other classics he would like to turn digital. “Macbeth the game is something I’ve been thinking about for years, but now, I think the emotional quality that games are achieving and the value level of the acting and the sound work makes it possible. The thing is, the unique quality of games is being interactive; it’s about action and killing things and pursuing those mechanics is tricky when bringing in classic media; Dante’s is more of a violent interpretation of the poem for example. Macbeth would be great, though; there are witches and a supernatural experience along with plenty of intrigue and murder.”
Next from Visceral will be the sequel to the space horror splatterhouse, Dead Space. “It’s moving into full production and the company is excited about it,” said Knight, “I’ve seen it internally, and it’s looking incredible. They have some great ideas – it’s still a space horror piece, but they’ve expanded upon the first game nicely.”
Unfortunately the interview ends with some sad news with Industry Gamers asking, “I heard at a certain point in the game when Dante’s descending through Hell, he passes Kratos and they high-five each other?” to which Knight replies,”Ha-ha. That would be awesome, but no, that’s not in there.”
