>> Hey, everyone! Daniel Kayser here at E3 2019,
inside the Bandai Namco booth. I'm joined now by Stephen
to talk all about Code Vein. Stephen, tell us about
the game's showing at E3 this year.
>>Stephen: It's been really great. We've been working
on this game for quite some time. I, myself, have been
working on it for about three years, so being able to
announce a release date, being able to have a new playable
out on the show floor, it's been really amazing, all the positive
reception that we've been getting from the public.
It's been awesome.
>>Daniel: The game's gorgeous, it has compelling gameplay as well.
Who are you designing this game for?
>>Stephen: It's being made for everyone. We want it to be
accessible, so thinking about players that are perhaps
more spectators within that action RPG genre,
ones that like to watch it on Twitch, following people
on YouTube. The ones that maybe feel like those games
are beautiful, they're cool, but it's a little too difficult for
them, we want to make sure that it has all that challenge but
it has all the different levers they can pull to be able to
overcome those challenges.
>>Daniel: Here on the floor, people are getting a taste
of the gameplay. Tell us about the demo that people are
getting hands-on with here at E3.
>>Stephen: We've added in a lot more Gifts, a couple new
Blood Codes for people to try, which are like your
character class. Unlike regular action RPGs, usually you pick
your class and have to stick to it and people say,
you need to get good at your character or else
you might need to start over with a different class.
Code Vein has a lot of accessibility, where
if you hit a wall, you can always change up your class
at any time, you can mix and match your Gifts or
they're kind of your spells. Lots of different tactics
people can have to overcome all of the challenges
that are within the game.
>>Daniel: Anytime you launch a new IP like Code Vein,
there's an opportunity to reach a new audience or
tap into an existing one. Who do you think are the fans
of Code Vein that you're looking for?
>>Stephen: A lot of different people that we're looking at
and again, thinking about that access, I think about a lot of
the very difficult games that have come out in recent years
and I have a lot of friends that have been like, "Yo, this game,
I really loved the world setting, I loved the idea of it,
but I got to a certain point and I couldn't pass it anymore."
This game still has all that difficulty but because there's
all these other ways that people can overcome them,
whether by themselves or with someone else,
I feel like it's opening it up to a lot of people that are
maybe more in the spectating space of the action RPGs
and being able to let them jump in and create their own character
and experience it for themselves first hand.
>>Daniel: Well it helps that the game is gorgeous and will
draw a lot of eyeballs, so talk a bit about the art style
there and the team's attempt to deliver this colorful yet
also very dangerous looking world.
>>Stephen: It all takes place in a near future, post-apocalyptic
setting. You can see the Gothic industrial motif that you
can have with a traditional vampiric nuances that would be
in the game. Being able to use Unreal in the game has helped
us a lot in being able to really be impactful
with that visual identity, which everyone across the world
has been very positive especially with our
character creator. When we had our network test,
people were spending hours on it, creating all these beautiful
characters. And with the lighting and different particle
effects that Unreal is able to bring to the game,
it makes it even more impactful.
>>Daniel: Visually speaking, hopefully that is doing well
with the team. Were there any other reasons why
Unreal Engine was a good fit for this project?
>>Stephen: It's a connected dungeon experience,
so definitely thinking about how Unreal Engine 4 is able
to really help with that depth of field, with any sort of
corridors or enclosed spaces.
That's definitely been super helpful, but I think when you
see any of the video clips we've had, there's a lot of different
elements, like the light shading of the blood that's
coming out of enemies, or the clash of a sword against
a shield and seeing all the sparks that are flying.
It wouldn't be possible without Unreal Engine.
>>Daniel: Very exciting here at E3, you announced the
release date. Tell everybody about that and where they
can go to learn more about the game online.
>>Stephen: The game is coming out on September 27, 2019
and if people want more information, definitely
follow us on our social channels, @BandaiNamcoUS
or you can check out our game page at
bandainamcoent.com.
>>Daniel: We appreciate your time here at E3. Enjoy the rest
of your show. For the latest on all things Unreal Engine,
we'll see you online at unrealengine.com.