Quantum Break is an upcoming Xbox One exclusive by Remedy Entertainment, the same developing
teakm behind the Alan Wake and Max Payne series. Welcome to the SKILLED channel and today we're
looking at this unique story driven game. Recently, its release date has been delayed
a second time, so it is now scheduled to come out around April 5th, 2016 instead of later
this year. Hopefully, this will give the developers ample time to make any last tweaks and changes
to how the game looks and plays. The first delay in its release proved to be a very good
thing, as the latest footage of the game in 2015 definitely shows improvement over what
was shown at E3 and Gamescom 2014. Quantum Break is being called a cinematic,
third-person action game, but it�s far more than that. It is a revolutionary breakthrough
in how we play games. It's a hybrid of different media formats. Sam Lake, the creative director
behind the game, explains it like this, �Quantum Break is the fusion of a cinematic action
game and a top-of-the-line, live-action show. The game is about heroes; the show is about
villains.� In other words, Remedy Entertainment is filming a TV show alongside their game.
The actions you take in-game affect how the next episode of the show plays out, and key
information from the show will help you make the best choices in the game. It is a tactic
never attempted before, and it�s a huge step forward from the disastrous attempts
of FMV games of the 90s. Both the charack.ters in-game and the actors
in the live-action segments are one and the same. A star-studded cast and a high production
budget will mean that the voice acting will be superb, and the show�s production value
will be equal to that of HBO or Netflix Originals. In the words of Matias Myllyrinne, the CEO
of Remedy, �Many have tried trans-media, and very few have pulled it off. I think it�s
up to us to prove that it can be done well.� Not only do the game�s characters have the
likeness of their actor and actress counterparts, but Remedy is implementing the latest in digital
animation technology to give the characters realistic movements and facial expressions.
Oskari Hakkinen, head of the franchise development, had this to say about it, �The thing that
excites me the most about the next-gen Xbox is bringing characters to life; making them
more than just cardboard cutouts. It�s probably the most important thing to nail down in a
story-driven experience.� Latest game footage proves that Remedy Entertainment is capable
of doing just that. The game�s release and the show�s first
four episodes at around twenty-two minutes each are being labeled as season one of Quantum
Break. Season two is already being planned, and it�s proof that this is Remedy�s most
ambitious title yet. Even Sam Lake thinks so. He has stated, �We are taking things
that are familiar from other mediums�from movies and books�but have never been experienced
in interactive form. We are transporting the audience and the players into this world.
They can be an active part of it. In the game, your choices define your director�s cut
of the show.� Having well-known actors is key to immersing
the player in the story beyond just the action and plot. Shawn Ashmore is playing the main
protagonist, Jack Joyce. He is probably best known for his role as Iceman in the X-Men
movies. Joining him are Aiden Gillen from Game of Thrones as the main antagonist, Paul
Serene, Dominic Monaghan from Lord of the Rings as Jack�s brother, William Joyce,
and Courtney Hope, who has worked on several crime drama shows like CSI and Criminal Minds.
She will be playing as Jack�s love interest, Beth Wilder. There will be other recognizable
stars making appearances in the show as well, including Lance Reddick from The Wire and
Marshall Scot Allman from Prison Break and True Blood.
The fusing of game with TV show makes a difference for the actors as well. In an interview, Shawn
Ashmore explained, �What was really cool is that I�d seen the design�the art design�of
the Monarch uniforms, of what some of these sets were gonna look like, and I�d been
working on the game for quite some time before I shot the show. So then for me to step into
the set and actually see the realized set that has been built based on sort of the artwork
that was created and what we�ve been imaging for months on end was really, really incredible.
I�ve seen this office, I�ve seen this cell, I�ve seen this scenario in a digital
space. And now to step into it and be able to interact is really cool.�
In Quantum Break, a time experiment has gone wrong, leaving several in-game characters
with super powers all based around concepts of manipulating time. Paul Serene, founder
of the corporation Monarch Solutions, travels through time via a time machine and comes
back seventeen years older and with a psychotic plan in mind. He kills Jack�s brother and
pursues Jack for the rest of the game. In-game time stutters are events caused by the breaking
down of time itself. The trailer showcased the time stutter game mechanic very well.
Violent, unpredictable, and beautifully glitchy, the time stutter events add platforming and
puzzle elements to the game as well as an unprecedented visual experience not seen even
in movies. �A modern blockbuster movie,� Sam Lake stated, �can show you a huge scene
of destruction with all its glorious details. Now, in Quantum Break, we can do better. We
can transport you into a moment like that.� Time may freeze, but Jack Joyce doesn�t.
In the trailer and gameplay footage shown at Gamescom 2015, Jack casually walks through
debris and explosions frozen mid-air. It�s an incredible sight, especially when a time
stutter event glitches out the environment and loops various acts of destruction repeatedly
right in front of your eyes. You as the player are given the standard third-person
action tactics, including hiding behind cover and running and gunning. But you also have
an arsenal of time-based powers that allow you to do incredible, superhero-like exploits,
including stopping time to circle around enemies, freezing bullets and then releasing them for
maximum damage, and releasing people and objects from time stutter events and using them to
your advantage against the Monarch soldiers. Sam Lake excitedly commented on these abilities,
�All time powers are easy and fun to learn in the beginning, and we are adding more power
and more depth into the mix as the challenge grows. You have to use your time powers to
survive, and you have to use them in a different way from how you use them in combat.�
To handle the intense amount of physics involved in the time stutters and time manipulation
mechanics of the game, Remedy Entertainment had to make their own game engine called Northlight
Engine. The game looks incredibly gorgeous, and the time stutter events are delightfully
unpredictable and hostile. The plot and time mechanics in the game were all checked for
approval by a scientist who worked at CERN in order to make a game that is as compatible
as possible with theoretical physics the way scientists understand it today.
Quantum Break looks superb and revolutionary. The excitement expressed by both developers
and actors is infectious. This is a hybrid gaming experience any die-hard gamer won�t
want to miss.
What are your thoughts on Quantum Break? Does it bring a whole new level to story driven
games or is it something that you are just going to pass on? Let us know in the comments.
And subscribe to the SKILLED channel for more coverage on Quantum Break and other cool games.