Feb 5, 2008
A new developer over at the official Army of Two. You can now bling out your gun in Army or Two. Go guns playing with a gold platted assault rifle. Check out the details below.
Hey there AO2 fans. You may already know me as Matt Mcdopeblog from the developer blogs but today I am just Matt from Production. I am sitting with Danny from Design and we are going to tell you guys a little bit about our weapons customization feature in AO2…because it’s awesome.
We have put a new spin on weapons customization. In most other games that have an option like ours, the player can simply buy whole new guns. We took that idea and ran with it. Not only can you buy new guns but you can upgrade every individual part of each gun to fit the way you like to fight. You can upgrade everything from the barrel, the stock, the grip, the cartridge and every feature will not only change the look of the weapon but also change the way it plays in-game.
When we set out to design this feature we really wanted to create an in game economy. As the players are mercenaries and are rewarded for their successes with cold, hard cash, we needed to provide a place where the players could spend their spoils. And “since it would make no sense to buy cars or hookers in a game about mercenaries” (quote, Danny from Design) we decided to go with weapons. We ended up creating a feature that was not only useful and new but also just plain fun to mess around with.
You build your bank-roll by completing as many objectives and sub-objectives as possible. On top of that there are exploratory items that are scattered throughout the maps which yield bonus cash. The more money you make, the more you will be able to upgrade your guns. Upgrading them will quite simply make them better; more accurate, powerful, less recoil and attract more or less aggro (depending on how you like it).
There are 3 main categories of weapons: Primary, Secondary and Special. The primary category is mostly comprised of machine guns. They are the guns that you will use most often in combat and are the best all ’rounders in the game. The secondary guns range from hand guns to Sub machine guns. These are more for when you want to attract less attention or you are low on ammo for your primary and need to conserve. Special weapons are sniper rifles and RPGs (rocket propelled grenades). These are high powered weapons with limited ammo that are best used in long range situations and specific circumstances.
As the design began to take shape and we were making the final selections of the arsenal that the players would be able choose from we thought that the fans out there might have some pretty nifty ideas of their own regarding weapons they might want to use. So we held an open weapon design competition. We received TONS of amazing entries and were really impressed with the creativity and depth of design. It was hard to pick the winners but in the end we were able to single out two designs that were truly different and original and we put them in the game. You’re welcome San Diego .
We had a lot of fun creating the weapons customization feature and it didn’t stop at the functional things. Inspired by real life pictures and shows like “Pimp My Ride” we made a “Pimp My Gun’ feature. When you drop the cool 10 G’s it costs, your gun is plated in gold and/or silver and encrusted in diamonds. Not only is it super-dope but it will also increase how much aggro you pull as the enemies get annoyed by the sheer audacity of a guy with a gold gun. So beware.
You have so much choice that you can really tailor your arsenal to the way you like to fight. You can fight a more close quarter’s style of combat with the selection of shotguns, you can go full heavy weapons and mow down enemies or you can go stealthy sniper if you so choose. It makes for a lot of fun and gives the game another level of replayabilty. All this is to say that we are really proud of this feature and we think that you guys will like it. Keep your head on a swivel and don’t forget that the more bullets you have in your clip, the less time you waste reloading. Thanks for reading!
-Matt from Production and Danny from Design
Be on the lookout for new info up until launch on this title from EA every Army of Tuesday!
Tags: , army of two, developer diary, EA, gold platted, Playstation 3, playstation network, Xbox, Xbox live