Volume (video game)
| Volume | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Mike Bithell |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, OS X, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita |
| Release date(s) |
|
| Genre(s) | Stealth game |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Distribution | Digital distribution |
Volume is an upcoming indie stealth-based video game developed by Mike Bithell, who previously developed the award-winning Thomas Was Alone.
Plot
Volume 's story is based on a modern take of the Robin Hood legend. Robert Locksley (voiced by YouTube celebrity Charlie McDonnell) is a petty thief that finds a device called "Volume", which allows the user to simulate heists that is part of a secret military coup attempt. The device has an artificial intelligence built into it (played by Danny Wallace, who also voiced the narrator in Thomas Was Alone) that acts as "the Microsoft Office paperclip as a military training program", according to Bithell,[1] and guides Robert on how to use the device. Robert decides to use the device to broadcast the simulations of high-profile crimes across the Internet in the same manner as Let's Play videos.[2] Locksley will be face off against Guy Gisborne, played by Andy Serkis, re-envisioned for the game as the CEO of a company that has taken over the country of England and runs the nation as a corporatocracy.[3][4]
Gameplay
Volume 's gameplay has been designed by Bithell similar to the stealth elements of the Metal Gear Solid series.[5] The game is presented in a top-down third-person view of the Volume simulation, showing a floor layout, Robert's avatar, and several guards and other antagonists that patrol the area. Several different variety of guards exist, each which have different patterns of movement and how they respond to seeing the player-character.[6] The goal is to sneak through the level without being spotted to complete various heists. The player is unable to kill these foes, but will have an arsenal of tools to distract them and avoid detection. A key element of the game is a level editor, allowing users to create their own simulated missions.
Development
Bithell's inspiration for Volume was directly from his earlier enjoyment of playing the Metal Gear games since a teenager. Though several other stealth games have come out since then, Bithell felt the newer games lost the "purity" of the stealth experience that Metal Gear provided.[5]
The user-generation aspects for Volume were inspired by The Document of Metal Gear Solid 2 that was on the Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance disc, during which Metal Gear ' game designer, Hideo Kojima, designed prototypes of levels in real-life using Lego bricks. Bithell designed the in-game level editor to work similar to Lego, allowing the player to snap-in predesigned elements onto new or existing levels, including the game's core levels. Bithell hopes that Volume will have an active user-community that will continue to evolve the game over many years, similar to that of Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines where the player community has continued to work on improving the game five years after release.[5][7]
Bithell expects that Volume will still have a limited budget, £30,000 compared to the £5,000 he needed for Thomas Was Alone, but the extra funding has been used to hire additional programming help and 3D modelers. David Housden, who composed the Thomas soundtrack, will also create the music for Volume.[5]
Bithell announced the game in August 2013, using a carefully managed approach to assure the news was widely disseminated on a specific day, promising further announcements on its voice cast and story at future gaming conventions.[8] Volume will be a timed exclusive for the PlayStation 4 and Vita platform sometime in 2015, with the Windows and OSX releases set a month later.[9][10]
Bithell had already worked with Danny Wallace from Thomas,[3] For the role of Gisborne, Bithell had listed Andy Serkis high on his list of desired actors. Serkis has responded positively to Bithell's script, and they were able to arrange for his voice acting between Serkis' busy schedule.[3] Bithell contends that Serkis brought "a great amount of gravitas" to the character to help flesh out the game.[3] With Serkis' involvement, Bithell changed the character of Gisborne to better suit Serkis' acting style, making the character more fiendish than an evil genius.[4]
References
- ↑ Kubba, Sinan (2013-10-25). "Thomas Was Alone narrator stars in Volume as military version of Clippy". Joystiq. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
- ↑ Yin-Poole, Wesley (2013-10-25). "Mike Bithell's Volume stars Danny Wallace and Youtuber Charlie McDonnell". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Kamen, Matt (2014-10-31). "Andy Serkis joins cast of indie game 'Volume'". Wired UK. Retrieved 2014-10-31.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Farokhmanesh, Megan (2013-03-13). "Andy Serkis brings out the thug in Volume's villain". Polygon. Retrieved 2015-03-13.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Yin-Poole, Wesley (2013-08-13). "Turn up the Volume: Mike Bithell switches gears for difficult second album". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
- ↑ Yin-Poole, Wesley (2015-01-12). "Listen to Andy Serkis play the bad guy in Mike Bithell's Volume". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2015-01-12.
- ↑ Lane, Rick (2013-07-10). "Reanimated: The story of Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
- ↑ Bithell, Mike (2013-08-21). "Making noise: How Thomas Was Alone creator Mike Bithell put Volume on so many gaming sites". Penny Arcade Reports. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
- ↑ Yin-Poole, Wesley (2013-08-20). "Thomas Was Alone dev's Volume a timed PS4 and Vita exclusive". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
- ↑ Crossly, Rob (2014-08-12). "Volume due for release on PS4 and Vita 'next year'". Computer and Video Games. Retrieved 2014-08-12.