The Space Marines of Warhammer 40k are an iconic part of the universe. They are known for their might and their unwavering loyalty to the Imperium. When the first Space Marine game came out and brought these superhuman warriors to life, the attention to detail was admirable.
That’s why the team behind Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 has enlisted the expertise of Jez Goodwin, the original creator of Space Marine 1. Saber Interactive wants the movement mechanics of Space Marines in the upcoming sequel to be as close to the lore as possible.
Saber’s Approach to Designing The Space Marines and Jez Goodwin’s Role
Oliver Hollis-Leick, the Creative Director of Space Marine 2, recently talked to GameReactor in an interview. He revealed some details about the attention to detail they implemented in their approach to designing the Space Marines in Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2.
The design process for Space Marines involved close collaboration with Games Workshop and Jez Goodwin. Hollis-Leick talks about bringin on Jez Goodwin.
So, when we very first began creating the game, we met with Games Workshop, sort of introduced us to a guy called Jez Goodwin, who is the creator of the Space Marine. And he’s a great guy, and he brought along this black notebook, and he opened it up, and there are all these sketches of his in there.
According to Hollis-Leick, the team was looking for a sort of “Goldilocks zone” while finding the perfect balance for the Space Marine movement. He noted that Goodwin’s sketches of the Space Marines’ armor and movements were a key part of this effort.
The team at Saber wanted to make sure that the movement for the Space Marines felt just right with finding the balance in their speed and weight. This desire for attention to detail led to months of testing.
So, we took that information, took our model, our rigged model of a Space Marine, and then started to do animation tests to find out where the best borderline was for each of these things. Like, what’s not too fast, not too slow, but just right. What’s kind of not too light, but not too heavy. Like, we were finding the Goldilocks zone of Space Marine movement over there.
The team also used motion capture was used for the cinematics, with actors wearing NFL football pads to restrict their movement, to replicate the limited range of motion of the Space Marine armor. This attention to detail extends to every aspect of the game, from the punchiness of the guns to the weight of the weapons and armor.
Space Marine 2‘s Multiplayer Might Be Its Biggest Strength
In the interview, Hollis-Leick also gave some ideas as to the kind of multiplayer features that the game would have. According to him, the game will have a new PvE operations mode, beyond the traditional PvP multiplayer.
Yes, sure. So, the good thing about Space Marine is every single mode is multiplayer.
So, you have the co-op campaign, which can be played solo or with up to three players.
Then you have the PvE operations mode, which is, again, three-player co-op, but it’s more like an extension of the story.
This new mode lets players experience a new and unique connection to the game’s narrative by playing out missions as different co-op squads with friends, following the orders issued by Titus, the game’s protagonist.
Space Marine 2‘s multiplayer modes offer different experiences to players including the co-op campaign, which can be played solo or with up to three players. The PvE operations mode, in particular, lets players see the battlefield from different perspectives and experience the chaos of war in a more immersive way.
The involvement of Jez Goodwin in Space Marine 2 highlights the commitment of the development team to delivering an authentic Warhammer 40k experience. With Jez Goodwin’s expertise guiding the design of the Space Marines’ movements and abilities, players can expect a game that stays true to the Warhammer 40K lore while delivering an excellent experience in terms of gameplay.
