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Neoseeker interviews Sefton Hill, director of Batman: Arkham Asylum

Written on Jul 30, 09 10:00 am | Musings/Thoughts Neoseeker Related Gaming Related 0 comments | Like +my favs | tags: comic-con batman arkham asylum interview

Comic-Con International was tiring, to be truthful, but I had fun. It was my first year, and despite having to some interviews solo, I saw a lot, learned a lot.

Anyway, the next thing I posted is a feature article. I transcribed the interview I did with Rocksteady game director, Sefton Hill, who is also director for Batman: Arkham Asylum. Yeah, sounds familiar, huh? The guy has a heavy accent, had some trouble transcribing it all manually, but it's there.

Some stuff he covers is character depth for both the villains and Batman himself, the possibility of exploring Bruce Wayne's psyche, and Arkham Asylum as more than just a setting. All in all, Hill promises this will be a true Batman experience that comic fans and gamers alike will enjoy.

quote
Neo: Can you detail a few ways the game stays true to the whole Batman experience? Fans are really into that.

SH: Yeah, I mean one of the great things were the license that we have. It's the comic book license, so it's 70 years of Batman history to draw on. So you know we have all the great characters in there; Joker is obviously the main antagonist in the game. We also have Harley Quinn in the game, for the first time, with her relationship with the Joker.

And I think one of the big things for the game that fans are really gonna enjoy is -- for us -- the main important thing is Batman's relationship with these villains you know. I think what defines Batman, and what makes him really interesting is he has this great array of supervillains. And that's so different to a lot other comic characters where the hero is so good, but they don't have this great array of villains who could all have their own games.

And it's that relationship which drives all of them, so the game essentially is about Batman's relationship with Joker, Batman's relationship with Harley, Harley's relationship with Joker -- how he treats her, mistreats her, abuses her, you know. I think what fans are really gonna enjoy is that it's not dumbed down. It's about what you like when you read the comics, what I like when I read the comics. It's about the characters; it's not just flat out buildings just for the sake of it! It's about these characters and how they interact. And I think that's what fans are going to enjoy most.

Full Q&A interview thing is here: Batman: Arkham Asylum director Q&A.