As promised, prepare to feast on Unscripted 360′s interview with Atari and Eden Games on the soon to be released Xbox 360 title, Test Drive Unlimited.

The Players

Stephen Baer, Senior Project Manager, Atari
Ahmed Boukhelifa, Producer, Eden Games

The Interview

First I’d like to say thank you for taking a moment to answer the fans of Test Drive Unlimited with this interview.

Boukhelifa, Baer: Pleasure is all ours!

Tell us the job you hold and what it is you do as it pertains to Test Drive Unlimited.

Boukhelifa: I am the producer of Test Drive Unlimited at Eden and I oversee all of the daily operations for the title, as well as work closely as the liaison between Atari and Eden.

Baer: I am the senior product manager at Atari and am responsible for a number of things, namely keeping in communication with Eden about their progress on the title as well as overseeing much of the marketing done around the game like commercial spots, promotions and partnerships.

TDU is a very far stretch from previous versions in that none of them offered a persistent environment that Unlimited plans to do.  What was the idea behind offering what many consider a racing RPG of sorts?  Why Hawaii?

Baer: Why not?

Boukhelifa: We love racing games, and developing this title has been a dream come true. We’re all car fanatics and so when we sat down to brainstorm, all of the things that would make the ultimate game for us were included in the game. We wanted an unlimited driving arena, but there had to be a boundary somewhere – why not make it on an island with natural boundaries instead of cutting off a road at the edge of a city? Oahu is like a dream come true when you have an unlimited amount of cash and cars at your disposal. Perfect weather, beautiful people, gorgeous landscape, a plethora of roads – Oahu just had the most to offer for what we were looking for.

At the forefront of many fans’ interest is the recently announced price for North American customers.  Why $39.99 when TDU obviously offers so much more to justify the normal $59.99?

Baer: Atari’s goal moving forward is to deliver fun, quality games to fans. That doesn’t mean each game has to be priced astronomically high for next-gen. We felt that pricing this game at 39.99 was going to provide fans with a must-have racing title that they could enjoy.

Is there a reason the price didn’t filter to other countries?

Baer: The U.S. price reflects the U.S. Xbox360 market.  We have a significantly larger Xbox360 installed base and a much bigger Xbox Live Gold membership.  With that in mind, we want to get as many of these gamers into the Test Drive Unlimited world.  Having a great product gets us half way there.  But having a great product and an extra great price will help us go the extra few miles.

I’ve read an enormous amount of information on TDU.  The Marketplace component that is intended is very wide in its scope.  What can we expect as far as additional content and at what price should people expect to see this content being offered?

Baer: Well, we haven’t announced any particular price point, but our downloads will be a combination paid for and free content. You can expect additional car packs and tons of music to keep it exciting.

There were rumblings about a second demo being made available on the Xbox Live Marketplace before the game ships to retail.  Should we expect to see a demo before TDU hits stores?

Baer: There will be an announcement very soon.

With the online component being what it is (connected to other players constantly), are gamers continuously with the same people throughout online play or are the servers randomly populated?

Boukhelifa: You’ll be able to see a thousand other people online at any given time – that’s more than enough to play during one session! But you will be able to filter those people according to your preferences; the options are yours to control.

There are naturally differences with offline and online play.  What are the most glaring differences between the two modes?

Boukhelifa: A lot of the features for challenges are in both modes – the biggest difference is that you’re racing against A.I. in single player mode vs. real players online. The tasks you’ll set out to do are the same: hitchhikers, errands, deliveries, etc. Obviously online is geared toward the social aspect of building clubs, which you can’t do in singleplayer.

Police chases in the game have recently drawn some attention.  How will they play out?  Will they hold a significant meaning in the game?  Will you lose cars if hit with too many fines?

Boukhelifa: You won’t lose cars, but you’ll certainly go into debt if you get enough tickets. Your ticket price is determined by your driving record: the more tickets you have, the more you’ll get fined. Since money is the name of the game, you’ll not want to get caught.

Are there plans to increase the # of players (7 being what has been mentioned) available for players to communicate with at one time or is that # set?

Baer: For Test Drive Unlimited this number is set. But the last time I checked it was pretty hard to carry on a conversation with more than 7 people at once, at least for us.

How easy will it be to find your friends in TDU’s world online?

Boukhelifa: Very easy. You can “teleport” to any spot on the island if you’ve already been there, and if you’re communicating with your friends via Live, you can ask them where they are. If you’re a part of the same club, it’s as easy as going to the club.

Customization is also a big part of TDU.  How deep is the player and car customization?  Can we recreate our own likeness in the game?

Boukhelifa: It’s as involved or as uninvolved as you want it to be – again, the controls are yours. You can create your avatar to look just like you, or Magnum P.I., it’s up to you! You can adjust many of the facial features: ears, nose, etc. As far as cars go, you’ll be able to purchase performance upgrades for your car, or, depending on the brand, give it a custom paint job or purchase rims.

The car list recently became official.  How many of those will be available from the start to use online or off?

Boukhelifa: The DVD will ship with 90 cars on it.

Clubs.  Can you give us the breakdown on what a player will be able to do with this concept?

Boukhelifa: When you create a club, you’ll have to first to buy a clubhouse on the island – you are the one to name it and describe it.  For example: the Pink Lamborghini club or the Italian Car Club.  Then you can add members, up to sixteen, including a president.  Once you belong to a club, you’ll be able to act like a true club member: hang around with your pals at the clubhouse (and show off with your latest clothes).  You can jump directly into one of the dedicated Club challenges; race with fellow club members to outrank them in your intra-club ranking.  Go after other clubs and challenge them to make it to the top of the inter-club rankings and competitions.  It’s up to you what you want to do.

As a fan, what is the best thing about Test Drive Unlimited?

Boukhelifa: Go anywhere, do anything.

Baer: Drive baby, drive.

Thanks Stephen and Ahmed.  Good luck with TDU!  And a special thanks to Stephanie w/Tinsley-PR.