Are you ready to burn in Hell?  No, not literally of course but instead with Visceral Games’ Dante’s Inferno.  I had a chance to work with EA again on an awesome Q&A session covering Dante’s Inferno with Executive Producer, Jonathan Knight.  I tried to get in some really good questions because this game is high on my “must play” list.  I’m itching to experience all the different Circles of Hell and layeth the smack down on candy ass demons!

Dante’s Inferno is based on what many feel is one of the greatest works of world literature and one of its most controversial. What were the reasons behind developing a game based on Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy?

[JK] Dante Alighieri had a vision of the medieval Hell that was very specific and vivid, and he describes it in incredible detail. No one has given more thought to what Hell would be like, if it were actually a real, physical place, than Dante. Artists, sculptors, writers, and filmmakers throughout the centuries have translated what he wrote into their various mediums, and we felt that it was time that a proper video game does the same. Clearly we are taking liberties with the characters and the story, but the underlying setting—including the characters and monsters—is true to Dante’s vision of the medieval afterlife.

Games based on things (movies, books, comics) seem to be the most difficult to develop. How have you handled the challenge of making Dante’s Inferno one of the ones that succeed?

[JK] We’ve been faithful to Dante where it made sense, and we’ve changed and adapted where needed, to fit the medium. Fortunately material like Dante, Shakespeare, etc., gives you this flexibility. We knew we wanted to build on Dante’s uniquely described setting and locations, so we dove into the poem, did the research, broke down the elements, and designed our levels to fit into his structure and geography. With the characters, we sort of took the essence of who they are, how they have been traditionally represented in paintings, and then tweaked them from there. The story of Dante, our hero, and what happens to him and his lover Beatrice, was more challenging. We had to layer an all new story on top of the existing (and very thin) narrative of the poem, in order to provide the necessary conflict & drama that’s needed for an action game. And I think the results are pretty compelling.

Is there any concern that people will only pay attention to the source material and lose sight of the actual game developed behind it?

[JK] No, this is a game first and foremost. It’s a really fun and exciting action game, very accessible, but also with layers of complexity and four difficulty settings. The story is a powerful driving force that will keep people engaged. And there are a lot of elements that are pulled directly from the source material (the dialogs with the damned, Virgil’s commentaries, etc.) that people can choose to experience or not. Obviously there’s not a lot of combat in the original poem, so that part of the experience is going to be unique to the game, and it’s certainly a big part of the game, and it’s what we want people focused on.

Can you talk about the engine being used to develop Dante’s Inferno?

[JK] Dante’s Inferno is being developed on Visceral Games’ proprietary engine, the same engine that was used to build Dead Space. For Dante’s Inferno, we’ve locked the frame rate at 60fps, which is a big and important technology leap for the game, and one that I think gamers are going to really appreciate when they pick up and play it.

What are some of the things that make Dante’s Inferno a solid 3rd person adventure that gamers should enjoy?

[JK] The combat is fluid, fast, and responsive, with tons of variety in the moves, combos, specials, magic’s, and so forth. It always runs at 60 fps, as mentioned, and there is a tremendous variety and depth to the level design. It’s hard to demonstrate at the moment, since we’ve shown so little of the game, but I can promise that all 9 circles of hell will be unique, with fresh puzzles, navigational challenges, platforming, combat arenas, vistas, sub-bosses, bosses, story elements, and so forth. The game will never get boring or repetitive, and in some ways that’s what we’re most excited about.

Can you talk about some of the features?

[JK] Dante fights with a giant scythe he takes from Death at the start of the game. He also has a holy cross (a gift from his lover Beatrice), which becomes endowed with holy powers. One feature we’re really thrilled to be delivering is what we call “Righteousness”. It’s a system that works its way through various systems in the game, including the occasional damned soul that you have to punish or absolve, as well as other fast-paced combat choices you have to make. In general terms, we’re going to give the player the choice to either punish or absolve lots of souls, minions, and demons alike, and those choices over time affect Dante’s growing abilities.

For the rest of the interview and to finish your stay in Hell, click here and hurry before you find yourself burning.