Black promises "rock and roll" WWII FPS

Ex-Codemasters man Stuart Black has let slip a little more information about the "rock and roll" WWII shooter he's now working on for Sniper: Ghost Warrior studio, City Interactive.

In an interview with GameSpot, Black said, "We want to get away from the usual, reverential treatment. If I hear one more trumpet refrain over a somber front end or see another Thompson machine gun, I'm going to put my pad through the screen.

"We want to invoke the spirit of films like The Dirty Dozen, Where Eagles Dare, The Guns of Navarone, and a bit of Inglourious Basterds. One of my favourite war movies of all time is Peckinpah's Cross of Iron. The ending of that movie is genius, forced by necessity as it happens, but genius none the less.

"That's what we're after," he continues, "more rock and roll, spray and pray, slo-mo death, and glory, wrapped in a progressive metagame that you don't usually see in a shooter.

"We're opening a boutique design studio in Guildford to work on this and provide support or guidance to other projects in development."

His new employer isn't exactly known for its AAA output – its recent Sniper: Ghost Warrior shooter was tripe of the very highest order – but Black is confident he can help turn things around.

"In talking with City Interactive I was struck by their passion and commitment to gaming and, most importantly, their ability to look honestly at the successes and failings of their titles.

"I think it's plain to see, in their investment in CryEngine 3 and their desire to improve their design capacity, that they're serious in their commitment to gaming and improving the quality of their titles.

"The bottom line is, they care," he insisted. "I hope I can help them in raising the bar and be a part of making City Interactive a globally recognised hallmark of quality games."

Black also had a few choice words to say about his seemingly acrimonious departure from Codemasters, mid-way through development on over-the-top FPS Bodycount.

"I've never spoken about it and don't have a lot to say. An agreement was broken. No one really wanted to fix it. I decided to move on. The rest seems to be self-generating noise.

"My decision to leave Codemasters and Bodycount was the hardest choice of my career. However, it was clear that Codemasters were unable, or unwilling, to provide the support needed to realise the vision I had for Bodycount. Some of the marketing initiatives and trailers were not, in my opinion, doing justice for the game."

No release window has been announced for Black's first game for City yet, but it sounds like it might be a way off yet.

"We're right at the start of development, working on our narrative framing and core gameplay concepts," he explained.