Indiana Jones 2007 Preview

By Kristan Reed Published 22 May, 2006

Euphoric.

It's the same every year at E3 in that almost all the really interesting, groundbreaking games are tucked away in appointment-only booths away from the sweat, noise and fuss of the show floor. It's not difficult to understand why, either. However glitzy and glamorous the event might look from afar, the reality is that the E3 show floor is not exactly the ideal place to experience a videogame for the first time. Small wonder, then, that LucasArts continues to conduct its show appointments in a quiet, sane area of the vast convention centre where it's possible to observe an early Indiana Jones tech demo without someone coughing up nachos in your face.

With a noticeably reduced product line-up being shown off this year, LucasArts elected to focus much of its efforts on giving a select number of attendees an early glimpse of the cunning 'Euphoria' technology (a behavioural simulation engine from NaturalMotion) that's underpinning its next Indiana Jones title. For the first time in, oooh, ages, the company is returning to in-house development, and the various presentations exuded a justifiable confidence in what it's trying to achieve with a groundbreaking tech display. Essentially it's a nifty way of taking ragdoll tech to the next level by making it appear as if characters are reacting to their 'Hot Set' (as they've termed it) environment in a dynamic, believable and unscripted fashion.

Careful where you stand

'Indiana Jones 2007' Screenshot 30s

They did like their hats in the '30s.

For example, one part of the demo shows Indy stood on a typically rickety rope bridge that the LucasArts rep could move around via the joypad and cause rocks to fall onto. With no control over Indy himself, the purpose of the demo was to illustrate that none of the character movements we saw were scripted or animated in the traditional sense. If the rope bridge was wobbled slightly, Indy would counterbalance himself to compensate. With a bit more momentum Indy responded instinctively, planting his feet convincingly, bracing himself for a fall, staggering around using his arms to steady himself and eventually grabbing desperately onto the edge of the bridge itself once he was finally tipped over. Falling rocks are always a hazard in Indiana Jones adventures, so it was also fun to see The Man With The Hat reacting to a deluge of falling debris. Starting with mere pebbles, Indy was merely startled, but then the LucasArts rep began to up the ante with progressively larger chunks of rock that had poor Indy knocked asunder and crushed.

On an adjacent pod, another LucasArts staffer was busy showing off another two demos which gave more of a gameplay context to the Euphoria system. Like a scene lifted straight out of one of the classic movies, we were treated to a sequence in San Francisco's Chinatown (circa 1939) where Indy is slugging it out in a back alley against a posse of goons. Giving us a glimpse of his mastery of the whip, we see Indy not only manage to disarm a gun-toting thug, but then yank him onto the floor by pulling his leg out from underneath him.

With chaos kicking off all around, this rather excellent demonstration of a fight scene showed Indy reacting to blows convincingly, with enemies doing the same - for example grabbing hold of scenery items like car bumpers to steady themselves when off-balance. Certain scenery items give you the opportunity to test the theory, such as a fireworks stand that can be set ablaze to destroy a rickety platform nearby. Anyone standing on it won't just fall to their death in typical ragdoll fashion, but actively try to cling on for a few seconds before their inevitable doom. Admittedly, this tech progression could just be written off as Ragdoll 2.0, but has big potential in a gameplay context when you or your enemies manage to drag themselves back from the brink of death. Better still, replaying the same sequence never produces the same results twice, so, at the very least Euphoria has the potential to make the gameplay feel a little more organic than we're used to.

Cracking

'Indiana Jones 2007' Screenshot nofair

Three against one? No fair!

In the other gameplay demo we see Indy once again in San Francisco, but this time on the top of moving trams, fighting off another posse of violent madmen while they hurtle down the steep hills. As you might imagine, the Euphoria system allows LucasArts to create sequences where everyone reacts convincingly to their environment. Enemies climb aboard the trams realistically, balance precariously and react to the impact of Indy's punches in a convincing fashion, reeling back and instinctively grabbing whatever they can as they fall. The LucasArts rep seemed particularly delighted to show us how winceworthy the impact is when enemies fall to the ground, or get battered by the trams following in pursuit.

Right now details on the actual storyline and setting are scarce to say the least, with LucasArts barely revealing more than it was written with direction from George Lucas himself, is set in 1939 (one year after the events of the Last Crusade) and will be a "mystery of biblical proportions" that takes in "the world's most sacred grounds" as he searches for ancient artefacts spanning the globe. We're told to expect "thrilling chase sequences" that "remain true to the spirit of motorcade in Raiders of the Lost Ark, the mine-cart scene in The Temple of Doom, and the free-for-all aboard the tank in The Last Crusade".

Scraping the barrel for details, we can also expect to encounter some of Indy's "most hated long-time rivals," as well as some of his buddies and allies that we'll be familiar with from the series. The chances are that the game will actually arrive before the long-awaited fourth movie, but we wouldn't be foolish enough to take anything for granted when it comes to next-gen game development schedules. Provisionally, though, LucasArts has planned the game for release sometime around summer next year, so we shouldn't have to wait too long before we get a closer look at this promising sounding action adventure.

Indiana Jones 2007 (working title) is due for release next year on PS3 and Xbox 360. An externally developed version of the game will also be released for PS2, PSP and DS.

Picture of Kristan.

About Kristan Reed

Kristan is a former editor of Eurogamer, dad, Stone Roses bore and Norwich City supporter who sometimes mutters optimistically about Team Silent getting back together.

Read more articles from Kristan by visiting the Kristan Reed archive page.

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Comments (27) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • paulioo #1 6 years ago

    Playstation 3 is doooooooomed.

    Bill Gates to rule the world!!

    p.s 1st !!

  • Talha #2 6 years ago

    This is a copy of Super Mario Sunshine!!! Shame on you!!!

  • coojam #3 6 years ago

    Hmm, seeing as Indy drinks from the Holy Grail at the end of the third film, does that mean he is invincible in this game?

  • Kurai #4 6 years ago

    Sheesh..did you even watch that film? As the Knight states 'The power of the Grail only lasts as far as the temples seal, beyond that you become 'mortal' again...so no.

  • asphaltcowboy #5 6 years ago

    Hope they can pull it off!

    (tiny spelling mistake: "written of as Ragdoll 2.0";)

  • I_Have_The_Power #6 6 years ago

    damn you kurai - you got there first.. :)

  • Have_to_Speak_Up #7 6 years ago

    "LucasArts continues to conduct its show appointments in a quiet, sane area of the vast convention centre"

    Jealous :(

  • Kazzahdrane #8 6 years ago

    Dammit, I'm a huge Indiana Jones fan but I can't see myself buying a 360 or PS3 any time soon. Of course the last couple of Indy games haven't been blockbusters so I'd wait for reviews anyway. Good luck to them though, Lucasarts certainly need to make some more non-Star Wars games!

  • morriss #9 6 years ago

    Sounds good. Still a long way to go however.

  • Darren #10 6 years ago

    Euphoria sounds very impressive. I've often wondered when we'd see games that move away from the artificial pre-scripted movements of current games to more organic natural looking ones. Imagine if the technology could be adapted for sports games to make player movements appear more natural?

    What platform were the Indiana Jones 2007 tech demos running on by the way... PC, Xbox 360 or PS3?

  • coojam #11 6 years ago

    :S my bad!

  • krudster #12 6 years ago

    I'm not completely sure. The bridge demo was using a dual shock, so probably PS3.

  • Lukus #13 6 years ago

    So if the game is set a year after the last film, does that mean the forthcoming film is too? If so how are they gonna account for Harrison Ford looking about 15 years older? I guess they could blame it on him drinking from the holy grail or somet.
    Edited by 1 at 22/05/06 @ 13:20

  • Darren #14 6 years ago

    "So if the game is set a year after the last film, does that mean the forthcoming film is too? If so how are they gonna account for Harrison Ford looking about 15 years older? I guess they could blame it on him drinking from the holy grail or somet."

    LOL
    Edited by 1 at 22/05/06 @ 13:25

  • The-Bodybuilder #15 6 years ago

    Why does all this matter? According the miyamoto, more powerful consoles only lead to better graphics and not any gameplay elements.
    What this game needs is a wiimote.

    Actually, come to think of it, certain parts of the game could work with the wiiwand.

    /imagines uses the wiiwand as a whip.

  • Kurai #16 6 years ago

    ":S my bad!"


    I should think so too! ;)

  • megastar #17 6 years ago

    RaggDoll Fighting Pfffft

    They should just make a fighting game based on the 'Raggy Dolls'

    "Raggy Dolls, Raggy Dolls, Dolls like you and me"

    (hopes he's not the only one that remembers the raggy dolls)


  • #18 6 years ago

    I saw a tech demo of the euphoria thing and they were doing american footbal-esq moves (double tackles etc). Looked good, but the ball ALWAYS got dislodged.
    Can't remember the site, sorry.

    Still if this new animation tuff works, it could really make giant strides for the gaming industry. GRAW (1p mode) limits the movement somewhat to enable smooth more natural animation. Oblivion puts you in 1st person mode for a reason - some of the animations suck. Etc Etc.

    It seems we are at a stage now where we can build incredibly realistic game worlds to move around in, but the movement has almost always looked unnatural - thus destroying the believability of the world. Having your character 'twitch' around the place and noticably being able to see the transitions in the animations (with a glitch or stutter) just kills the believability and thus to an extent the immersion.
    So if they can really pull this off, I'm really excited about the prospects.

  • Zerimski #19 6 years ago

    I saw the video for this on GameTrailers last week, and I wasn't too impressed with the the ragdolls. Especially in the demonstration of the mentioned fireworks stand. Instead of it looking like the NPCs were clinging on for dear life, it just looked like the ragdolls were glitching and their hands had got caught in the scenery.

  • MrWonderstuff #20 6 years ago

    Hope a PC version appears.

  • Bitkari #21 6 years ago

    make it more monkey island and less tomb raider please.

  • 3william56 #22 6 years ago

    Yep. Wouldn't want Indiana Jones raiding trap infested tombs. Totally out of character...

    Oh... wait...

    If this means that they are using some Next Gen power for something other than graphics, stroll on. Sounds great in theory. But then you go and spoil it by saying George "Can't Direct for Toffee" Lucas was directing it. Arse.

  • Luigi #23 6 years ago

    No Wii version... damn you LucasArts.

  • SeesThroughAll #24 6 years ago

    No Wii version... damn you LucasArts.

    Playing with a Wiip... that sounds like a lot of fun... shame...

  • Freek #25 6 years ago

    Yeah, but the holy grails power only works inside the tempel, wich they accidentaly destroy at the end of the movie....Oh I'm sorry did I just ruin the ending? ;)
    Edited by 2 at 23/05/06 @ 00:02

  • #26 6 years ago

    I thought stephen speilberg directed the indy films.... checks imdb..... yup, he directed all three. Lucas only produced them. Another wonderfully accurate post by 3william56.
    And Lucas CAN'T direct for toffee. Have you seen any of the new Star Wars films? Godawful!
    Arse.

  • Lacero #27 6 years ago

    The two knights who went home died of extreme old age, didn't they leave the temple immediately after drinking from the grail?