Command & Conquer: Generals 2 IGN Interview

[Sonic 296]

IGN has posted one of the first interviews with Command & Conquer: Generals 2 executive producer Jon Van Caneghem and BioWare co-founder Dr. Ray Muzyka. The interview covers many of the important questions about Generals 2 that maybe on the fans mind right now. Here's two of them.

 

IGN: It's been quite a while since the Generals offshoot of Command & Conquer has been in the spotlight. Why now, and why Generals in particular if the goal was to again tap into the C&C brand?

 

Jon Van Caneghem: We looked at each of the different universes in the franchise and thought a return to Generals was long overdue. The original game is actually the best-selling game in the series and its one our community has been asking for. And when we took a closer look, we were really attracted to the near future time period and the themes we could explore and the project went from there.

 

IGN: How does Generals 2 differ from what fans remember of the first one? Does it still involve the traditional RTS mechanics of base building and army management?

 

Jon Van Caneghem: One of our main goals is to bring C&C back to the roots that have made it one of the most popular and beloved properties in the strategy genre and that revolves around the core gameplay. The player is the General and it's up to them to create and take control of these huge, massive armies. We're definitely bringing some new elements to the table as well, but it's very important for us to bring C&C back to its foundation and that's through action-packed gameplay that also requires you to be cerebral.

 

Click here to read more from this interview.

[Malevolence 6]

We're focusing equal efforts on both single player and multiplayer. You definitely need both to be competitive in the genre. On the single player side, we're building a campaign that allows you to experience this new war from multiple perspectives.

That was something I was awaiting to hear, and hope they keep up to the promise that they put the same amount of effort of both types of gameplay. It's good that the devs know the importance of single player campaigns that defined the essence of what Command & Conquer truly is.

[ApornasPlanet 9]

we were really attracted to the near future time period and the themes we could explore and the project went from there.

Makes me mad! They could have explored the near future with a reboot of the tiberian series as well. Tiberian Dawn featured alot of modern day technology mixed with some futuristic tech. The tiberian universe is much more interesting than a whole new generic near sci-fi future.

 

Heck the game could even be called Generals: Tiberian Dawn and be a mix of the two games. I mean Nod is a terrorist organisation quite close to GLA and before GDI was formed nations would have played a bigger role.

[Plok 327]

Yes, yes we heard that already. But imagine that they actually had experimented with the Tiberium Universe. This is far less risky

[Nmenth 291]

They already did experiment with the Tiberian universe, and it gave us Tiberian Twilight.

[Plok 327]

They already did experiment with the Tiberian universe, and it gave us Tiberian Twilight.

We were talking of VG, not EALA.

[Nmenth 291]

Ok, that is true... but experimentation with an established franchise is still a bad idea with so much potential for failure.

[TheBlackOut 7]

We have three factions in the game, the GLA, the EU and one more we aren't revealing – yet!

Only part that really caught my eye. Very interesting. With a third faction being a must and no USA or China listed, makes me wonder what they're planning.

[Nmenth 291]

With a third faction being a must and no USA or China listed, makes me wonder what they're planning.

My friend suggests it is a China-American convergence, a la Firefly.

[Guest Rabbit]

Considering games like this loosely follow up-to-date events, I seriously doubt China and America will be allied. I could see one or the other, but not both.

 

Here's my idea of all possible countries that, in my opinion, shouldn't be used.

Russia: Could be potential enemies of the EU and GLA, a-la WWII and Cold War, but I seriously doubt they'd use communists in this game, due to the overuse of Russia in the Red Alert series.

Japan: Could also be a random factor, but again, just done with RA3.

America: Again with a storyline with two allied groups and one enemy? I doubt it.

 

Here's my idea of countries that could be used:

China: It's possible. Expected, but possible. I could see China being a return country, as it had a lot of interest with Generals.

South America: Sure, it's the other side of the world, but when have we other seen any South American countries, ever? EVER? Naw I'm just kidding it won't be South America. They're always left out and it wouldn't fit this story... at least... I don't think.

 

In all honesty, for the strangest reason, I suspect the involved country will be asian. My guess? Korea. It's current, it's relevant (in a weird way), and it would be an interesting story. Only question would be... Which one?

[Doctor Destiny 41]

I hope it's the fourth faction that never made it into Generals: the African Warlords.

[Guest Rabbit]

I was thinking about that too, about Africa in general. In my honest opinion, I just don't see EA going in that direction, for two reasons.

 

1. Both Africans and Terrorists would be the underdogs. In military context, they're both underfunded factions relying on pulling together whatever they can. The African worker and the GLA worker would be synonymous.

 

2. I can't fathom a storyline that combines Africa with the typical middle-eastern terrorist, nor can I see a war between Africa and the European union. Europe pretty much own Africa these days, not legally or officially, but every country down there is a child of a country up top.

 

 

My only reason for suggesting the third faction being an asian country is because, well, for some reason, it seems to work. China, Japan, Korea... all these places have the economy of a large and powerful country, while still having the lesser-developed technology of an emerging one. It's simple politics, and as much as I'd hate to see it sink to that, I feel it's the expected third faction.

[Doctor Destiny 41]

I don't see Korea. There was just a game with them as the main enemy so I don't see it. It could just be two factions for the core game for all we know.

[Inferno 22]

To be honest, if it were China, why would they be so mysterious about it? I'm guessing it's Russia.