Editor's note: Intrepid interviewer Toby Davis is back with another edition of The Toby Davis Interview! -Demian
Just Cause 2 is about base jumping off a tower, hijacking a helicopter on the way down, bailing out, popping your magic parachute to skim underneath a bridge, and landing on a speedboat. It's also about the island of Panau, a dictator, some government conspiracy thing and a nuclear sub — I'm a little hazy on that part. But it definitely has a story, and one of the guys who wrote the story for developer Avalanche (along with Neil Richards and Matt Costello) is Odd Ahlgren. We talked!
Toby Davis: How did you get the “nod” to write this sequel and what kind of direction did you have?
TD: How long did the writing process take, and did you draw inspiration from your own experiences?
OA: The story was written in a few weeks, but changes were made throughout the entire development process. As always, a writer draws inspiration from personal experiences…but Just Cause 2 has a midget dictator, a flying bordello, atomic submarines, and ninjas. I can't speak for Matt and Neil, but my experiences with those things are limited. However, it has guns and booze, too, which to me are very familiar things.
TD: How does writing a game story compare to other forms of narrative writing?
OA: It is similar to writing screenplays in a way, but less linear. Old-timers have told me that it is very similar to writing “interactive novels” or solo adventures, which were all the rage in the 80s. However, creating each characters arc, however simplified and cartoony, is similar to when writing a regular novel. We are conveying stories, sure, but in a medium younger than books and film, so we are learning new stuff every day.
TD: Since this is an action-sandbox game with all kinds of crazy stuff happening all over the island, did you have any input from pro stuntmen? How did you combine the stunts with the story?
OA: Actually, the stunts happen everywhere and at any time, so they are not part of the actual story line, but rather just a gameplay feature. We didn't have any professional stuntmen in the studio to learn from, and that is probably good, because they would have told us that what we were doing for this crazy game is physically impossible, which would have made the game less fun to play. We are firm believers that Just Cause 2 provides a welcome break from the old, boring concept of gravity.
TD: After you drafted the story, how closely did you work with the rest of the development team to convey that story?
OA: Not [closely] enough. This is something we are getting better at. It is crucial that everybody working on the project has a clear vision about what we are trying to convey story-wise, tech-wise, design-wise, and sound-wise. Our work methods have evolved quite a lot while working on JC2. We have learned that everyone needs to be in the loop at all times, or misunderstandings and indifference will ruin the work. Everyone needs to get dirty with representatives from all disciplines.
TD: Now that the game is done, how do you feel about the way the story turned out? What one thing do you wish you could add, or wish you didn't have to cut?
OA: The story could have been better if we knew then what we know now. There are no cutting corners, really, and we've learned this the hard way. There are, of course, many things I would have wanted to keep that didn't make it to the final cut. But maybe that section about the piranha tanks in that deadly monster truck gladiator arena wasn't meant to be.