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Empire Bay takes strong inspiration in New York, but there is more city influence.
We definately didn't want to make a real city copy,
so it is a fictive city build up on interesting parts of American cities.
We stylized the city heavily because nobody would probably like to travel through the map
for an hour just to get some job,
so our "small" city has about 10 square kilometrs.
It's a compilation of a lot of different architectonic shapes and buildings.
We spend a few weeks in New York and Chicago to cover some material.
We tried to breeth in the atmosphere.
And I really hope you will feel the same one in the game.
We have over twenty different districts in the city.
For example: China Town, Midtown, Italian neighbourhood, Industrial neighbourhood, Blackmen neighbourhood etc...
Just over twenty of them.
As you drive the world is changing relatively fast, passing different building's types...
so you won't feel bored by stereotype place.
Another important aspect of the world and environment, is the weather or the atmosphere, that we try to achieve.
because the story beginning takes time during the end of the World War Two 0:01:51.761,0:02:04.680 we tried to help the depressive war atmosphere graphically, right color tone, weather etc...
and during the gameplay player discovers 50th, and the atmosphere changes.
You'll see summer city with more sunny days, more colors, newer cars,
also the character fashion moves on, so you'll see more of skirts ...
Everything becomes living.
Also the music and period stuff play its role in the change.
Including advertisement.
Such as military posters in the after-war part of story tempting you to be recruited.
All of these things works for the game.
The city and every location we have there is trying to bring you in the 50th, so you can be part of the era.
That's why all of those things have to work together, which I hope we have taken care of well.
So when you are playing, I think you have the possibility to take Empire Bay as a real living world, that you are familiar with, and can enjoy it.
I think the most important thing is when the player's able to live in the character and play his role, then he'll be able to really enjoy the game.
Now, we can take a look at some of the smaller locations.
We have planty of fastfoods and pubs you can use during the game.
But there are also more important locations like this Joe's flat.
I don't know if you've already had a character briefing and know who's Joe, so
Joe is the best buddy of Vito(the main character)
and offers him to stay in when Vito start to work in underworld
and don't have many skills and no money yet.
Unfortunately just on the couch, because this bed's reseved for Joe and his "friends".
And as you can see, at the beginning, the flat is not that great. It's just a common place that Joe can pay for.
After some time through the game, when both of our characters, Joe and Vito, get further into the Mafia,
Joe improves the place as you can see on the right screen.
Of course, you can't expect Joe has any taste, so it end like this.
But after all, all of these things we found are based on true places.
We studied the design of 50th and this is just an example of how some of them looked like and maybe still does.
So there is time progress in some of these locations.
Then there are bigger locations that you'll see in missions.
Where the main parts of the game take place, where you get and do jobs, shootouts etc.
We tryied to choose various and interesting interiors.
What you can see here on the left screen is a triad's restauration.
It's not just the restaurant. The gameplay continues into the rear area of the complex where you find an *** and other rooms of chinese mafia.
The very important thing is attention to datail again but also the destructible enviroment,
so when there's a shootout, the player has a feeling the environment reacts and is real.
We tried to create every object destroyable.
On the second monitor you can see another different location.
It's a modern, "modern" in 50th, hotel interior,
where you can see a glass wall smashable into parts,
which make the place be living and the player can enjoy it then more.
Then on the right you can see a federal bureau with a different type of gameplay than you've seen before.
It's more stealthy.
You have to sneak behind guards and steel some material.
You'll be able to try another different locations, such as a factory etc., in the prepared demos (for journalists).
We tried every place we created to be unique, so the player could enjoy through missions.