Rory McGuire, Darkwatch Designer

One of the most anticipated Xbox® games casts you in the role of an agent of a secret society charged with protecting mankind. During this adventure, you blow zombie cowboys to pieces, hunt down an ancient vampire lord, and wreak havoc across a haunted Wild West environment. We sat down with one of the game designers for some inside information about this cool new title.

Xbox.com: We're here with Darkwatch™ game designer Rory McGuire from High Moon Studios. This unique game combines elements of several game and story genres. How do you classify the game, and what separates it from other Westerns and/or "survival horror" games?

Rory McGuire: Darkwatch is a vampire Western first-person shooter (FPS). Every Western icon is present, but it's twisted, rotting, and clawing its way out of the ground. Gunfights in cow towns with rowdy bandits become duels with cadres of undead gunslingers. Stepping into a brothel means dealing with the banshee denizens, who don't want your money but your eternal soul. Fending off angry natives turns into fighting whole tribes of locals consumed by vampirism.

Darkwatch combines weaponry and vampire powers, so the gameplay is also an intuitive blending of genres. With abilities such the as a leaping double "Vampire Jump," heavy emphasis on melee that's unique to each weapon, and acquired "area of effect" vampire superpowers, you have a very unique arsenal of attacks for a FPS. For instance, a group of enemies hiding behind cover are in for a surprise as you leap through the air onto a nearby building, run along a series of rooftops, drop behind the dug-in foes, and then tear them asunder in close combat.

Xbox.com: Tell us a little about Jericho, and what makes him a unique hero. How do his vampirism powers work? What is his ultimate goal?

McGuire: Jericho Cross is a train robber lining up his final score before heading south to Mexico when he picks the wrong train, inadvertently releases a vampire lord, and gets himself bitten for his troubles. This is all established in the first sequence of the game, so you quickly acquire powerful Darkwatch weapons and Jericho's vampire powers. You find out how to leap high into the air, regenerate the Blood Cloak shield, and learn darker powers fueled by the souls of your enemies.

Depending on the good or evil decisions you make, Jericho acquires good or evil superpowers. All the powers use the blood of the dead, Blood Clouds that Jericho absorbs from fallen enemies. Jericho's attacks vary: he drives himself into a vampire frenzy to become temporarily invulnerable, turns the undead against each other, inspires fear in his enemies, or just lays waste to everyone in sight by reaching out and stealing their souls.

He needs all of these powers to pursue his goal-kill the creature that bit him, the vampire lord Lazarus. Killing Lazarus lets Jericho reacquire his soul or become a vampire lord himself.

Xbox.com: Every cowboy hero needs a good horse. How have vehicles and mounts been incorporated into the game, and how will they work in multiplayer?

McGuire: The horse is a staple of Westerns, even the vampire Western. We put a lot of thought and energy in creating Jericho's horse, Shadow, and the environments he rides through. Jericho isn't just riding some pony; Shadow is an undead horse fit for his vampire master, and he can take a mean beating just like Jericho can. Jericho uses Shadow to fend off undead riders, chase down a train and jump on board, and even fight bosses from horseback. While using Shadow, you maneuver fluidly, dodging back and forth as you speed up or slow down to catch a nearby foe.

Jericho also discovers the Darkwatch organization's experimental Coyote Steam Wagon, a steam-powered Gatling gun-mounted vehicle. The Coyote mows through enemies faster than any other weapon in your arsenal. It's also available in multiplayer, where you use it to tear through foes, run flags, and escort teammates.

Xbox.com: Speaking of multiplayer, how big can we expectDarkwatch battles to get on Xbox Live®? What multiplayer options are built into the game, online or offline?

McGuire: Darkwatch supports up to 16 players via XboxLive. You use the full arsenal of Darkwatchweaponry for Capture the Flag, Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, and team or free-for-all variations of a unique game mode called Soulhunter where opposing teams or players gather Blood Clouds. There are 16 unique maps spanning across various locations, such as a snowed-in pass, a dangerous cliff side, and a rundown cow town. In addition, there are also eight daylight variants, which minimize vampire powers. The offline option offers four-player split-screen multiplayer, with the same modes and maps available.

Xbox.com: How important will melee combat be in the game, and will that emphasis change over the course of the single player game as Jericho himself changes?

McGuire: Melee combat is an integral part of theDarkwatch experience. The undead cowboys charge like frenzied maniacs. The Darkwatch have adapted to this by mounting blades (or, in the case of the Rail Rocket launcher, a hammer head) on the hilts of their weapons to make for improvised melee weapons. Jericho puts these blades to good use, lopping off undead heads and limbs alike. Jericho also interacts with objects in the environment, such as knocking a TNT keg toward a charging enemy.

Xbox.com: The title refers to a secret evil-fighting organization in the game-how much can you tell us about the Darkwatch, and their role in Jericho's story? What secondary characters will help or hinder his progress?

McGuire: The Darkwatch are as ancient as Western Civilization; their formation began with the fall of Rome, and they've been fighting a shadow war with the undead for nearly two millennia. After Jericho is bitten by the vampire lord, he doesn't have much choice but to seek them out, and he inevitably ends up joining them.

In the Darkwatch organization, Jericho fights next to Cassidy Sharpe, a cowgirl turned vampire hunter; Tala, a Native American woman hunting vampires after her tribe was slain by them; General Clay Cartwright, the grizzled leader of the Darkwatch; plus countless Regulators who are the shock-troopers of the militant organization.

Xbox.com: Tell us about the guns. What sort of weapons does Jericho wield, and how are they upgraded or enhanced throughout the game?

McGuire: Fighting the undead is not for the faint of heart, and the Darkwatch were forced to evolve or die. This evolution came in the form of technology, and the Darkwatchare far ahead of anyone else in terms of armament. TheDarkwatch have fully automatic machine guns, rocket launchers, and pistols that qualify more as submachine guns than Peacemakers. Each weapon has its role in hunting the undead: the Range Rifle pops a zombie's head at a few hundred yards, while the Crossbow rapidly fires sticky explosive rounds up close.

The real joy isn't just the weaponry; it's what you do with it. Enemies in Darkwatch feature full location damage and Havok physics. This means when an undead gunslinger comes at you, blow his arm off and his pistol with it. While he recoils in pain, blast his head clean off, then shoot it on the ground afterwards. This is much more than just set dressing, because enemies are intelligent about reacting to damage. For instance, a character using a two handed weapon draws a knife and comes at you in melee combat after losing his arm.

Xbox.com: What about the Western and horror genres appealed most to the designers? What was the genesis of the idea that became Darkwatch?

McGuire: While always a Western, Darkwatch went through many incarnations before it became the game that it is now. Initially, it began as a comedic platformer with a much different Jericho character. As time went on, we realized that a darker take on the Western genre was not only unique, but allowed us to create the visuals and gameplay that we wanted. From there, the Darkwatch, a gritty secret society hunting the undead, was born.

Our current style enabled us to create crazy environments that haven't been seen before, as well as the distinctive characters and weaponry that populate them.

Xbox.com: Darkwatch has had more than one home over the last couple of years. Could you tell us a little of that development history, and how High Moon and Capcom got together to bring us the game?

McGuire: Darkwatch started as the first-ever U.S. internal development project for the Sammy Corporation, which was eager to expand its videogame business in North America. Originally, our team worked as a subsidiary of the company under the name Sammy Studios. When Sammy acquired SEGA®, less focus was directed toward U.S. development.

As part of an amicable agreement, the merged company SEGA-Sammy divested itself of this studio, allowing us to establish ourselves as an independent company and obtain the rights to all of our original intellectual property, including Darkwatch. Hence, High Moon Studios was born and we announced the new company prior to this past Game Developer's Conference. We had spoken to several publishers and felt that Capcom was the perfect choice for us. Capcom has an impressive lineup of games like Resident Evil and Devil May Cry, so Darkwatch seemed to fit naturally alongside their renowned properties. We are definitely both excited to be working together on this project.

Xbox.com: Have you any plans to take the Darkwatchuniverse onto Xbox 360™? What, if any, Xbox 360 titles are High Moon working on?

McGuire: We have yet to announce our next title, but all I can tell you is that our studio is working exclusively on the next generation platform. Keep your eyes peeled in the coming months!