The Godfather The Game

There's a growing trend in gaming today to reach into the massive archives of Hollywood film classics to re-introduce established film franchises to an older gaming audience (and also introduce a whole new, younger audience to the properties for the first time). Films like Jaws, Scarface, Dirty Harry, and The Godfather are all heading to Xbox®, and, in some cases, Xbox 360™, as game companies tap into new licensing opportunities through vintage Hollywood.

The Godfather™ The Game is the first new game adventure made from a famous classic movie. While last fall's The Warriors was also a remake, that cult film (although translated well to the game world) does not carry the Oscar weight of The Godfather franchise. Electronic Arts spared no expense with its new gangster epic, which brings an open world of 1940s New York City to life.

"We have multiple options with the next Godfather game.
We can go back in time to the 1920s; we can move forward
to the 1950s. There are a ton of places we can go."

David DeMartini, executive producer of The Godfather The Game, spent more than three years developing the game. A team of more than 100 worked on the epic crime story, which puts the player front and center in a new take on the classic film.

"The Godfather was adapted to draw from the book and the first film and to carve out a new space in the interactive realm," says DeMartini. "We've recreated the universe and turned it upside down. It's the player's path through The Godfather world. It's a personal experience that players will be able to connect with on an emotional basis."

The Godfather is heading to Xbox 360 with new features.

An Offer You Can't Refuse
To connect the film world with the game world, Electronic Arts turned to best-selling author Mark Winegardner (The Godfather Returns) to write the game's dialogue and work on the original story. DeMartini says EA tried to get every significant actor from the film to come aboard.

"We have 20 of the original actors and five of the featured actors providing new performances for the game. This allowed the team to tie back to the original source material.

"Authenticity is the key," says DeMartini, "James Caan and Robert Duvall were there when the original Godfather movie was filmed, and there is no substitute for that. Along with Marlon Brando, they are some of the most respected actors in Hollywood and bring tremendous star power to The Godfather game."

The integration of actors like Caan and Duvall into the gameplay does add to the weight of the license. Throughout the game, the player is challenged to balance consigliore Tom Hagen's negotiation skills with Sonny Corleone's intimidation techniques.

Brando gave his final performance in this game and his voice carries weight. The cast of the game helps make up for the fact that the central character of Michael Corleone is absent, as Al Pacino decided to work with Vivendi Universal Games on Scarface™: The World Is Yours .

Marlon Brando gave his final performance in this game.

Music plays an important role in The Godfather films, so for the game, EA licensed the original musical score from Nina Rota and then hired Oscar-winning film composer Bill Conti to produce an original 100-minute musical score exclusively for the game. DeMartini says the two scores blend seamlessly within the game.

During the long development of the game at EA's Redwood Shores studio, DeMartini says that The Godfather movie was constantly running in a loop in the central development area so that programmers, artists,and other members of the team could catch the film whenever they wanted to.

"Artists spent hundreds of hours breaking down the film from costumes and set design to the actors' performances," says DeMartini. "We sent a team to New York City to photograph landmarks for the game. We also spent time in the Paramount archives looking over assets and materials from The Godfather film as well as films from the 1940s time period."

The Xbox 360 Godfather game sports improved visuals.

A Classic Revival
DeMartini says that with classic Hollywood games, the success or failure of each project will be judged on a case-by-case scenario. He says a great game will bring vibrant characters from film fiction to life and touch the player. If a game publisher doesn't do due diligence with a classic Hollywood film, some games will fail.

EA's plans are to further expand The Godfather franchise with additional sequels. Next up is the Xbox 360 Godfather game, which brings an enhanced visual representation of the film universe as well as some new gameplay elements.

"We have multiple options with the next Godfather game," says DeMartini. "We can go back in time to the 1920s; we can move forward to the 1950s. There are a ton of places we can go with this franchise."

DeMartini added that EA has created the first installment and they'll continue to push each other with more drama and emotion with subsequent games.

Article by John Gaudiosi

• Official Web site.