Q&A w/ Epic: GI

[MuGen]

Originally Posted by Game Informer

Our guys at GISpy were lucky enough to get a chance to pull Mark Rein of Epic Games away from his most busy schedule. We got a Question & Answer sessions with the VP of Epic and we got some intriguing information.

GI: We just got done viewing the technical demos shown at the Sony Press Conference, and it was outstanding... can you tell me a little more about the demos shown?

Mark Rein: The demo's were using the Unreal Engine 3 which will be utilized in the Next-gen Playstation. Unfortunately I cannot say that will be the final product as it was running on Alpha development kits from Playstation 3.

GI: So you assume the graphics would turn out better then shown?

Mark Rein: We certainly hope so, the Playstation 3's cell chip allows for so many calculations per second and we are able to utilize a large number of A.I. algorithms at once. Once we get deep into the Cell architecture we'll be able to do so much more with the Unreal Engine.

GI: What can you say are the differences between developing for PS2 then developing for PS3?

Mark Rein: Everything.....

GI: In what sense?

Mark Rein: The PS2's emotion engine had our developers learning a new language of programming to begin development on a game. The PS3 uses OpenGL which we've been working with for decades, and the Cell architecture is accessible using C++ which is already a widely known programming language.

GI: A question on a lot of people's minds, the Killzone gameplay footage... is it real or not?

Mark Rein: Well, you'd have to ask Gorilla Studios that kind of question, but I know for a fact that this demo was running on an alpha prototype of PS3, so if you think Killzone 2 looked good, it'll look even better on the final hardware.

GI: Your opinion, which console is more powerful, Xbox 360 or Playstation 3?

Mark Rein: Well, I believe that everyone can look at the numbers and say that both consoles are identical. One thing editors and fans alike don't understand in the inner working and the architecture of the console that makes the punch more severe or dramatically weaker. The Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3 are almost like twins, but one is more talented then the other. The Cell processor allows us to do so much more with our programming and that's where the 3.2GHz identical clock speed meets it's maker. Both consoles can be looked at as equal in power, but the Cell chip has made all the more difference.

GI: What is your view on the Playstation 2's showing opposed to what actually came out?

Mark Rein: Well, the demo's shown for PS2 were actually running on PS2 hardware. But it was pre-rendered and developers were given months to work on them. But what we see in the PS2 now, it's just lazy work for PS2, and their hatred for the Emotion Engine language.

GI: What do you think the future is for Playstation 3?

Mark Rein: Things can only get better from here. All the developers we've been speaking already love the architecture and the language PS3 is using, and they can't wait to utilize the cell chip further. What you saw in the press conference, would only be 1/2 of PS3's power. The errors in PS2 will paid in full with the showing of the final PS3 product.

GI: Editors all over, including some of ours doubt the authenticity of the showing of the PS3 at the press conference, can you comment on that?

Mark Rein: Until the editors develop a game, I really cannot comment further on what they believe... they believe what they will.

I just got GameInformer in the mail today, and this was a piece of interesting info. That GameStop card really comes in handy sometimes.