Following years of support work on combat games including Mortal Kombat Armageddon and UFC 2009, LA-based developer Kung Fu Factory says it’s ready to step into the spotlight.
This year or next it will release MMA Supremacy, a new rival to THQ’s UFC franchise and EA Sports’ upcoming mixed martial arts one. We spoke to creative director Ricci Rukavina and executive producer Daryl Pitts to find out how they plan to gain a competitive edge over their big name rivals.
Kung Fu Factory isn’t a household name. How long has it been around how many people are there at the studio?
Pitts: Kung Fu Factory is about eight years old. You might have heard of us under our old name which was Just Games Interactive. We’ve worked on franchises like Mortal Kombat and UFC, doing fighting games for the entire time but we’ve typically been in a support role, and so this new game we’re announcing is going to be our chance to step into the spotlight and we’re really happy to do that. We have around 30 people at the studio.
What other experience does your team have?
Rukavina: The team has a lot of experience in this genre. Daryl produced the very first UFC game way back for Crave and we have members that have worked on combat for The Warriors and Bully. Of course, our team has been involved in the likes of Mortal Kombat [Armageddon] and UFC 2009 Undisputed. All of that knowledge has culminated in a lot of experience with mixed martial arts in general and a love of it too. It’s something that everybody’s into and loves to do and it’s our thing as a studio.
You’re working on a new MMA game. Can you sum up what it’s all about?
Rukavina: We’ve recognised that it’s a pretty interesting market because there aren’t a lot of these types of games out there, it’s really just UFC 2009 and now UFC 2010, so there’s a great opportunity for a team that has the experience and the passion to get into the space. For us, we knew exactly what we wanted to do, which was [to move] away from the simulation of the sport, which is what you can watch on TV or play in games right now. We want to offer more fast action and be much truer to how the sport actually originated over here back in the day and recognise the history of this no-holds-barred fighting. So we’re definitely going out there fists ready with a more brutal take on mixed martial arts and also showing a really big appreciation for the mixture of fighting styles.
What’s the title called, which platforms will it release on and when?
Rukavina: It’s called Supremacy MMA and it’s coming out for PS3 and Xbox 360. We don’t want to talk too much about a release timeframe just yet.
What can you tell us about the technology being used to build the game?
Pitts: Our engine is called the Million Monkeys Engine and our core technology has been in development for many years, since the PS2 days. It allows us to apply animations and combat techniques very quickly and efficiently and there’s a lot of work that’s gone into helping with blending values and physics to make the characters move very realistically, so we have a lot of proprietary techniques that make the animations look very realistic and the combat very brutal.
I wasn’t aware that someone other than Yuke’s had been developing UFC 2009. Could you explain what Kung Fu Factory’s contributed to the game?
Rukavina: We worked on the game, provided a bunch of support and we were credited on it.
Pitts: We can’t really go into too many details because of our agreement with THQ, but I can say that it was one of the most challenging projects we’ve ever worked on as a company. We spent many late nights with the team at Yuke’s and we created thousands of animations, especially to help their ground game and their clinch game come to life, and that’s about the extent that we can talk about that. I can’t go into more detail except to say that we provided lots and lots of animation support for that project.
You’re going up against a critically and commercially successful franchise in UFC Undisputed, and another MMA game which is due out later this year from sports king EA. How do you expect to compete?
Rukavina: Number one, it will come down to the gameplay, and it’s about what we’re going to put in versus what we’re going to leave out. We have a really good vision for how we’re going to get into a market that some very big players are in. Obviously we’re not EA and we’re not THQ, but to a certain extent we’re not going to compete, we’re going to do our own thing and be really different. Our take on the game is going to be much more brutal and truer to the spirit of mixed martial arts. A lot of it will come down to the actual gameplay, the animations and the style in which we present everything. As well as combat and martial arts fans, we’re targeting people that love games in general, as well as those that love unique presentation.
Can you elaborate and give us some example of what’s going to be unique or different visually and gameplay wise?
Rukavina: Based on a wide range of influences, we're taking a more cinematic approach visually as opposed to a television broadcast simulation. Our approach to gameplay is concentrating on skills over statistics which should reinforce fast, fun and intuitive play.
Three MMA games releasing within one year seems like a lot. Is the marketplace too small to support all of them?
Rukavina: There are lots of first person shooters out there and lots of RPGs out there and other genres have proved that people tend to migrate to what’s new and refreshing, so I think there’s certainly room.
Pitts: We also think we have the experience and the expertise to compete. We’re certainly coming from an underdog position, but we love that, and we know that we have to have something a little bit special which separates us from other games that rely on big production values. Audiences want choice and change, rather than developers just taking an engine from another game and retooling it, or releasing slightly updated games.
505 Games is going to be publishing the game. What was attractive about signing with 505 and what will it bring to the table?
Rukavina: What was attractive to us was getting a partner that was really going to dedicate themselves to this game and this franchise, versus going with another publisher that has too many titles to concentrate on. They’ve got great distribution in Europe and a great footing in the States and they, above anyone we spoke with, were really able to give us everything that we needed and wanted in terms of making sure we could make the game we wanted to.