AS:   How different will the flow of the game be for a Decepticon player, compared to an Autobot player?

DS: In the console game you get to choose your alignment at the start of the game.  Are you a good and noble Autobot character or a wretched and evil Decepticon character?  The choice to destroy the earth or protect it is yours.  The storyline, game environments, missions and playable characters are different for the Autobot and Decepticon campaigns.  The Autobots’ campaign pretty much follows the storyline of the film.   The Decepticons’ campaign asks the question, “What if the Decepticons were able to win?” and lets you play it out that way.  You get to play the Decepticons and blow everything in your path to bits playing as Megatron, Starscream and a squad of other deadly Decepticons at your control. 

AS:   What's been the most exciting part of this game's development for you?

DS: Wow, that’s a tough one.  First and foremost I would say having Steven Spielberg and Michael Bay see and play the game.  Michael and his production team have been tremendous supporters for the game.  We’ve been to his studio, we’ve been on set and he’s  even crammed about 20 members of the production team into his avid editing room to show us about an hour worth of the film very early on to inspire us and really allow us to understand his vision for Transformers.   

AS:    Is the potential there for non-movie based games in the future, like a true G1/G2 game or a Beast Era game?

DS: Like I said before, Activision is committed to making Transformers: The Game and at this time we are concentrating our efforts on creating the best game we can. 

AS:  What have been some of the challenges in creating this game that you either hadn't anticipated or are unique to a Transformers game?

DS: What happens when a human is sitting in a Transformers character that’s in vehicle mode and it transforms?  This was in a piece of concept artwork that was given to us by Hasbro really early on in the process and it made me think, “What happens?” The point I’m trying to get at is that there are a lot of crazy things that can happen when you are dealing with robots that can turn into cars, planes, trucks, etc. I’d say that the transformations themselves were one of the most complex things we had to figure out.  Since it is a core feature for the game and we allow players to do it at any time, it needed to look spectacular.  Jez Pardon and Simon James, two of the animators at Traveller’s Tales, reviewed and re-reviewed all different kinds of ways to do it by looking at what ILM was doing and then capturing the essence of it and making it fun.  The results are awesome and definitely something that makes the game unique.

AS:   The Atari Transformers game gave fans hope that a good Transformers game could be made after so many previous disappointments.  With that said, what would you like to tell all the fans out there about your project?

DS: Transformers: The Game will deliver the deepest Transformers experience ever in a videogame.  The game’s unprecedented character line-up lets gamers experience the massive scale, sheer strength and wide range of abilities of all their favorite Transformers including Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Megatron, Starscream, Ironhide and many more.

The game delivers multiple new and unique features including the ability to transform at any time from vehicle to robot and vice-versa instantaneously.  This gives the player the freedom to transform between robot and vehicle forms and combat enemies on the ground as gigantic robots, in the skies as military planes and helicopters or as speeding automobiles and semi-trucks.  Additionally, the environments are interactive and destructible, so if you pick up a phone booth or lamppost and throw it at a building or Decepticon character – it will react by being destroyed and blowing off pieces of debris or getting knocked back to the ground.  It makes for some really dramatic in-game fight sequences. 

Lastly, we feel we’re delivering a game that is both for movie fans and the G1 fans.  This is a game based on Transformers: The Movie, but it’s not your traditional – see the movie / play the game.  The dual campaign option to play Autobots or Decepticons completely throws that concept out the window and gives die-hard Transformers fans one thing they’ve always wanted – to be bad.  With this game the choice is yours. 

Since the very beginning, we’ve been very conscious to integrate characters, locations and even subtle acknowledgements to G1 anywhere we can.  There are a lot of special surprises that we think the established fans will enjoy.  I really think there’s some unique elements and bonus features that will definitely get fans excited.

AS: And that's it folks! A big thank you to Daniel for your time and all the folks at Activision. Be sure to check back here for further exclusive news and updates!