MARVEL’S AVENGERS
Shaun Escayg on writing Crystal Dynamics’ take on the Avengers
MY APPROACH WAS FINDING THE TRUE STRUGGLES OF EACH CHARACTER.
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Shaun Escayg is no stranger to adding a pinch of the cinematic to videogames. After all, his portfolio features the likes of Uncharted and The Last Of Us. And the developer of Marvel’s Avengers is aiming for the game, just like the MCU before it, to play host to many heroic adventures to come.
What drew Escayg to join the team as creative director and writer, taking on the task of building a story worthy of the comic book mega-franchise? As soon as we ask, seated in a corner of Virgin Media’s big, decadent superpowered event (where fans can get hands-on with
Marvel’s Avengers) we both burst into laughter. The answer is obvious. “I couldn’t say no. I was like, I walked in, they showed me Hulk, and I was sold,” he says. “The Avengers, I mean, Marvel, all of it, I was pretty drawn to. I’m a huge fan. So when the opportunity came up I jumped on it.” He had a lot to bring the table, and helped to build an Avengers world that feels fresh, and you can feel invested in. “When I got on it was still pretty early, they had sort of a framework, and my approach was finding the true struggles of each character, and how that pushes the story along, how that affects their ability to play, how that affects their ability to evolve,” says Escayg. After all, development is not just about making up a story, but building an immersive world you’ll want to explore over the course of many hours, and go on many adventures with your friends in.
A-STAR
We enjoy playing through the A-Day demo, the prologue mission where we get a taster of Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, Black Widow, and Captain America on the day it all goes wrong – leading to Cap’s death, the disbanding of the team, and the outlawing of superhero abilities as AIM takes over. “We knew that we wanted the heroes at the height of their game and then see them fall, and the moment they lost Cap there was this vacuum, the Avengers disband, they’re broken, all struggling with their guilt,” says Escayg.
But it’s when we get hands-on with Kamala ‘Ms. Marvel’ Khan that
everything comes together. And there’s a reason for that. Beyond merely feeling excellent to play as (the game has a robust combat system that’s endlessly enjoyable), Ms. Marvel’s youthful enthusiasm is a joy to behold as she singlehandedly begins to draw the Avengers back together and gets them to examine AIM’s conduct.
“We knew we needed a hero that possessed certain qualities, one that obviously was a fan of The Avengers in their prime even as they were disbanded, still a fan, still a true fan, still believed in them, like us fans do,” says Escayg. “Besides being just a polymorph, I think her superpower, her main superpower, is hope and unwavering belief in these heroes, even when they don’t believe in themselves. And that sort of genuine love and respect for what they do indirectly knights them, and also they grow from her, even though they’re the ones trying to teach her how to control her power.”
GREAT POWER
In being a fan herself, Kamala is the perfect protagonist to usher us into this new Avengers world. We’ve something in common with her. “We are ourselves fans, right? And watching that world through that lens is very interesting. Particularly in this story, and [in] the Phil Sheldon relationship you see that perspective,” says Escayg, hinting at the inclusion of the photojournalist character from the 1990s limitedrun comic series. Perhaps he’ll team up with Kamala as she investigates how the superhero team were framed for the A-Day disaster? “[You have the perspective of] the fan. ‘These guys can do no wrong.’ And then you see sort of the sceptic. ‘Well, I don’t know. I don’t know. Are they heroes? I don’t know if they’re heroes. I wouldn’t call them heroes. They’re destroying everything around us.’ So you have those sort of conflicts.” One thing we’re not conflicted on? Suiting up ourselves come May 2020.
Are you on the Avengers’ side or do you agree with AIM? Let us know @OPM_UK