Interviewed by Ben
Rich Briggs, Product Manager for Panzer Dragoon

Rich Briggs: Were all really excited about the launch of Panzer Dragoon Orta next week. We have saved the best for last in many peoples opinions. With Panzer Drgoon orta we returned to the classic shooter roots but tried to blend what was great in the past games. It has the ability to morph your dragon into 3 forms which has a strategic affect on the game for whatever the situation calls for. The epic boss battles not only demand precision in firing but positioning to expose wing points, ect. There will be tons of unlockable features in the games which add more replay ability to the game.

One of the really exciting things in Panzer Dragoon Orta is that it uses the in-game engine very well. Its one of those games where you look at it and cant believe its moving on your screen.

Are parts of the enviroments fully destructable, the enviroments seems to be so detailed.

There are some parts which you can destroy, for example in the first level as your flying along there are search lights and little buildings, you can destroy the search lights and some of the buildings. But if your flying down the canyon wall you can't blow off the rocks on the side of it.

What kind of effects did you used to take advantage of the hardware?

This is probably the area where I am least skilled. The team have worked on past games such as Gun Valkyrie and Jet Set Radio Future and pushed the technology as far as they could on the Xbox.

In the beggining the team was debating weather or not to have downloadable levels and characters. Eventually they decided they were not going to include Live support.

The second reason is there is so much unlockable content in the game already we wouldnt really need to put downloadable content on Xbox Live. You have multiple riders, side quests, sub-missions, and the oppurtunity to play the game with different riders and costumes. Your really getting three times the content along with the game.

Why was the Japanese version released in december but the US version was held off until January even though it was in full english?

We made the decision to push the game back to january because we wanted to tweak the gameplay, we flushed out some levels, added a few more story details. Just tried to make it look complete. We wanted to make sure to have a comphrehensive experience with Panzer Dragoon Orta.

About the saturn version when developing this game, what was in mind? To create a new shooter similar to its previous saturn moods or to create a whole new game because from the demo it seemed pretty much like it was from the saturn perspective.

We defenitly went back to the original, in Panzer Life, according to the blueprint. But we wanted to include so much more that was in the original two Panzer games. We took it to the next step so you can morph your dragon on the fly. But we really wanted to re-introduce the series. But Since so many people didnt get to experience Panzer Dragoon we went back to the series roots.

Is there going to be any multiplayer options in the game?

No, Again, this is meant for the user to bond with Orta and the dragon. So its a single player experience.

Were there any features that you would like implement in the game but did not have time to add?

Actually, no. With the delay we accomplished just about anything we needed to do. Panzer Dragoon was already an amazing game, even if we released it in November. Now its an absolutly mine blowing game.

Can you layout the control scheme for us?

Basically the controls in your disposal is a button to fire, either shooting your laser or shoot your pulse cannon, in your hand. You have the ability to speed up and slow down, the speed attack is actually a melee attack. You also have the ability to change the dragon form to Heavy wing, Glide Wing, or Base Wing. Then you have the triggers which rotate the camera around your character, because you actually are going to be playing in a 360 degree theator of combat. Action is really happening to you on all sides. Enemies are sneaking up on you and shooting from above and below you. You can use the camera to find out where you are being attacked from. The heavy wing has a huge mounted laser, the base wing has just a laser that will obliverate everything on the screen, the glide wing has a series of mini dragons that go out and kill enemies and steal their life for yours.

What would be your favorite part of Panzer Dragoon, in your opinion?

I would have to say the story. Its such a magical world, and I get to go back to it again. It is a real treat. The fact that some of them are going their for the first time or going back to experience the world they have grown to love. The things you find out about the Panzer universe. And just the way that it all comes together, from the narration, the cut scenes, to the CG animations that are in the beggining, middle, and end of the game. You may rememeber from the E3 trailer we put out when the dragon is in the snow and Orta walks up to him and no word is spoken but just the amount of the emotion, I just almost teared up when I saw it.

In any of the enviroments are there any fog or rain effects?

In the first level there is rain that will hinder your character. In the snow your basically running in the ground, the powder of the snow is really nice. Theres a really nice lense flare going on there. Its not like the time is changing but its not like your in one place.

So in total how many different weapons and attacks can you use?

Actually there are huge amounts. As you are playing the game if you destroy a certain number of enemies they will release a gene which will power up your attack. Each one of the attacks have a different looks. Theres really a lot of battle techniques at your disposal.

How many levels are in the game?

There are a total of ten levels not including the unlockable side missions.

How many gameplay hours are there including the unlockables?

Wow. I mean if you want to talk about a seasoned player that knows what they are doing you are talking about 6 to 10 hours. But then if you started playing the original Panzer game thats about another full game itself, probably about 16 hours of gameplay in there.

What are the chances of seeing another Panzer Dragoon in the future?

Well, no one would love that more then me. The development team would love to work on one and have some ideas but it depends on how the public receives Panzer Dragoon Orta.

Is it likely that the game will be poured on any other consoles or will it be Xbox exclusive?

Its definetely Xbox exclusive for the near future. Anything can happen down the road but there are no plans for any other platform release of Panzer Dragoon Orta.