What you need to know
- Machine Games is building Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, an upcoming action-adventure based on the popular Lucas Film franchise.
- Set in 1937, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle once again follows Indiana on a journey to prevent the Nazi regime from acquiring supernatural powers.
- In an exclusive interview with Windows Central, Creative Director Axel Torvenius spoke about the game’s performance targets on Xbox, as well as how the project came about.
As a tech enthusiast with a soft spot for classic gaming franchises, I must admit that Indiana Jones and the Great Circle has me genuinely excited. Having grown up with the original Indiana Jones trilogy, the prospect of exploring a new adventure within the same universe is truly thrilling.
Xbox’s Indiana Jones and the Great Circle could potentially counter PlayStation’s Spider-man, providing Xbox Game Pass subscribers with a recognizable hero they can identify with. In my preview of Indiana Jones, I highlighted how Machine Games skillfully blends traditional franchise elements with contemporary gameplay concepts, resulting in an experience that is distinctively Indiana Jones yet offers the enjoyment and interactivity you’d anticipate from gaming.
HANDS-ON PREVIEW: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle might represent the future of the Indiana franchise
During an interview with Creative Director Axel Torvenius, we gained some insight into what players might encounter in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, along with the objectives the studio aims to achieve on the Xbox Series X|S gaming systems.
How Indiana Jones and the Great Circle materialized
Everything kicked off when our long-standing friend, Todd Howard, who is quite fond of Indiana Jones, came up with a concept for an Indiana Jones game based on the Great Circle legend some time ago. He managed to present this idea to LucasFilm Games, and they showed great interest right away. Subsequently, Todd Howard felt that we would make the perfect collaborators for this project, so he approached us about it.
The Great Circle is this idea that various major real-world monuments, such as the Great Pyramid in Giza, can be lined up to form a perfect circle circumnavigating the entire planet. It’s a fairly obscure theory and is, of course, most likely the result of cascading coincidences, but it makes for an interesting setting for Indiana’s latest adventure. Much like the Fallout TV show and Starfield, Todd Howard has served to help produce Indiana Jones and the Great Circle alongside Machine Games, as they strive to maintain Indiana’s iconic character in the most authentic way possible.
Initially thrilled to be entrusted with it, Todd stepped in right away as the executive producer for the project. Drawing inspiration from the tale of the Great Circle, we developed this narrative further into a comprehensive screenplay, and deliberated over suitable real-world locations to incorporate into the game.
Right from the start of our project, we maintained frequent communication with Lucasfilm Games, which eventually led to them granting us access to their extensive franchise archives – encompassing vintage set photographs, concept art, and even unused ideas that didn’t make it into the early films. This partnership has been both engaging and beneficial for us.
As a researcher, my aim wasn’t about redefining the iconic figure of Indiana Jones. It was never a case of ‘let’s modernize him for a younger audience.’ Instead, I share a deep affection for the Indiana Jones we grew up with in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Our goal is to strive for authenticity, aiming to recreate the essence of that cherished character as closely as possible.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle’s core pillars, and technical targets on Xbox Series X|S
I inquired about how Axel Torvenius described the approach taken by the studio to capture the essence of Indiana Jones while still meeting expectations associated with Machine Games, considering their reputation for action-packed violence like Wolfenstein: The New Order and its successor. Axel explained that Indiana Jones and the Great Circle aligns with the studio’s fundamental principles, which he referred to as the “Machine Games triad,” encompassing compelling storytelling, engaging gameplay, and outstanding visual aesthetics.
“It’s always about those three things. You have to have a fantastically cool story, a strong narrative that runs right the way through the game. We need good gameplay and pacing, a roller coaster, with exciting new mechanics that unlock as you progress. Interesting interactions with enemies. Whether it’s shooting nazis as B.J. with sci-fi shotguns, or pulling a Nazi in and beating him in the face with a banjo as Indiana Jones. It should still feel rewarding and interesting. The third part is the art, amazing art. The visuals, but also the animation, the audio, the lighting, and so on. Binding those three is the technical engineers and programmers. We’ve heard from testers that ‘Oh yeah, it still feels like a Machine Games game.’ That represents the core fundamentals of Machine Games.”
I was curious to see how well this game runs on the Xbox Series X|S, especially the Xbox Series S, given the debates about game performance (or lack thereof) on that platform. It looks like Machine Games is supporting the Xbox Series S users positively in this case.
“We may reveal additional information about the specifics and technical aspects of our game as we approach launch, once we have analyzed performance data. However, I can assure you that our goal is to run the game at 60 frames per second on both Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S without any compromise in visual quality or user experience. The aim is for it to feel seamless and smooth on both platforms.
Full circle
The upcoming game “Indiana Jones and the Great Circle” appears to be progressing exceptionally, potentially standing alongside titles like STALKER 2, Flight Simulator 2024, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 in making the end of this year a noteworthy one for Xbox gamers.
In recent months, Microsoft has found itself at the center of controversy among many of its core supporters due to mixed messages regarding its overall strategy. However, with a robust collection of games being added directly to Xbox Game Pass over the past year, it’s hard to argue that gamers in the Xbox Series X|S community haven’t been enjoying some tasty offerings lately.
On December 9, 2024, Indiana Jones: The Great Circle is set to debut, available simultaneously on Xbox Game Pass for both Xbox Series X|S consoles and Windows PC. Later in 2025, it will also make its way to the PlayStation 5.
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2024-10-29 17:14