This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
"Twisted Metal" is about a demolition derby of bloody mayhem, but it seems appropriate the hotly anticipated video game for the PlayStation 3 was released this week on Valentine's Day. Gamers who have waited nearly 10 years for a new console version of the series now get to fall in love again with its demented take on car combat.
"This has been a long wait for 'Twisted' fans," said Jacob English, animator for Salt Lake City-based video game developer Eat Sleep Play, which produced the new "Twisted Metal." "The anticipation for another has been huge. But this game won't disappoint. It's everything [the last 'Twisted Metal' game] was and more. There's so much more we can do with the next-gen consoles."
"Twisted Metal" is more than just a driving game. Players control tricked-out armored vehicles like a hearse, semi-truck or ice-cream truck outfitted with special weapons, including a giant stun gun, flamethrower or laser. The competition takes place in arenas, with players blasting at each other until only one survives.
Since the game launched in 1995, there have been as many as 10 iterations for all of Sony's gaming systems, including the handheld PlayStation Portable. The last original sequel to appear on a home console was "Twisted Metal: Black" in 2001.
"I was thinking an 8-year-old kid who played the last one is now in college," said Kellan Hatch, Eat Sleep Play's creative director, about the impact the series has had on its legion of fans. "It makes you feel like Stan Lee or something — this thing was so important in somebody's life."
The "Twisted Metal" series, the longest-running gaming franchise in the history of the Sony PlayStation consoles, began in Salt Lake City nearly 17 years ago when the now-defunct gaming developer SingleTrac produced it for the launch of the first Sony PlayStation console. Scott Campbell, the producer of that first game at SingleTrac with game designer David Jaffe, went on to form Salt Lake City's Incognito, which made "Twisted Metal: Black." Campbell and Jaffe then co-founded Eat Sleep Play, which produced the newest game.
The new version includes multiplayer modes where friends from around the world can battle each other online. It includes 17 vehicles and characters to control and 10 main weapons. There's also a single-player campaign, though the game's emphasis is on multiplayer mayhem. The soundtrack includes songs from heavy-metal musicians Sammy Hagar, Rob Zombie and White Zombie.
"I feel pretty good about it," Campbell said about the finished product. "There's so much to the game. You don't realize how big it was until you're now trying to polish it, make it run bug-free, and then deliver it on time."
About 40 artists, designers and programmers from Eat Sleep Play, including several more sound and network engineers from Sony, worked on the game for four years. The team, which has been working nearly nonstop to finish it, is now making sure the game runs without problems.
"You're so burned out at the end of a four-year development cycle," Campbell said about the work involved in making a video game. "It's not like you crossed the finish line and it's 'aaahhh!' You're just kind of hammered. You're beat up. You're numb. It was like finishing a marathon and then having to sprint at the end of it."
Though the team has reached that finish line for the new game, Campbell says it's been a bittersweet ending, mostly because this likely will be the last "Twisted Metal" game he and his team will ever make. The company is now shifting its focus to producing mobile games for the iPhone and iPad.
"I think it's more of a sign of the times and the transition we're in," Campbell said. "This is our swan song. This is our final last big product for consoles."
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