Okay, so several of you have read about my Batman video game concept, 'Batman: Dark Knight Detective.' I've also thought of using the same aspects from that concept in a series of games that accompany the movies Zaphod and I are dreaming up. Which do you think is a better focus? In either version, most things would be the same in terms of format, and the rating system would be the same (Dark, Knight, and Detective ratings).
In 'B: DKD', two of the things you have to do are to make several street contacts and create at least one or two alter egos for undercover work. The rationale for this is that a criminal mastermind has literally killed off your entire network of street contacts and "outed" or otherwise seriously incriminated all of your usual undercover identities to the police and underworld alike. In a video game for our movie 'Batman: Year One,' you would do the exact same thing, but it's the first time the character has done it. You'd have to read some material in the Batman's files and criminology notes to give clues and cues on how to convince and reason with a self-serving criminal, rather than merely scare them for what might be unreliable information. These files are not in the actual, full-blown Batcomputer, yet, since that isn't available until the second movie and game. For now, you're working with the basics of a detective... well, that and a $hit-load of advanced tactical and stealth skills.
Most of the interrogations of two-bit crooks you perform will render information, but you may never find that person again, or they may not be privy to any new information afterwards because they can't be trusted. A street contact, however, is a low-level crook (stick-up man, wheel man, hired racket enforcer, street soldier, possibly a drug dealer, etc., but very rarely hardened murderers... the less violent, the more than Batman can stomach him) who gives you information more than once and willingly (mostly) and is either paid for it or allowed to stay on the streets, depending on how much solid evidence you have on him that could keep him locked up. You will have to watch various criminals closely from the shadows, often using your long-range microphone and binoculars, analyzing their behavior and deciding which one will best be amenable and trustworthy as a snitch. Leaving the subtitles on in your game options will help you as a a player keep track of different people by matching their voice to what they said when they were farther away or out of sight. I'd probably make it a point to have these gangsters make obvious physical gestures while talking, to help you identify who's talking by sight as well.
The street contact, if successfully "flipped," will refrain from certain activities (killing, committing crimes they aren't ordered to by a higher-up, and absolutely no dealing drugs or guns to minors). There's a good bit of psychology built into this, a lot of which I don't even know, but if you want a fully immersive and interactive Batman experience, this is one thing that's a must.
The alter ego thing is also complicated in that you will need to read some of the Batman's criminology notes (nothing too tedious) on which mannerisms to use and things to say while in view of real criminals and cops (which are mostly criminals, too).
In this game, there won't be tracing devices or audio bugs. You will have the long-range microphones in the headgear, nightvision and binoculars, etc., but you'd be using fewer and less sophisticated techonological items. The costume's pretty much the same either way, but there's no Batcomputer (which doesn't mean you don't have a computer, it just means it does less stuff), no robot Batmobile (it won't drive itself), or miniature crime computer for crime scenes (but you'll have a full kit for collecting evidence). You'll have to analyze most of the evidence you collect at crime scenes in the Batcave.
This game will not have the Joker or most of the villains that will appear as primary villains in future movies. It will, however, have real, full-length missions that tie into your training, all occurring in the places Bruce Wayne was from age 14 to age 26. This is his origin. While Zaphod and I are keeping the years abroad in a seperate miniseries instead of in the movie 'Batman: Year One,' it would all go together in the viseo game. The majority of the game occurs in the freeroaming Gotham City. The major focus of the game is detective work, more than anything else, but there's plenty of action to go along with that. Again, you have no electronic tracers or bugs to use, yet, so that's why it's so important that you develop your detective skills and your information network (street contacts).
In future movie games, there's bigger-scale villains and plots going on, and the workload will be somewhat reduced by you not having to create street contacts and alternate identities from scratch, and also using electronic tracers and listening devices. The game will probably involve more driving and/or more running, since you can't leave the car in an alley, travel several blocks and then have it come to you if you don't want to go back for the car. Hopefully that won't be a big problem. Also, you'll have more advanced crime lab gear and more advanced field gear, so some of the minigames will take less time or be eliminated completely.
This concept allows the player to be the Batman from the very beginning and do everything he's done without contrived excuses for why he has to do them all over again. It also allows for more depth and content, since it's several games, and it can also include classic stories from the comics!
I'm also considering giving the option of playing James Gordon in some places.
What do you think of all that?
