Designer John Calhoun talks about EA’s The Godfather
By Michael Lafferty

“The secret, I think, is to make a game that fulfills the majority of everyone’s expectations, while still delivering a unique and entertaining play experience”

The movie trilogy, The Godfather, chronicles the rise to power of a New York mobster who – from humble beginnings – becomes the boss of bosses of the criminal element in the time frame in which the story takes place. Don Corleone is etched in American culture as a movie icon.

EA Games decided the films would make a worthy video game, but only if it was manipulated in such a manner as to make the game player a vital factor within the story.

Enter the world of The Godfather, a visceral experience that brings the movies to video-game life in a manner that has never before been achieved.

So, how do you go about making a movie from a great film trilogy? John Calhoun, Game Designer for The Godfather, chatted with GameZone about this title.

Question: The Godfather is such a renowned film series (and book), how do you live up to the expectations within the confines of a video game?

John: The secret, I think, is to make a game that fulfills the majority of everyone’s expectations, while still delivering a unique and entertaining play experience. We didn’t want to simply retell the story of The Godfather – that’s what DVDs are for. But there are parts of the story that gamers want to see again and play for themselves, so we focused on those areas first and foremost. At the same time, there are some players who love the Godfather not for its story, but for what it represents: the criminal underworld where power, money, and respect are badges of honor. These are gamers who want a realistic gangster experience, where you get to be the hit man, the Don, and everybody in between. So we designed our world and mechanics to support these fantasies and you get to really learn what it’s like to be a part of La Cosa Nostra. Finally, it’s important to realize that video games aren’t confining – they’re liberating! It’s easier to immerse players in the sights, sounds, and soul of the Godfather world, because controlling your own character and telling your own story is far more interactive than simply watching a movie.

Q: Exactly what can players do within the game and is the quest system linear or will there be numerous options for divergent paths along the way?

John: Because we stay true to the film’s plot, the main storyline of The Godfather game is fairly linear. For example, you won’t be able to change the narrative by allowing Don Vito to die on the streets of Little Italy. That being said, there are many ways to accomplish your goals in each of the story missions, so no two playthroughs will be exactly the same.

Where The Godfather game truly opens up is in the living world. Here you’ll find tons of gameplay opportunities and quests that you can play at any time. The Xbox 360 has 25 contract hit missions, over 20 favors, and the full package of rackets, extortions, bank heists, hijackings, mob wars, compounds, and more that were present in previous versions of the game. Better still, many of these features have been improved for the Xbox 360; for instance, many of the fronts and rackets have been redesigned to provide a unique challenge in every location. Every task you accomplish earns you respect, so depending on how you play the game, you’ll have a very different experience than your friends as you vie to become Don of all New York.

Q: Tell us a bit about the graphical inspiration for the game and how you set the mood and tone of the game's storyline? What did the 360 allow you to do that will provide a radical departure from the other platforms?

John: Our goal was to make a world that looked authentically “Godfather.” That meant we used a ton of reference material that was archived after Coppola shot his movies – things like pictures and props from the set. It also helps that the movies are now on DVD, so our artists can simply pop in the film if they need to check how a scene was lighted, for example. Finally, our city design was mapped out using photographs and maps from the 1940s, which gives our chunk of New York City a very realistic look and feel. All these pieces add up to a game that shares the same gritty tone and cinematic flair as the Godfather films.

The Xbox 360 challenged our artists to push their skills to the limit. To start, every texture was up-rezzed to take advantage of high-definition televisions. Brand new shaders were developed to give the characters and world a sense of volume. You’ll see things like self-shadowing, realistic environmental shadows that follow the sun, advanced reflections on cars, and more. Every VFX in the game from blowing paper, to Molotov cocktails, to blood splats on the wall was upgraded to take full advantage of the systems power. You’ll also notice that we almost doubled the number of animations as well as the density of the pedestrians and cars, which not only enhances the realism of the living world, but also improves the brutality of our fighting system.

Q: The PSP has limited controls. How have the gameplay mechanics been altered for this platform?

John: The important thing about handheld games is that they be fun in both short and long play sessions. To support this idea, we added a PSP-exclusive mode called Mob Wars, which is essentially a card-based tactics game. You get to control New York from the Don’s perspective: moving men into rival territory, making or breaking alliances with the other families, paying off the cops, protecting rackets, and more. The fun thing about Mob Wars is that once your strategy is in place, you jump into the action to determine the outcome. For example, if you order a hit on a crime boss, you then play that mission to determine whether it was successful. The main story is broken up so that it intersects the Mob Wars mode in a number of places, so you’ll have to be an excellent enforcer AND strategist to become top Don.

Q: What sort of customization options are available for players?

John: The first thing you’ll notice is our character creation feature, which we call MobFace. If you’ve played Tiger Woods Golf, you’ll be familiar with the insane amount of customization at your fingertips! You can make a great-looking character that closely resembles how you envision yourself as a mob soldier. There is also a huge selection of clothing and apparel options to pick from. For Xbox 360 players, these options are available in-game from tailors and barbers, so changing your look is as easy as visiting the corner store.

There are other ways to customize your character. The Godfather game features a light RPG system that lets you level-up your character’s skills, in areas such as fighting, shooting, and street smarts. Finally, there are upgradeable weapons to collect, many of which are crucial to your victory against the rival families.

Q: Tell us about the audio of the game. Do you use voice work and music from the film? How much unique dialogue was recorded for this game?

John: We are very proud of the audio experience in The Godfather game; this is a title that can be appreciated with your ears as much as your eyes. The primary goal was to create an immersive environment that really transports your senses back to 1940s New York. If you listen to the cars, radios, weapons, and conversations happening all around you, it feels like you’re really there.

Obviously, it wouldn’t be an authentic Godfather experience without the original actors performing their lines, so we collaborated with Marlon Brando, James Caan, Robert Duvall, and Abe Vigoda as they reprised their characters for the game. This was a real kick for the actors – like a reunion of sorts. As they were getting back in character, they were reliving memories from 30 years ago, and it really helped them nail their performances. (James Caan in particular is a real crackup; many of his best lines were ad-libbed during recording.) In all, I think the Xbox 360 version has over 12,000 lines of original dialogue!

The game’s music received equal attention, and was scored by Oscar winner Bill Conte, who used the original themes as inspiration for his work.

Q: When the project was conceived, what elements did you know that you had to have in this game, and what aspects do you wish you could have had but just couldn’t manage at this time?

John: We knew that players would want to “live the Godfather life,” which means we had to incorporate key moments from the film, and come up with gameplay that truly makes you feel like a gangster. It was pretty easy to come up with a list of key Godfather moments – there’s so many of them! For example, including a mission with the horse’s head was a no-brainer, as was the scene where Michael has the heads of all four rival families assassinated in one day while he’s at a baptism. From this, we basically had a roadmap for the game’s plot, and wrote a story that lets your character be a key role player in these famous moments.

The second key element – making the player really feel like a gangster – was realized through the BlackHand control system, which lets you use the analogue sticks and shoulder buttons to punch, grab, shake, and choke your enemies in a very visceral way. Putting you in the virtual shoes of your on-screen mobster as he “convinces” a merchant to pay protection money needs to be played to be truly appreciated- but we’re thrilled with how it turned out.

Naturally, there are a lot of things we would have liked to add, but couldn’t. We really miss the ability to command a giant crew of soldiers, leading them into turf wars against the rival families and such. We compromised by adding an exclusive crew member feature to the Xbox 360 version, which lets you hire a powerful bodyguard to watch your back. And of course, you can always bribe the cops and get them to fight on your side!

Q: The gangster period was a particularly brutal time. What about it makes for good video games?

John: I think we’re all drawn to a good gangster story, and the fantasy of ordinary people respecting you out of fear. There’s something about the dog-eat-dog violence, tempered with a high respect for honor and family, that makes this period compelling. There is an inherent conflict in the mafia lifestyle between being an upstanding citizen and family man, while secretly belonging to the criminal underworld, which makes for a good story. There have been a couple worthy games that touch on the violent aspects of being a gangster, but The Godfather game succeeds because it’s about both – it’s about a world where family life and criminal ambition intersect. And of course, being a game, it’s also about giving you the freedom to tear up a store with a Tommy Gun, throw mobsters out of windows, set cars on fire, and more…

Q: What is your favorite aspect of this game?

John: There’s a scene in the game where your character is present at the meeting of the Five Families. The scene is a shot-for-shot recreation of the film, with one exception: you’re in it! And I think this represents my favorite part of the game, which is how it cleverly tells the story of YOU, while simultaneously bobbing and weaving into some of the most famous moments of cinema history. I find the game tremendously entertaining to play, and as someone who plays a lot of games, I put a high value on entertainment. I can play for 30 minutes and uncover a bit more of the story, or do an hours-long play session and wrestle control of Brooklyn from the Tattaglias. For me, at least, The Godfather game nails the elusive “fun factor,” which is the highest compliment I think we can give a game these days!

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