Quantum Break Features 40 Variations of Included Show
By Riley Little 26 February 2016
We sit down to chat with the senior narrative designer behind Quantum Break, Greg Louden, about how the live-action television show ties into the actual game.
Those anticipating the arrival of Quantum Break have been doing so for quite some time now. The previously Xbox One exclusive, which is now arriving for Windows PC, has kept gamers in suspense during its four and a half year development cycle, so some may have been disillusioned with the lengthy wait. Still, the game seems to be taking a wholly original approach to story telling, thanks to its included live-action television show.
During a recent Xbox event in San Fransisco, I was afforded the opportunity to sit down and talk with Greg Louden, the senior narrative designer behind Quantum Break. Intrigued by the way Remedy Entertainment plans on releasing chunks of the game’s narrative through an entirely different medium, I asked just how much of the game would be occupied by episodic television.
GR: How long are the live-action episodes in Quantum Break and how do they tie into the game?
“Basically, the live-action show changes based on your decisions. So, roughly, it’s around 20 to 22 minutes long, and it’s not a cinematic, it’s a live-action show. It’s a different medium. And, basically, these episodes, they change and they evolve, and there’s four of them. So, it’s just under two hours – the whole live-action show experience. But the cool thing is that we have 40 variations of the show based on your decisions that kind of… all these permutations of the way it changes.
“And, another thing, as well as having the junctions that change things, we also have quantum ripples – which essentially unlock deleted scenes. So, if you really investigate the world and you trigger these particular moments, you’ll see this little icon pop up on the screen, and then when you’re watching the show you’ll see it again and we’ll have kind of this bonus scene for you. Like a deleted scene. So, once again, it gets bigger and bigger.”
GR: So it works similarly to the little special features bubble that pops up when watching a Blu-Ray disc?
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Exactly.”
As a result of this news, it sounds like there will be an ample amount of replayability packaged with the title at launch, which is a great thing for something as story-driven as Quantum appears to be. Of course, with over 40 different show variations, it’s evident that a number of main choices will be made through the campaign that alter the path of protagonist Jack Joyce.
Just what those choices end up being remains to be seen, but it’ll be interesting to see how the final product that Louden and the rest of Remedy have been hard at work on pans out. Admittedly, following the interview, I went hands-on with Quantum Break and immediately became heavily intrigued by the gameplay, the visuals, and the narrative. So all seems promising for the time being.
Quantum Break arrives exclusively for PC and Xbox One on April 5, 2016.
