Questions for 2K_Jack

[chalkman]

Really enjoyed it in Mafia, but i suppose it being a period piece that we won't have some of his wonderful tracks in this title?

[Xardas]

I think its kind of unlikely although they may toss in a couple of tracks for nostalgia's sake. After all, it seemed like 25-50% of the first game's tracks were by him haha.

[TheWarPope]

Well that's impossible scince Django Reinhardt, lost his ring finger in the late 40's.
And he died on ?/?/1950

[chalkman]

Thanks. I guess I was hoping, every time I hear one of his songs it instantly takes me back to Lost Heaven.

[chalkman]

Well that's impossible scince Django Reinhardt, lost his ring finger in the late 40's.
And he died on ?/?/1950

Yes of course no new tracks lol. I wasn't asking for that. He died in '53

[packardcaribien]

I think its kind of unlikely although they may toss in a couple of tracks for nostalgia's sake. After all, it seemed like 25-50% of the first game's tracks were by him haha.

Actually, 44% of M1's licensed songs were by Django (12 out of 27)
Somehow I doubt that many will be in M2, mostly becuase It doesn't fit the mood as well. They connected to the original soundtrack with Louis Prima already. ;)

[Mbeats]

Classic http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2pnKsvNYZM

[Xardas]

Actually, 44% of M1's licensed songs were by Django (12 out of 27)
Somehow I doubt that many will be in M2, mostly becuase It doesn't fit the mood as well. They connected to the original soundtrack with Louis Prima already. ;)

Wow, I had no idea the number of his songs were that high in the game. That's a pretty lofty number lol. Well, hopefully there will be a little more variety in Mafia 2 (although I did enjoy most of the soundtrack from the first game).

[Don_Vito]

I'm glad they have a couple Louis Prima songs back for Mafia II :D . And then they have "Oh Marie" in Mafia II or at least a trailer

[2K_Jack]

You assume wrong :) We will have over 120 licensed songs in the game, including a couple from Django Reinhardt. He was such a big part of the sound of the first game, no way we could leave him out of Mafia II. I'm sure we'll be releasing more details on the soundtrack as we get closer to launch.

[Mbeats]

You assume wrong :) We will have over 120 licensed songs in the game, including a couple from Django Reinhardt. He was such a big part of the sound of the first game, no way we could leave him out of Mafia II. I'm sure we'll be releasing more details on the soundtrack as we get closer to launch.
:) Good news !

Are you Jack Scalici ?

[Fugue]

He was such a big part of the sound of the first game, no way we could leave him out of Mafia II

that's great, just the sort of nod to Mafia 1 I'm looking forward to :)

[McGee]

You assume wrong :) We will have over 120 licensed songs in the game, including a couple from Django Reinhardt. He was such a big part of the sound of the first game, no way we could leave him out of Mafia II. I'm sure we'll be releasing more details on the soundtrack as we get closer to launch.

Are you really Jack? Because I feel a bit skeptical...no offense...anyway I'll send a pm to Liz to see if you really exist, or it's just someone pretending to be you...

[chalkman]

You assume wrong :) We will have over 120 licensed songs in the game, including a couple from Django Reinhardt. He was such a big part of the sound of the first game, no way we could leave him out of Mafia II. I'm sure we'll be releasing more details on the soundtrack as we get closer to launch.

Well I assumed, but will glad if I am proven wrong :D !!
Great news if it is indeed the case.

[Xardas]

Are you really Jack? Because I feel a bit skeptical...no offense...anyway I'll send a pm to Liz to see if you really exist, or it's just someone pretending to be you...

I just got confirmation from Elizabeth that he's the real thing. :P

Welcome to the forums Jack. :)

[2K Elizabeth]

:) Good news !

Are you Jack Scalici ?

The one and only!

[Tez Jaggs]

The one and only!

cool! i like that guy

[chalkman]

The fact that Django is to be included is huge news to me, and Mafia 2 just got that much better IMO. :D

[McGee]

You assume wrong :) We will have over 120 licensed songs in the game, including a couple from Django Reinhardt. He was such a big part of the sound of the first game, no way we could leave him out of Mafia II. I'm sure we'll be releasing more details on the soundtrack as we get closer to launch.

Wow, Mr.Scalici I feel very honored to have the chance to talk with you:)

I for one loved Django Reinhardt in Mafia 1, and in Bioshock 1....this tune to be exact http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZheXWCURgg

[packardcaribien]

You assume wrong :) We will have over 120 licensed songs in the game, including a couple from Django Reinhardt. He was such a big part of the sound of the first game, no way we could leave him out of Mafia II. I'm sure we'll be releasing more details on the soundtrack as we get closer to launch.

Heh, very nice to see a developer back! Nice to hear that Django will be in, looking forward to the soundtrack list release since I'm a fan of 40s/50s music. :D

[Vito Scaletta]

You assume wrong :) We will have over 120 licensed songs in the game, including a couple from Django Reinhardt. He was such a big part of the sound of the first game, no way we could leave him out of Mafia II. I'm sure we'll be releasing more details on the soundtrack as we get closer to launch.

Hello Jack, Thanks for coming on this forum.:)

I would like to ask you a question, Cause I realize that you are person to talk too, About Dialogue in Mafia II.
And the Dialogue in Mafia II is fantastic, Awesome work.:)

But I have a worry about the latest E3 2010 demo, I hope you can sort some things out?

1. In the E3 2010 demo, Joe & Vito are not talking about the cops blocking the road off when they are driving up the bridge. But in the E3 09' demo they are talking about the cops that blocked of the road, Is that still in the final game?

2. In the E3 2009 demo, There was someone screaming on the second floor of the distillery, In the E3 2010 demo there is no one screaming. Will there be that sound of someone screaming on the second floor in the final game?

Reason I ask these things, Is because those little cinematics really amazed me, And I hope they are in the original game. If you can, Please clarify this for me I am really worried about it.

[Treadstone]

Glad to hear that Django Reinhardt will be back. I guess his music will become a counterbalance for rock and roll era. Also I can't wait to hear some pop music and classic country from the 50s.

[Pomogi]

I liked the music in the first game, though it did actually get sort of annoying after a while... :rolleyes:
It's nice to know some of the old music is back, but I'm glad we have more of a variety this time.

[Ottoman]

The soundtracks from Mafia were superb. I had no idea who the composer/s were. It perfectly suited the 30s-40s era and i`d love to hear more of it :)
Thanks for the confirmation Jack. And allow me to thank you for your and your teams awesome work on Mafia II

[2K_Jack]

Hey guys. Thanks for the warm welcome and all the kind words. Please forgive me if I am slow to respond to your questions. My time is still kind of limited, and Elizabeth has also threatened me with bodily harm if I reveal too much :)

[Fugue]

I liked the music in the first game, though it did actually get sort of annoying after a while...

it was one of the few games I never turned the music off, which is usually the first thing I do ;)

just wouldn't be the same without it, won a big award for music in games as well, but can't remember which.

[Mustache Pete]

Glad to hear that Django Reinhardt will be back. I guess his music will become a counterbalance for rock and roll era. Also I can't wait to hear some pop music and classic country from the 50s.
yeah i think you're right, although this is 50s but the people still loves gypsy jazz music, especially from the musician like django reinhardt. and yes this is gonna be a 'counterbalance' for music in the 50s era.


Hey guys. Thanks for the warm welcome and all the kind words. Please forgive me if I am slow to respond to your questions. My time is still kind of limited, and Elizabeth has also threatened me with bodily harm if I reveal too much :)
welcome to the forum jack. it's been along time ago since denby & martin discussed with us. nice to see one of developer in this forum again.

[mafia2]

Hey guys. Thanks for the warm welcome and all the kind words. Please forgive me if I am slow to respond to your questions. My time is still kind of limited, and Elizabeth has also threatened me with bodily harm if I reveal too much :)

We protect you :D

[2K_Jack]

I don't want to mislead you guys. You won't hear much Django Reinhardt in the 1950s. I'm pretty sure his music only appears once or twice when you're in the 1950s. Before you all freak out, let me explain :)

We actually had too much music to work with. If we kept every song available on the radio at all times, there is a good chance that most players would never even hear some of them. So we decided that just like real life radio stations which change formats (the type of music they play) all the time, so would the radio stations in Empire Bay.

Artists like Django Reinhardt and Louis Jordan will appear on the "Empire Classic Radio" radio station in the 1940's. This radio station plays classic oldies, so this is where you will find the kind of music we all enjoyed in the first game.

Once you get to the 50s though, we really wanted everything to feel new and different. Empire Classic Radio still plays some oldies from time to time, but it has modified its format to focus on music from pop artists like Louis Prima, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, etc. So this is where you will hear the music you would expect to hear in a good mob movie. If you want rock n' roll or R&B instead, you'll be able to find it on the other stations.

But like I said, you will hear Django Reinhardt's music at least once in the 1950s. And who knows... maybe we did that on purpose ;)

[Xardas]

But like I said, you will hear Django Reinhardt's music at least once in the 1950s. And who knows... maybe we did that on purpose ;)

Oooh sounds like ol' Mr. Reinhardt is going to have one of this song's played during an intense moment during the storyline. ;)

Quick question, unless I'm off my rocker, I remember that ambience music was played during most of the missions in the first Mafia even when there didn't seem to be a source for it anywhere in the environment. Is this going to make a return in the sequel and will there be music played during specific parts of the story even if there isn't a radio or other musical device in the immediate vicinity?

[Treadstone]

That's sweet, Jack! Nice to hear that you guys still stick up for authenticity in the soundtrack department. Because I don't want to hear a lot of music like swing and classic rag everytime in the 50s, they should improvised as the time goes by. I'm looking forward to hear more details about soundtrack, and thanks for the explanation, Jack.

[Don_Vito]

Artists like Django Reinhardt and Louis Jordan will appear on the "Empire Classic Radio" radio station in the 1940's. This radio station plays classic oldies, so this is where you will find the kind of music we all enjoyed in the first game.

modified its format to focus on music from pop artists like Louis Prima, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, etc. So this is where you will hear the music you would expect to hear in a good mob movie. If you want rock n' roll or R&B instead, you'll be able to find it on the other stations.


That's good to hear I like Louis Jordan's song "You Run your Mouth". Direct from the bar, Mr. Dean Martin! Always a treat :D. I'm glad you put a lot of time and effort into the music, it plays a big part in the game.

[McGee]

Hey guys. Thanks for the warm welcome and all the kind words. Please forgive me if I am slow to respond to your questions. My time is still kind of limited, and Elizabeth has also threatened me with bodily harm if I reveal too much :)

Of course:D

But I do have 2 questions, that I don't really think are spoil questions. Since you are the creative director, and have played Mafia 1, I assume you could maybe answer this (if not then that's okay to ^_^)

1. Do you think story wise, Mafia 2 is better than Mafia 1?

2. You feel Mafia 2 has a legitimate chance of winning Game of The Year?

Thanks:)

[Fugue]

the way the stations work sounds good, shame the classic one didn't keep playing Mafia oldies ;) but I guess it wouldn't really work over 10 years.


maybe we did that on purpose

so that'll be the time to look out for a Mafia 1 character then :cool:

[Mustache Pete]

so that'll be the time to look out for a Mafia 1 character then :cool:
agree!! i think some hints will be great :D

[2K_Jack]

I have a free minute so let me answer some of the questions. Pardon me for being too lazy to quote your original posts :)

Vito S. (forum member, not the character), I'm not sure if all of the little things you have seen in demos and trailers will make it into the final game. Things change very quickly during the last months of development, and I'm not personally involved in every little change the team needs to make before launch.

We always design and implement the nice little touches like this, and I agree that it's one of the things that really sets Mafia II apart from other games, but whether or not they make it not the final game depends on many factors.

The two biggest factors are resources and ratings board requirements. If resources need to be freed up for other things in the level, or if one of the many ratings boards takes issue with something in the game, it is likely to get removed.

American M. (forum member), answers to your questions:

1. It's far better. I have said elsewhere and I will repeat it here that I thought the story, dialog and overall storytelling in the first game all could have been done better... but the game had an overall magic to it that kept me playing. I'm sure some of you guys disagree with those comments, but when I met Dan Vavra he completely agreed with me, and we focused on making everything in Mafia II better than it was in the first game.

2. Yes, but obviously my opinion is a bit biased :) But hey, if we don't win every award there is to win this year, I won't be disappointed because there have been some truly incredible games released in 2010, with many more to come.

[McGee]

I have a free minute so let me answer some of the questions. Pardon me for being too lazy to quote your original posts :)

Vito S. (forum member, not the character), I'm not sure if all of the little things you have seen in demos and trailers will make it into the final game. Things change very quickly during the last months of development, and I'm not personally involved in every little change the team needs to make before launch.

We always design and implement the nice little touches like this, and I agree that it's one of the things that really sets Mafia II apart from other games, but whether or not they make it not the final game depends on many factors.

The two biggest factors are resources and ratings board requirements. If resources need to be freed up for other things in the level, or if one of the many ratings boards takes issue with something in the game, it is likely to get removed.

American M. (forum member), answers to your questions:

1. It's far better. I have said elsewhere and I will repeat it here that I thought the story, dialog and overall storytelling in the first game all could have been done better... but the game had an overall magic to it that kept me playing. I'm sure some of you guys disagree with those comments, but when I met Dan Vavra he completely agreed with me, and we focused on making everything in Mafia II better than it was in the first game.

2. Yes, but obviously my opinion is a bit biased :) But hey, if we don't win every award there is to win this year, I won't be disappointed because there have been some truly incredible games released in 2010, with many more to come.

Thanks for answering Jack. It's nice to finally have a developer back.:cool:

I must say the interview you did with GameTrailers, really swayed alot of people into becoming of supporters of Mafia 2. :D

One last thing I want to ask, the demo at E3 took place in a summer/spring like setting, yet the demo at e3 09 took place during Winter. Was this done not to spoil anything, or is this how it's going to be in the game? An if so why the change??

[Fugue]

1. It's far better. I have said elsewhere and I will repeat it here that I thought the story, dialog and overall storytelling in the first game all could have been done better... but the game had an overall magic to it that kept me playing.

it's that overall magic that has kept me playing Mafia 1 since it was released, as for the dialogue and storytelling I guess that's true, although story is the one thing most games seem to be very light on, and it's also what I would say most fans remember the first game for.

really looking forward to seeing what you've done with part 2, I can see the mechanics & gameplay have improved a lot, but for me Mafia 1 is going be a very hard act to follow in terms of plot and characters, not to mention that ending ;)

[Vito Scaletta]

I have a free minute so let me answer some of the questions. Pardon me for being too lazy to quote your original posts :)

Vito S. (forum member, not the character), I'm not sure if all of the little things you have seen in demos and trailers will make it into the final game. Things change very quickly during the last months of development, and I'm not personally involved in every little change the team needs to make before launch.

We always design and implement the nice little touches like this, and I agree that it's one of the things that really sets Mafia II apart from other games, but whether or not they make it not the final game depends on many factors.

The two biggest factors are resources and ratings board requirements. If resources need to be freed up for other things in the level, or if one of the many ratings boards takes issue with something in the game, it is likely to get removed.

Thank you so very much Jack, I appreciate the insightful answer. :)

I do hope it makes it in the final game, But it's no problem, I understand you can only fit so much on a DVD disc.

[Don_Vito]

One last thing I want to ask, the demo at E3 took place in a summer/spring like setting, yet the demo at e3 09 took place during Winter. Was this done not to spoil anything, or is this how it's going to be in the game? An if so why the change??

2K Liz already confirmed that the Buzzsaw mission will take place in summer

[summer_nights]

2K Liz already confirmed that the Buzzsaw mission will take place in summer

Hi.Can you provide a link for that confirmation?
In my opinion that mission was better in winter,but it`s just my opinion.I`m just curious why did they change the season

[packardcaribien]

Hi.Can you provide a link for that confirmation?
In my opinion that mission was better in winter,but it`s just my opinion.I`m just curious why did they change the season

Here's what Liz said:

What you see in the demo is what's in the final game. :o

[McGee]

Here's what Liz said:

Yes, but notice she added the embarrassment face...I'm sure there is something a foot!

[packardcaribien]

Hey, Jack since you've been so kind and have awnsered questions, I have one (or three.....)

Since Empire Classic Radio plays oldies and then vocal jazz through the 40s-50s, do Delta Radio and Empire City Radio (what I last saw them called) have distinct styles as well? Like ECR playing Big Band then playing doo ☺☺☺, or Delta playing Rock and country or something?

Also, Is there any talk radio or radio advertisments?

Lastly; Are there only two distinct periods of season/year: the 50s summer and the 40s winter, because that whats we've seen and there was one preview that implied that was all there was.. :confused:

[2K_Jack]

Hey, Jack since you've been so kind and have awnsered questions, I have one (or three.....)

Since Empire Classic Radio plays oldies and then vocal jazz through the 40s-50s, do Delta Radio and Empire City Radio (what I last saw them called) have distinct styles as well? Like ECR playing Big Band then playing doo ☺☺☺, or Delta playing Rock and country or something?

Also, Is there any talk radio or radio advertisments?

Lastly; Are there only two distinct periods of season/year: the 50s summer and the 40s winter, because that whats we've seen and there was one preview that implied that was all there was.. :confused:

In a hurry so I gotta make this quick:

There are 3 radio stations in the 40s, all with distinct styles - oldies, R&B, and pop. In the 50s, these will change. I don't want to give away more than I already have :)

Don't worry, the radio is not an ipod :) In addition to music, you'll hear ads on the radio as well as quick news updates from the radio hosts, jingles, etc. You'll also hear a lot of WWII news and propaganda on the radio in the 40s. We chose not to do talk radio because we have so much great music and we wanted that to be the focus.

The 40s chapters take place in the winter. The 50s start out in the summer. That's all I'll say about the seasons. But as you can see, certain chapters of the story take place during day, others at night. Some in the snow, others in the rain. This all goes back to why we stayed away from the day/night cycle - we really wanted to control the look and feel of the game and make sure that it matched what was happening in the story. This is no different than what they do in linear media like fim and TV.

[Don_Vito]

If anyone wants to hear the WWII news, just go to youtube and look up Mafia II War News Radio

[Fugue]

This all goes back to why we stayed away from the day/night cycle - we really wanted to control the look and feel of the game and make sure that it matched what was happening in the story. This is no different than what they do in linear media like fim and TV.

playing A trip to the country in Mafia 1 at any other time & without a storm just wouldn't be the same, I know some here wanted a more dynamic system but I'm glad you stuck with that :)

quick question...


The two biggest factors are resources and ratings board requirements.

in terms of strong language content are you restricted in any way by the ratings board?

[2K_Jack]

in terms of strong language content are you restricted in any way by the ratings board?

Nope. This is a game about the mob, and you can't make a realistic game about these kind of guys without strong language. Google "sopranos uncensored" and you'll see what I mean :)

[Mafiashock]

Ya I hate when I'm at work and the sopranos is on but it's the ****ty a and e censored versions. "shut tha freak up tony"

[McGee]

Nope. This is a game about the mob, and you can't make a realistic game about these kind of guys without strong language. Google "sopranos uncensored" and you'll see what I mean :)

Very true, but I have a question...

I know Elizabeth said that the mission we saw at E3 2010 (the buzzsaw mission) will be how it is in the game. But in the demo it's sunny, yet in the 09 demo it was snowing. Why the reason for the change?

Also to piggy back that question, how do you feel when people compare this to a GTA rip off, or a game that does nothing new, that GTA IV didn't do.

[Mike Thompson]

Well that's impossible scince Django Reinhardt, lost his ring finger in the late 40's.
And he died on ?/?/1950

Did you know that Django still played perfectly even though he lost his finger and almost couldn't use one of his hands?

[2K_Jack]

I know Elizabeth said that the mission we saw at E3 2010 (the buzzsaw mission) will be how it is in the game. But in the demo it's sunny, yet in the 09 demo it was snowing. Why the reason for the change?

Also to piggy back that question, how do you feel when people compare this to a GTA rip off, or a game that does nothing new, that GTA IV didn't do.

The gameplay, storylines, and pacing in the demos are largely the same as what you'll experience in the final game. Everything else, including audio, weather, what you hear on the radio, and time of day is adjusted based on what we want the viewer or player to experience in that demo. I'll make you wait until you play the game to see when"The Buzzsaw" chapter takes place ;)

As for the comparison, I'm personally growing tired of it. We're all fans of GTA and have nothing but respect for the Rockstar guys and the games they make. And having played both games extensively, I can tell you that they look and feel very different, and in a good way.

[McGee]

The gameplay, storylines, and pacing in the demos are largely the same as what you'll experience in the final game. Everything else, including audio, weather, what you hear on the radio, and time of day is adjusted based on what we want the viewer or player to experience in that demo. I'll make you wait until you play the game to see when"The Buzzsaw" chapter takes place ;)

As for the comparison, I'm personally growing tired of it. We're all fans of GTA and have nothing but respect for the Rockstar guys and the games they make. And having played both games extensively, I can tell you that they look and feel very different, and in a good way.


Very good to hear, and I as well am unbelieveably tired of the GTA comparisons. I try to do my best, explaining to other members (in other forums who discuss about Mafia 2) that story wise Mafia 2 is not even in the same legue as GTA or RDR, but they don't seem to listen that well:rolleyes:

Jack, have you ever played Uncharted 2? I recently finished it, and I have to say it's one of the most cinematic games I have played, ever. It really feels as if your in this action movie, like Indiana Jones.

[Muffin]

I think that it's great that the developers have so much interest in the fans... I have only one question for you Jack (and if you don't have the time or the pacience to answer this boring fan, I understand :p): Do you think the game is complete as it is NOW?
(and of course welcome to the forums) :D

[Fugue]

I can tell you that they look and feel very different, and in a good way.

anyone that has played the first game knows that, I remember the same with Mafia 1, some reviewers couldn't see past the difference to see what the game the game was trying to do and did so well, then gave it a low score, like Eurogamer 4/10 :rolleyes:

they were in a minority and Mafia 1 was generally well received but GTA wasn't really the monster it is now, hopefully they'll review Mafia 2 on its merits, but I doubt it :o

[jar105]

I was just wondering will Frank Sinatra & Sammy Davis Jnr be in the 120 license music in Mafia 2?

Also Ive been following this game since '07 and I'm amazed with everything. Hope it gets game of the year and Go Mafia 2! (Y)

[2K_Jack]

Let me see if I can answer all of the questions in one post here...


Jack, have you ever played Uncharted 2? I recently finished it, and I have to say it's one of the most cinematic games I have played, ever. It really feels as if your in this action movie, like Indiana Jones.

Yes, and I thought it was terrific. It's one of the best examples of how great a game can be when the developer puts just as much effort into the presentation and overall production values, as it does the gameplay.


]Do you think the game is complete as it is NOW?
(and of course welcome to the forums) :D

Of course! :) That's why it's shipping. We didn't work on it for this long only to release an incomplete experience.


I was just wondering will Frank Sinatra & Sammy Davis Jnr be in the 120 license music in Mafia 2?

After the soundtrack is announced, or the game comes out (whichever comes first), I am sure there will be much discussion about the soundtrack on this forum. I'll wait until this happens before I start discussing why certain artists or songs are on the soundtrack, and why others are not.

I'm not sure when (or if) we're going to announce the soundtrack. I really want the first time you guys hear the music to be when you're playing the game, not when we announce the soundtrack and you run off and download all the music. Growing up, I discovered a lot of great music when I heard it used in movies, and it's my hope that the same thing happens when you play Mafia II :)

[McGee]

Yes, and I thought it was terrific. It's one of the best examples of how great a game can be when the developer puts just as much effort into the presentation and overall production values, as it does the gameplay.


So in your opinion, do you believe that Mafia 2 matched the overall cinematic feel, and presentation (and gameplay for that matter) compared to Uncharted 2?

[Fugue]

the urban section of Nepal in Uncharted 2 is brilliant, I still haven't traded it in just for that :D

[Vito Scaletta]

I have a few small questions about Mafia II, Maybe you can answer them 2K_Jack?:)

Can Vito smoke cigarette's? I saw him smoke cigarette's in cutscenes.
But I would like to know, If Vito can lite up a cig and walk around. Cause having that in Mafia II would really put you in the style of the 50's.

Also, Can you turn off your lights? Or turn the engine off?
Reason I ask is because if I duck down an alleyway in my car, And I want to stay in the car in the shadows.
Can I turn my lights off? So that the police do not see me. Is that feature in the game?

Will there be snow in the 50's? Or does the snow only exist in the 40's?

[packardcaribien]

I have a question about the music; not asking about specific songs since I understand you want to keep those as a suprise for people. ;)

I know quite a bit about era music and I've made the closest thing to a music list (http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60657) we have here. I know that you once said something about Mafia II ending in 1953; other devs have stated 1955. But nomatter which; some of the music is from the later months of 1959 (for example; "Dream Lover"). I assume you were making stylistic choices and had more regard to the "era feel" of the music rather than having a fully accurate representation of the defined years? It seems that the cars have the same idea; though less noticeable due to their fictionality, meaning you did both purposefully?

[Lucky_Lu]

Hi Jack, thanks for doing this!!..:D

I have a question..

When will your team release the demo on XBL and PSN???.

I know in a recent interview Denby said it was going to be released in the following months, and since were about a month away (roughly) I'm constantly signing in and hoping its on the marketplace(XBL):p

Ill be patiently waiting on a reply...Thanks again Jack:)

[Fugue]

think they said at E3 it'll be available few weeks before release and part of the August marketing campaign, so wont be this month.

[Dbeat]

I don't want to mislead you guys. You won't hear much Django Reinhardt in the 1950s. I'm pretty sure his music only appears once or twice when you're in the 1950s. Before you all freak out, let me explain :)

We actually had too much music to work with. If we kept every song available on the radio at all times, there is a good chance that most players would never even hear some of them. So we decided that just like real life radio stations which change formats (the type of music they play) all the time, so would the radio stations in Empire Bay.

Artists like Django Reinhardt and Louis Jordan will appear on the "Empire Classic Radio" radio station in the 1940's. This radio station plays classic oldies, so this is where you will find the kind of music we all enjoyed in the first game.

Once you get to the 50s though, we really wanted everything to feel new and different. Empire Classic Radio still plays some oldies from time to time, but it has modified its format to focus on music from pop artists like Louis Prima, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, etc. So this is where you will hear the music you would expect to hear in a good mob movie. If you want rock n' roll or R&B instead, you'll be able to find it on the other stations.

But like I said, you will hear Django Reinhardt's music at least once in the 1950s. And who knows... maybe we did that on purpose ;)

hello,and welcome to the forums, i have a question...in the first mafia one of the things i liked is that the music was not only when you where in cars, so also when you where in a shootout or simply when you where walking (the atmosphere feel even more alive) so it will be that kind of ambiental music, or you just will hear music when you are in you car/ you know when i was playing gta4 one of the things i didnt like was that when you where in a shootout there wasnt music, so the atmosphere was a little grey if you know what im talking about

[ThaCrip]

As for the comparison, I'm personally growing tired of it. We're all fans of GTA and have nothing but respect for the Rockstar guys and the games they make. And having played both games extensively, I can tell you that they look and feel very different, and in a good way.

i am sure anyone who has played the first Mafia will know this ;) (i.e. your 100percent correct)

and while i liked GTA i think Mafia is a Masterpiece where as GTA is not. as Mafia takes it to another level with the overall game experience to where you have to start getting into quality movies to get that feeling you get when playing Mafia, especially it's ending. i hope that you get a similar feeling when i play and beat Mafia II. (if that happens it will be worth every cent! because a quality movie never gets old and neither does Mafia (2002) (on PC) which i still like to this day)

p.s. but i can understand your growing tired of the comparisons but they will inevitably be made because of the core similarities between the games as they both heavily revolve around shooting/driving.


Q = Do you think story wise, Mafia 2 is better than Mafia 1?

A = It's far better. I have said elsewhere and I will repeat it here that I thought the story, dialog and overall storytelling in the first game all could have been done better... but the game had an overall magic to it that kept me playing. I'm sure some of you guys disagree with those comments, but when I met Dan Vavra he completely agreed with me, and we focused on making everything in Mafia II better than it was in the first game.

damn, "far better". that's hard to believe ;) ... but if your even in the ball park of that i damn sure won't be complaining. (but i guess with a increased budget that can potentially add to the game )

but i guess it's just hard to me to imagine topping the overall quality of the first game although i think you guys can match it. (hell, i would be pretty much happy to have basically the same game as the first with updated graphics with some minor additions)

but at least i don't have to worry about the hype bringing it to unrealisticly high levels because i just can't see it topping Mafia, at least not to the point i would say 'a lot better' because it's pretty hard to improve on borderline perfection ;)

but i guess if Vavra said the story was better i guess at this point ill have to give him the benefit of the doubt because after all... you guys never gave me a reason to doubt you based on the very high quality of the first game.

p.s. but i wonder if they said 'a lot better' to mostly jack up the hype and potential sales. because it's not really like he could say it was worse if he felt it was. (i am not saying that he feel's it's not, but you get my point)

[McGee]

i am sure anyone who has played the first Mafia will know this ;) (i.e. your 100percent correct)

and while i liked GTA i think Mafia is a Masterpiece where as GTA is not. as Mafia takes it to another level with the overall game experience to where you have to start getting into quality movies to get that feeling you get when playing Mafia, especially it's ending. i hope that you get a similar feeling when i play and beat Mafia II. (if that happens it will be worth every cent! because a quality movie never gets old and neither does Mafia (2002) (on PC) which i still like to this day)

p.s. but i can understand your growing tired of the comparisons but they will inevitably be made because of the core similarities between the games as they both heavily revolve around shooting/driving.



damn, "far better". that's hard to believe ;) ... but if your even in the ball park of that i damn sure won't be complaining. (but i guess with a increased budget that can potentially add to the game )

but i guess it's just hard to me to imagine topping the overall quality of the first game although i think you guys can match it. (hell, i would be pretty much happy to have basically the same game as the first with updated graphics with some minor additions)

but at least i don't have to worry about the hype bringing it to unrealisticly high levels because i just can't see it topping Mafia, at least not to the point i would say 'a lot better' because it's pretty hard to improve on borderline perfection ;)

but i guess if Vavra said the story was better i guess at this point ill have to give him the benefit of the doubt because after all... you guys never gave me a reason to doubt you based on the very high quality of the first game.

p.s. but i wonder if they said 'a lot better' to mostly jack up the hype and potential sales. because it's not really like he could say it was worse if he felt it was. (i am not saying that he feel's it's not, but you get my point)

Wow your analyzing this way to much. Mafia 1 was far from perfect, the story was good but it wasn't something I've never seen before. Also the voice acting was very spotty, and so was the script. The ending IMO was what saved the game from being simply forgotten.

Mafia 2 has alot that it can do to improve the story, so I see no reason why Jack would lie.

[Dsmooth16]

Yea voice acting could've been better http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT-EOH_B5So&feature=related and there's no conversations going on when your driving with Paulie or Sam the only person i remember talking was salvator that's the only thing i think could've been done better.

[Fugue]

Wow your analyzing this way to much. Mafia 1 was far from perfect, the story was good but it wasn't something I've never seen before. Also the voice acting was very spotty, and so was the script. The ending IMO was what saved the game from being simply forgotten.

Mafia 2 has alot that it can do to improve the story, so I see no reason why Jack would lie.

but he's right :p

sequels are never easy, Mafia 1 had a freshness about it that made it special, Mafia 2 just wont have that, it will have to excel in ALL areas to match Mafia 1 imo.

I am expecting it to be great, but the test will be whether I'm still playing it 8 yrs later :D

[james_beckerson]

It's always great to have some of the doubts solved from the 1st hand :D Thank for taking your time to share with community and for being a part of Mafia II's team of course and making it for us. :D
Maybe you know if there are some objects of Googie architecture (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Googie) besides the (not too obvious in terms of design) greaser's hideout ?

[Ljud]

Question(s) for Jack:
I don't know If you can talk about this or not, but one of the most interesting things in Red Dead Redemption was the implementation of random events.
The first time I saw this was when I watched one presentation of Mafia II where a hooker crashed in some guy and you helped her, and when you were getting mugged by two guys. Red Dead Redemption had a lot of interesting ones and I really missed them in the GTA series.

In one presentation of Mafia 2, developer was talking about them and how game knows where you are on the map and can spawn them according to that.

I was wondering if there will be the ones that will in any way be mentioned in the story (Vito telling Joe how two wiseguys were trying to rob him) and If there will be any major ones, like some gangsters robbing a bank (or a big fire that fireman are trying to put out, because someone burned a shop that wasn't paying protection money), because I would like to see a game where a player is not responsible for all the destruction done to the city, so you wouldn't fell like you are present in every mafia related crime in the city (In GTA I feel like I am the only criminal in town that does anything besides guarding a certain area)

I was also wondering if some major set pieces would surprise you? For instance: you are supposed to go somewhere but are attacked on the way there or on the way you meet Joe who is trouble, because I am getting tired of open world games where you know where something will happen, because it is marked with a dot on the map and I read that Mafia II is supposed to be more cinematic and linear like Uncharted. Part of the fun (at least for me) of cinematic linear games is that you can't always know where the next set piece will be.

[Muffin]

There will be random events indeed (like getting mugged and stuff) but I seriously doubt those events will have much impact on the main story... but it's always a possibility...

[Ljud]

I am not talking about an impact on the main story (which would be nice if done properly), I meant talking about them when meeting Joe, because it is natural to talk about the things that happened to you through the day and getting mugged is not something that happens every day.
It would be a nice touch, because it would feel that random events are a part of vitos life, not just a random event in a game that you are playing.

[ThaCrip]

Wow your analyzing this way to much. Mafia 1 was far from perfect, the story was good but it wasn't something I've never seen before. Also the voice acting was very spotty, and so was the script. The ending IMO was what saved the game from being simply forgotten.

Mafia 2 has alot that it can do to improve the story, so I see no reason why Jack would lie.

Well we can agree to disagree here for the most part.

Mafia, even without the great ending, would have still been easily on the memorable side of things (i.e. well above average) overall between story/characters/gameplay. (definitely no where near forgotten)

so while i am sure your right about the basic story when just looking at the story on the surface was nothing super special (but then again what games really are (especially in the shooter type genre) if Mafia can't be considered as high level?). the way it all came together(story/characters/gameplay) really stood out from damn near all other games. or even just looking at mob themed stuff i think it's overall story/characters can rival top quality mob films so if that ain't a all around quality story etc then i don't know what is (i think i make a strong point here). and in general if you ask me... nowadays it's not really about being original, it's mostly about taking ideas that already been done and doing it very well ;)

or put it this way... name a single player (shooter type) game that's better than Mafia? (i can't name a single one in terms of overall experience to this day. it may sound like i am overpraising Mafia but i seriously cannot name a better single player game in terms of overall experience)

so i guess in a way it can be improved on especially just because of the 8 year gap as the visuals will obviously be one of the bigger improvements and given they got a bigger budget so i guess when i think about it it could potentially get better.

i guess the bottom line basic point i am trying to make is... i just dont see Mafia II being 'significantly' better than Mafia in terms of the 'overall experience' is my basic point ;)

p.s. i don't think i am over analyzing at all. i just am a huge fan of the game as you can see ;)

and i am not calling Jack a liar. it's just hard to believe the basic point of i just can't see Mafia II being significantly better than Mafia 1 is all in terms of the overall experience when you get to the bottom line. or look at it this way... i don't see me never wanting to not go back and play Mafia again even if Mafia II turns out to be another masterpiece. because most games if a new version comes out and it's just flat out better, then you usually never bother to play previous versions anymore. i don't see that happening with Mafia II to the point that i would suddenly feel Mafia 1 is not worth playing anymore.

[Muffin]

I am not talking about an impact on the main story (which would be nice if done properly), I meant talking about them when meeting Joe, because it is natural to talk about the things that happened to you through the day and getting mugged is not something that happens every day.
It would be a nice touch, because it would feel that random events are a part of vitos life, not just a random event in a game that you are playing.

Doubt about it... it would be realistic but on the other side it would be kinda weird, like: "Honey, I'm home... you won't believe what happened when I was leaving Giuseppe, two goombas mugged me..." :rolleyes:

[Fugue]

or put it this way... name a single player (shooter type) game that's better than Mafia? (i can't name a single one in terms of overall experience to this day. it may sound like i am overpraising Mafia but i seriously cannot name a better single player game in terms of overall experience)

very subjective of course but I completely agree :)


i guess the bottom line basic point i am trying to make is... i just dont see Mafia II being 'significantly' better than Mafia in terms of the 'overall experience' is my basic point

agree again, I really wouldn't expect Jack to say anything other than Mafia 2 is better, if it was my project I would say the same but for me it all boils down to that little bit of magic that Mafia 1 had quite a lot of :D but I suppose someone who has played both is in a better position to judge that than me ;)

Mafia 2 has to pass the 8 yr test, then I might concede it is better :p

[ThaCrip]

[1]very subjective of course but I completely agree :)



[2]agree again, I really wouldn't expect Jack to say anything other than Mafia 2 is better, if it was my project I would say the same but for me it all boils down to that little bit of magic that Mafia 1 had quite a lot of :D but I suppose someone who has played both is in a better position to judge that than me ;)

Mafia 2 has to pass the 8 yr test, then I might concede it is better :p

1) = Agreed. as everyone has there own opinions so i am sure many would disagree if you went out and started asking random video game fans what was there favorite game(s). but i am sure the majority in these forums would probably agree since i am sure the bulk are in here because they where a big fan of the first game.

2) Agreed. he's obviously got to say Mafia II is better regardless of how good or bad Mafia II is as it's not like he could come out and say 'Mafia II is worse than Mafia'. lol

so while i think Mafia II has a decent chance to be better than Mafia (because of updated graphics/bigger budget which has potential to increase the overall experience since they can probably spend more time polishing stuff). i just don't see it being 'significantly better' is all.

p.s. i guess about the only thing that has me slightly worried is the new cover system as i hope it don't alter the overall feel of the game to much from the first one. but it will probably be fine though but i just hope there's no major changes to the overall shooting/driving from the first one (like with the core feel). as i hope i can still use a random object to stand behind like in the first game and then slowly come around the corner and shoot people like in the first one as i don't want to be forced to use the cover system to much although i am sure it will be damn near forced to use in some situations which i won't mind i just still want to be able to play Mafia using methods that i used in the first game is all with lining up my shots and slowly stepping out, *bang* (headshot etc), and duck back in.)

so basically out of what we know and seen of the game about the only obvious thing that has changed in terms of gameplay seems to be the cover system. i am probably worrying for no reason though overall but i guess if there is 1 game out there that i do not want messed up it's definitely Mafia II ;)

[Ljud]

Doubt about it... it would be realistic but on the other side it would be kinda weird, like: "Honey, I'm home... you won't believe what happened when I was leaving Giuseppe, two goombas mugged me..." :rolleyes:
lol
of course you have to have a good dialogue.
For instance (couple of days after you've rescued that hooker from an angry man): "....Oh, and Jackie has been asking about you. Don't know what you've done, but she seems to like you. Maybe you can get a discount..."
but better of course
Depending on what you do some games have different conversations (Mass Effect for instance) Mafia 2 will be a lot more linear experience, but it would be a nice touch that the characters in the game would to some extend comment your actions outside the main story. Random encounters are a perfect opportunity for that, unlike in RDR where no matter what you do in the world outside the main story, none of the story characters seems to care.

[Sculament]

A better single player shooter is half life 2 , wich is probably the best game of all times on tech & games magazines , online polls , etc. Back to Mafia 1 , yea i gotta agree , it's the reason i waste a couple of hours a month on this forum since several months ago. Not anymore tough as the game reached the final product stage, and the launch is near , too many spoilers on the forum , such as ending disccussion and mission locales and whatnot. All the best experiences i had (in gaming and movies) have one thing in common : not knowing anything about it.

[floyd06]

I have many questions but I know you have limited time so I'll just ask one (the most important to me).

Does each chapter have multiple missions in it or does chapter 1 basicaly mean mission 1.

For example, (just random numbering) Chapter 1 has 3 missions. Chapter 2 has 6 missions. Chapter 3 has 4 missions so on and so forth. Or does it just mean Chapter 1 = Mission 1, Chapter 2 = Mission 2, Chapter 3 = Mission 3 ect.

Thanks! :)

[Mafiashock]

I have many questions but I know you have limited time so I'll just ask one (the most important to me).

Does each chapter have multiple missions in it or does chapter 1 basicaly mean mission 1.

For example, (just random numbering) Chapter 1 has 3 missions. Chapter 2 has 6 missions. Chapter 3 has 4 missions so on and so forth. Or does it just mean Chapter 1 = Mission 1, Chapter 2 = Mission 2, Chapter 3 = Mission 3 ect.

Thanks! :)

Yea I would like to know this.

[Ganja]

Its nice to see that 2K actually takes the time to come on these forums and answer peoples questions. That takes a great deal of dedication, which you don't really see these days in anything.

[packardcaribien]

I have a question about the music, Jack; not asking about specific songs since I understand you want to keep those as a suprise for people. ;)

I know quite a bit about era music and I've made the closest thing to a music list (http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60657) we have here. I know that you once said something about Mafia II ending in 1953; other devs have stated 1955. But nomatter which; some of the music is from the later months of 1959 (for example; "Dream Lover"). I assume you were making stylistic choices and had more regard to the "era feel" of the music rather than having a fully accurate representation of the defined years? It seems that the cars have the same idea; though less noticeable due to their fictionality, meaning you did both purposefully?

PS: Do you know if other devs(or Denby ect.) will come on eventually; or is it just you?

[sedlbob]

Could you say, how long have main and "lower"(but still main) actors been in the project?
I am also wondering is if they have worked on a main character for a few years full-timed so the character's personality has been evolving constantly every day or if they have other kind of contract with you.

I don't suppose actors to be sitting over a microphone and being recording eight hours per day, so is there any other thing as a part of their job?

Do they like their story role and the story/game itself?

[2K Elizabeth]

I have a question about the music, Jack; not asking about specific songs since I understand you want to keep those as a suprise for people. ;)

I know quite a bit about era music and I've made the closest thing to a music list (http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60657) we have here. I know that you once said something about Mafia II ending in 1953; other devs have stated 1955. But nomatter which; some of the music is from the later months of 1959 (for example; "Dream Lover"). I assume you were making stylistic choices and had more regard to the "era feel" of the music rather than having a fully accurate representation of the defined years? It seems that the cars have the same idea; though less noticeable due to their fictionality, meaning you did both purposefully?

PS: Do you know if other devs(or Denby ect.) will come on eventually; or is it just you?

Denby might be back a bit later on - he's still working on the game and doesn't have time for the forums right now.

Also, we're going to have a podcast about music (with Jack!)

[packardcaribien]

Denby might be back a bit later on - he's still working on the game and doesn't have time for the forums right now.

Also, we're going to have a podcast about music (with Jack!)

That's good to hear! Well, sort of. It's nice for a producer to be so involved. ;)

Also good to hear, but I doubt Jack will touch on Historical Accuracy, as it is a rather ungainly topic and wouldn't be brought up without a direct question; precisely why I asked it here.

BTW, It's quite nice to see..... uh, read you on the forums lately. Someone who can answer most questions without the uncertainty/speculation members and unofficial sources have.;)

[McGee]

Denby might be back a bit later on - he's still working on the game and doesn't have time for the forums right now.

Also, we're going to have a podcast about music (with Jack!)

I thought the game was already completed???

[2K Elizabeth]

That's good to hear! Well, sort of. It's nice for a producer to be so involved. ;)

Also good to hear, but I doubt Jack will touch on Historical Accuracy, as it is a rather ungainly topic and wouldn't be brought up without a direct question; precisely why I asked it here.

BTW, It's quite nice to see..... uh, read you on the forums lately. Someone who can answer most questions without the uncertainty/speculation members and unofficial sources have.;)

If you ever see a claim on the forums that you aren't certain of, shoot me a PM and include a link to the post. I'll fact check it for you and post in that thread to clear up any questions.

[McGee]

If you ever see a claim on the forums that you aren't certain of, shoot me a PM and include a link to the post. I'll fact check it for you and post in that thread to clear up any questions.

Liz is the game finished, because you mentioned that Denby is still working on the game...so I'm sort of confused

[Mafiashock]

Liz is the game finished, because you mentioned that Denby is still working on the game...so I'm sort of confused

On that recent podcast they said they were still crossing t's and dotting i's. Even if the game is 100 % done right now though I'm sure they would still have plenty to do (working on the demo, launch trailers, interviews etc.). I doubt they would just be sitting around with their thumbs up their a$$e$.

[2K Elizabeth]

Liz is the game finished, because you mentioned that Denby is still working on the game...so I'm sort of confused

If you are worried about the game being ready and awesome on August 24th, you don't have to - it's going to come out on time - but Denby still has work to do!

I'll let him know you've asked him to swing by. He'll be pleased, I'm sure.

[Mafioso]

Jack 2k wrote: Once you get to the 50s though, we really wanted everything to feel new and different. Empire Classic Radio still plays some oldies from time to time, but it has modified its format to focus on music from pop artists like Louis Prima, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, etc. So this is where you will hear the music you would expect to hear in a good mob movie. If you want rock n' roll or R&B instead, you'll be able to find it on the other stations.


That sounds to me like Tony Bennet will sing rags to riches in Mafia 2 :cool:. Can you confirm it , or do i have to wait ? Anyway great pick of songs and artist for the 40-50s era with Dean martin, Tony Bennet, Eddie cochran, and all the others that will create a great immersion for this game, with the real Mafia feeling :)

Finaly i must say that it is great to have you on the forum. I have high regards for you work with mafia 2 vocie acting (since i read a article about your dedication to Mafia 2 in pc gamer + the trailers obviously ).

PS. i Really liked the idea you put in in mafia 2, with Vito and the guys getting drunk and singing Karaoke in the car :D

[2K_Jack]

So in your opinion, do you believe that Mafia 2 matched the overall cinematic feel, and presentation (and gameplay for that matter) compared to Uncharted 2?

I don't really want to compare Mafia II to other games before launch. That would lead to a never-ending thread on the topic of Mafia II vs Game X :)

That being said, I think we would all enjoy hearing about what you and other forum members think after you've played Mafia II.

[McGee]

I don't really want to compare Mafia II to other games before launch. That would lead to a never-ending thread on the topic of Mafia II vs Game X :)

That being said, I think we would all enjoy hearing about what you and other forum members think after you've played Mafia II.

Orginally when did work for Mafia 2 first begin?

[2K_Jack]

I have a few small questions about Mafia II, Maybe you can answer them 2K_Jack?:)

Can Vito smoke cigarette's? I saw him smoke cigarette's in cutscenes.
But I would like to know, If Vito can lite up a cig and walk around. Cause having that in Mafia II would really put you in the style of the 50's.

Also, Can you turn off your lights? Or turn the engine off?
Reason I ask is because if I duck down an alleyway in my car, And I want to stay in the car in the shadows.
Can I turn my lights off? So that the police do not see me. Is that feature in the game?

Will there be snow in the 50's? Or does the snow only exist in the 40's?

Personally I don't like to know little details like this before I play a game. I prefer to be surprised. So I encourage you NOT to read this. Or maybe I'll just make up answers here so you're surprised when you play the game ;)

Vito will not smoke while you have control over him. This would have created an inconsistency when you arrived at a location where a cutscene plays. It would have been ludicrous for us to create smoking/non-smoking version of every cutscene. It would be also be silly for us to have Vito put his cigarette out before the cutscenes where he's not smoking. It was the 50s, you could smoke anywhere.

You might have another opportunity to experience the winter wonderland version of Empire Bay after you get to the 1950s in the main story, or you might not. This statement will eventually make sense after you've played the game ;)

Turning off the lights or the engine does not change he fact that you're driving a car of a certain make/model/color with a certain license plate. And if it's one of the awesome convertibles, they'll have your description as well. The cops will still find you based on that info. I have actually tried the tactics you suggest in real life, and the cops have found me every damn time.

[McGee]

Personally I don't like to know little details like this before I play a game. I prefer to be surprised. So I encourage you NOT to read this. Or maybe I'll just make up answers here so you're surprised when you play the game ;)

Vito will not smoke while you have control over him. This would have created an inconsistency when you arrived at a location where a cutscene plays. It would have been ludicrous for us to create smoking/non-smoking version of every cutscene. It would be also be silly for us to have Vito put his cigarette out before the cutscenes where he's not smoking. It was the 50s, you could smoke anywhere.

You might have another opportunity to experience the winter wonderland version of Empire Bay after you get to the 1950s in the main story, or you might not. This statement will eventually make sense after you've played the game ;)

Turning off the lights or the engine does not change he fact that you're driving a car of a certain make/model/color with a certain license plate. And if it's one of the awesome convertibles, they'll have your description as well. The cops will still find you based on that info. I have actually tried the tactics you suggest in real life, and the cops have found me every damn time.

So you remember the holiday confessions trailer? Will we get to experience the holiday vibe, and what not?

[Mr. Sane]

I have actually tried the tactics you suggest in real life, and the cops have found me every damn time.

Haha, RL playtesting :D

[2K_Jack]

I have a question about the music; not asking about specific songs since I understand you want to keep those as a suprise for people. ;)

I know quite a bit about era music and I've made the closest thing to a music list (http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60657) we have here. I know that you once said something about Mafia II ending in 1953; other devs have stated 1955. But nomatter which; some of the music is from the later months of 1959 (for example; "Dream Lover"). I assume you were making stylistic choices and had more regard to the "era feel" of the music rather than having a fully accurate representation of the defined years? It seems that the cars have the same idea; though less noticeable due to their fictionality, meaning you did both purposefully?

That is exactly right. The sound of the music from the era is what we went for, not 100% historical accuracy.

As with everything else, the goal for the soundtrack was first and foremost to create the best possible experience for you guys. Wherever possible, we tried to be historically accurate. However, when staying true to the exact dates limited what we could do to the point where the game wasn't as much fun to play, we tossed historical accuracy out the window and went with the stuff that was the most fun.

Where I drew the line for the soundtrack was the Phil Spector girl groups and "Wall of Sound" sound, and the British Invasion. Bother of those happened in the early 60s, and to me they're iconic sounds for that decade. Anything that came before that or sounded like it came before it, was fair game for the soundtrack.

The reason you will hear Denby and I giving different dates in different interviews is because it changed a couple of times. The only thing that really matters though- to you, to me, to the story, and to the soundtrack - is that the game ends some time in the 1950s. I actually started working on the soundtrack even before Daniel and I had decided on exactly when the game ended. All we knew was "it's the 50s", so any music that had that 50s sound, no matter when it was recorded, was considered.

[2K_Jack]

Hi Jack, thanks for doing this!!..:D

I have a question..

When will your team release the demo on XBL and PSN???.

I know in a recent interview Denby said it was going to be released in the following months, and since were about a month away (roughly) I'm constantly signing in and hoping its on the marketplace(XBL):p

Ill be patiently waiting on a reply...Thanks again Jack:)

Denby and I have both stated in recent interviews that the demo will be released in August. That's as much as we can tell you right now ;)

[2K_Jack]

hello,and welcome to the forums, i have a question...in the first mafia one of the things i liked is that the music was not only when you where in cars, so also when you where in a shootout or simply when you where walking (the atmosphere feel even more alive) so it will be that kind of ambiental music, or you just will hear music when you are in you car/ you know when i was playing gta4 one of the things i didnt like was that when you where in a shootout there wasnt music, so the atmosphere was a little grey if you know what im talking about

While not in a car, you will often hear the licensed music playing from shops or other sources in the environment. You can also hear the radios of certain cars as they drive by.

During the intense shooting sequences, these will often be accompanied by the game's orchestral score. We have about 3 hours of original orchestral music in the game in addition to the 120+ licensed tracks.

Just as you can set or enhance a certain mood with music, you can do the same with the absence of music. This means that when the environment is relatively silent in the game, odds are we did that on purpose.

[Fugue]

During the intense shooting sequences, these will often be accompanied by the game's orchestral score. We have about 3 hours of original orchestral music in the game in addition to the 120+ licensed tracks.

will there be an option to turn off the music completely? am sure it will be great of course ;) but I generally turn off the orchestral score during gameplay, I sometimes find it very annoying & prefer to just enjoy the sound effects...

[2K_Jack]

Maybe you know if there are some objects of Googie architecture (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Googie) besides the (not too obvious in terms of design) greaser's hideout ?

I'm probably not the best person to speak to the various types of architecture you'll find in Empire Bay. The only thing I really cared about was that we had pre-war buildings in the 40s, and we saw some post-war architecture in the 50s, and the art team nailed that perfectly. Maybe Elizabeth can get Roman (2K Czech's art lead) to talk more about that if you ask her nicely.

[2K_Jack]

Question(s) for Jack:
I don't know If you can talk about this or not, but one of the most interesting things in Red Dead Redemption was the implementation of random events.
The first time I saw this was when I watched one presentation of Mafia II where a hooker crashed in some guy and you helped her, and when you were getting mugged by two guys. Red Dead Redemption had a lot of interesting ones and I really missed them in the GTA series.

In one presentation of Mafia 2, developer was talking about them and how game knows where you are on the map and can spawn them according to that.

I was wondering if there will be the ones that will in any way be mentioned in the story (Vito telling Joe how two wiseguys were trying to rob him) and If there will be any major ones, like some gangsters robbing a bank (or a big fire that fireman are trying to put out, because someone burned a shop that wasn't paying protection money), because I would like to see a game where a player is not responsible for all the destruction done to the city, so you wouldn't fell like you are present in every mafia related crime in the city (In GTA I feel like I am the only criminal in town that does anything besides guarding a certain area)

I was also wondering if some major set pieces would surprise you? For instance: you are supposed to go somewhere but are attacked on the way there or on the way you meet Joe who is trouble, because I am getting tired of open world games where you know where something will happen, because it is marked with a dot on the map and I read that Mafia II is supposed to be more cinematic and linear like Uncharted. Part of the fun (at least for me) of cinematic linear games is that you can't always know where the next set piece will be.

Major things will not happen to you at random. This doesn't really work because Mafia II is a buddy story. Vito will be with Joe for a good deal of time in the game. So this is what would happen - random things would happen to Vito, or to Vito and Joe together, and then we'd need to write dialog from Vito about every single one of them, and responses from Joe. I doubt we could even fit this amount of dialog on the disc. The alternative is that they just don't talk about these events, and immediately go about their business as if nothing at all happened, but that is just too damn weird. Personally, I find that it really pulls me out of the overall experience when something big happens in a game, then 10 seconds later you're talking with a friendly character and you're having a casual conversation about your next objective, as if the events you just experienced never happened.

Things will happen in this game that will surprise you. You don't just go from objective marker to objective marker and experience exactly what you think you're going to experience at each one. That's where things really gets interesting - when things don't go as planned. if I say any more on this, it'll be a spoiler :)

[2K_Jack]

Doubt about it... it would be realistic but on the other side it would be kinda weird, like: "Honey, I'm home... you won't believe what happened when I was leaving Giuseppe, two goombas mugged me..." :rolleyes:

From a story point of view - here's the reason why you're not going to run into random events everywhere you go - Vito and Joe are not your average everyday citizens. They are street smart, they've lived in Empire Bay their whole lives, and most importantly they are not pussies. They're not guys you would look at and decide to mug or attempt to victimize, unless you had huge balls. And if you do have huge balls, well then you deserve to be a more important character and we're going to work your attempted victimization into the main story somewhere :)

[2K_Jack]

Does each chapter have multiple missions in it or does chapter 1 basicaly mean mission 1.

For example, (just random numbering) Chapter 1 has 3 missions. Chapter 2 has 6 missions. Chapter 3 has 4 missions so on and so forth. Or does it just mean Chapter 1 = Mission 1, Chapter 2 = Mission 2, Chapter 3 = Mission 3 ect.

Thanks! :)

One chapter equals one mission. Each mission will be comprised of objectives that you'll need to complete in order to progress to the next chapter in the story.

[JJjoinut99]

Im sure they will be big memorable missions and we have nothing to worry about. ive seen the distillery one loads already but still can't wait to play it myself.
One question though, do we choose which family to join or as the story progresses does Vito's alliegences switch?
PS i love the new layout.

[Pittsburgh Phil]

and most importantly they are not pussies


Hahahahaha, thats badass:D

[2K_Jack]

Orginally when did work for Mafia 2 first begin?

I believe Daniel started on the original script right after the first game shipped. I think it was designed as a PS2 game or something. Remember this was 2002. Since then, obviously much has changed.

The game you will experience in August, my work started on it in late 2005. The engine and tools were in development well before that.

[McGee]

I believe Daniel started on the original script right after the first game shipped. I think it was designed as a PS2 game or something. Remember this was 2002. Since then, obviously much has changed.

The game you will experience in August, my work started on it in late 2005. The engine and tools were in development well before that.

Ahh...Mafia 2 looks gorgeous, and easily is one of the best looking free roam games around. But recently I saw gameplay for Infamous 2 and WOW! It basically looks like Uncharted 2 but set in this sprawling city. So you could tell Mafia 2 is beginning to show it's age a bit..,
I

[2K_Jack]

Im sure they will be big memorable missions and we have nothing to worry about. ive seen the distillery one loads already but still can't wait to play it myself.
One question though, do we choose which family to join or as the story progresses does Vito's alliegences switch?
PS i love the new layout.

You don't choose which family to join. Joe has a big hand in this. Don't want to spoil anything so that's all I'll say.

[Jukebox]

we'd need to write dialog from Vito about every single one of them, and responses from Joe. I doubt we could even fit this amount of dialog on the disc. The alternative is that they just don't talk about these events, and immediately go about their business as if nothing at all happened, but that is just too damn weird.
I don't get it with this quote. So is there any cutting in dialog parts throughout the game? I hope that isn't true, Jack.

[McGee]

I don't get it with this quote. So is there any cutting in dialog parts throughout the game? I hope that isn't true, Jack.

He's saying that if they did decide to do that then it would be impossible to fit all that extra diologue on the disk.

[2K_Jack]

Its nice to see that 2K actually takes the time to come on these forums and answer peoples questions. That takes a great deal of dedication, which you don't really see these days in anything.

Cool. It's nice to see that our efforts are appreciated. Both Denby and I (and our friends at 2K Czech) would like to devote more time to the forums, but we're both still very busy with pre-launch tasks.

[Jukebox]

He's saying that if they did decide to do that then it would be impossible to fit all that extra diologue on the disk.
Ah I see, so they discarded the random events to put the extra dialogs. Nice!

[2K_Jack]

will there be an option to turn off the music completely? am sure it will be great of course ;) but I generally turn off the orchestral score during gameplay, I sometimes find it very annoying & prefer to just enjoy the sound effects...

Yup. That should be in the options menu.

[2K_Jack]

Could you say, how long have main and "lower"(but still main) actors been in the project?
I am also wondering is if they have worked on a main character for a few years full-timed so the character's personality has been evolving constantly every day or if they have other kind of contract with you.

I don't suppose actors to be sitting over a microphone and being recording eight hours per day, so is there any other thing as a part of their job?

Do they like their story role and the story/game itself?

These are all great questions and they deserve a well written response, which unfortunately I'm too tired to write right now :) It's almost 3 in the morning here and I need to get to sleep. I will answer these questions within 24 hours, probably a lot sooner.

[JJjoinut99]

You don't choose which family to join. Joe has a big hand in this. Don't want to spoil anything so that's all I'll say.

ok thanks
i can see joe completley balls-ing things up for Vito :D

[McGee]

Is Mafia 2 going to make us cry?

[Thymen Molizzo]

Hey there, Jack.
I have a question too. :)

In one of the interviews at E3, you talked about how the Demo won't have all the cars and will (only) have 40 of the songs from the game.
Can you tell us how "limited" the demo will be?

Will, for example, certain areas be locked?
Will the demo have a timer, like in E3, meaning you have limited play-time?
And what about the clothes? Are all clothes and shops be avaiable?

I can't think of any other demo-related questions right now, but, I was just wondering if you could/are allowed to tell us how "limited" the demo will be.

--
Goodnight, or...err... Morning.
I'm looking forward to see more answered questions tomorrow!

[Lucky_Lu]

thanks Jack, for answering my question regarding when the demo will be released, much appreciated..:D

I do have a few more questions..

Will magazines and casings stay on the ground after firing(weither it be the Vito or AI)? Will they lay on enviromental objects in which we take cover behind? - And if they do, will they disappear after a while? Also..Will there be execution kills?:confused:

Hope you can answer those questions, after your sleep of course:p

Thanks, Much appreciated!!:)

[sedlbob]

During the intense shooting sequences, these will often be accompanied by the game's orchestral score. We have about 3 hours of original orchestral music in the game in addition to the 120+ licensed tracks.

WOW. :eek:
That's damn more than just amazing.

[Jukebox]

He's saying that if they did decide to do that then it would be impossible to fit all that extra diologue on the disk.
Ah I see, so they discarded the random events to put the extra dialogs. Nice!
I think this is what they mean about the extra dialogs. A statement from Denby. This is just awsome!


Probably the most awesome part for me in the game and driving – it's actually not a police chase, not an exciting moment – it's just one of those moments in any game or any movie or anything like that that you're just like, “that's just really cool.” I want to be in that car in that moment in time. So what happens – again I'm gonna completely generalize everything so I don't give any story away – the guys, Vito, Joe, and Eddie – they'd actually been out completing a mission or completing this job they had to get done – it will all become clear I'm sure when you play the game – and then the drive home after this mission is where things start. Now Vito and Joe are like 10 pints deep – they're super drunk at this point in the game. They can not stand up. I think Eddie early on in the mission actually vomits. So these guys are super drunk, you get in the car, and on comes a tune on the radio and Eddie's just like, “Vito, don't touch that dial right now.” And then the drive home for the next two to three minutes is Eddie and Joe just completing the worst karaoke along to this tune that you've ever heard. And it's just a moment in games where you're just like, “that's pretty cool.” You know you feel you really connect with the guys, that you're just like that – you're driving the car, Vito is complaining like anything about their singing, and the stench in the car from the vomit. And you're just like – it's just a great moment you know. And you just get these moments sometimes - and I have to give a big hats off to Jack for coming up with that one. He's just like, “oh I've had this idea” and he went away with the actors and recorded it and then came back to me and the Czech guys and kind of sold it to us. We're really really happy how it's turned out. For me, it's probably my favorite driving moment in the game. It's not exciting, it's not fast, it's just cool.

[ThatBadAssMofo]

Is there a Free Ride game mode?

Will there be a carencyclopedia?

Are there any cheats (i.e big fists :D )?

[sanpreet]

Is Mafia 2 going to make us cry?

if you eat to much spicy food then yes it will make you cry.

[Muffin]

if you eat to much spicy food then yes it will make you cry.

What Sanpreet said.

[WAYNEN]

What Sanpreet said.
I hope not so.

[WAYNEN]

Hay Jack.In Mafia 2 can Vito watch TV?

[Mafioso]

Jack will there be any sicilian/italian speaking in the game?

Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions :)

[2K_Jack]

Could you say, how long have main and "lower"(but still main) actors been in the project?
I am also wondering is if they have worked on a main character for a few years full-timed so the character's personality has been evolving constantly every day or if they have other kind of contract with you.

I don't suppose actors to be sitting over a microphone and being recording eight hours per day, so is there any other thing as a part of their job?

Do they like their story role and the story/game itself?

We started recording in July of 2007 with the main guys. That was for the announcement trailer that I think we released in August 2007. The main story dialog recording process started about 3 months later. One thing you may notice is that Henry’s voice is different in the announcement trailer. He is voiced by Rick Pasqualone in that trailer, whose voice we liked so much he ended up playing Vito.

None of our actors are exclusive to Mafia II. They are all free to work on movies, TV shows, games, whatever they want. For example, Bobby Costanzo (Joe) went to Bulgaria to shoot a movie for a month last year, Rick Pasqualone (Vito) was recently featured in a big commercial here in the US, and Sonny Marinelli (Henry) just completed a movie.

One thing we do with every actor at the start of every project's VO (voiceover) recording process, is we "find the character." This means we get the actor familiar with who he or she is playing - the way they talk, react to certain situations, the type of accent they have... everything that makes that character who they are. So the characters normally don't really change or evolve throughout the recording process unless the script calls for it.

The dialog is always subject to change though. No matter how much you work on the dialog, if you have a talented group of actors in the studio and each of them has become fully immersed in their character, they are bound to play off one on another and will sometimes come up with stuff that is better than what you have in the script. So where certain dialog wasn't working, or where the actors ad-lib'd a line that worked better, we changed the dialog.

The actors usually perform for 4 hours per day. That is the standard amount of time of a union voiceover session, though we can go longer if we choose to. When they weren’t recording, the actors often hung around the studio. We recorded Mafia II at POP Sound in Los Angeles. It’s a big, comfortable place, and a lot of the actors are friends, so we’d often end up with 3 or 4 guys sitting around talking and watching TV while we were preparing to record. The first time this happened, the staff at the studio were alarmed because they thought the actors were arguing. Everything was fine after I explained that they were guys hired to play wiseguys, and that’s just the way they talk :) That’s when I knew we got the casting right.

For the major characters, every actor I worked with loved the character they were playing. One of my favorite actors to work with even wrote and starred in a really, really big movie during the production of Mafia II, and throughout that process he was always nice enough to let me know when he'd be available to record his dialog for Mafia II. For the actors who played the small parts, well I understand it’s hard to get excited about playing pedestrian #6 :) But we still had a lot of fun.

The actors had to rely on me to communicate what the story and game were about during the first year or so of recording. After the game reached a certain point, I would bring videos to the recording sessions to show them the scenes we were recording, and sometimes I would have a build of the game available for them to play. Needless to say, they were all very impressed.

[Vito Scaletta]

Turning off the lights or the engine does not change he fact that you're driving a car of a certain make/model/color with a certain license plate. And if it's one of the awesome convertibles, they'll have your description as well. The cops will still find you based on that info. I have actually tried the tactics you suggest in real life, and the cops have found me every damn time.

Thank you so much for the very insightful reply. :)

Btw, In response to your 3rd answer, I meant if you was driving in the middle of the night, And police give chase and if you pull into a dark alleyway, And shut the lights off, I am assume the police will fly right by you.

I have seen it in many movies, And I have always like'd it. :)

[2K_Jack]

Jack 2k wrote: Once you get to the 50s though, we really wanted everything to feel new and different. Empire Classic Radio still plays some oldies from time to time, but it has modified its format to focus on music from pop artists like Louis Prima, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, etc. So this is where you will hear the music you would expect to hear in a good mob movie. If you want rock n' roll or R&B instead, you'll be able to find it on the other stations.


That sounds to me like Tony Bennet will sing rags to riches in Mafia 2 :cool:. Can you confirm it , or do i have to wait ? Anyway great pick of songs and artist for the 40-50s era with Dean martin, Tony Bennet, Eddie cochran, and all the others that will create a great immersion for this game, with the real Mafia feeling :)

Finaly i must say that it is great to have you on the forum. I have high regards for you work with mafia 2 vocie acting (since i read a article about your dedication to Mafia 2 in pc gamer + the trailers obviously ).

PS. i Really liked the idea you put in in mafia 2, with Vito and the guys getting drunk and singing Karaoke in the car :D

Thanks for your kind words. I'm gonna make you guys wait until you play the game before discussing any more artists or particular songs. It will be worth it, I promise.

[2K_Jack]

So you remember the holiday confessions trailer? Will we get to experience the holiday vibe, and what not?

I remember it very well, but you will not experience the magic of Christmas in Mafia II. Vito comes back after Christmas in our story.

The Christmas theme was something we did specifically for that trailer, partially because it was airing at the VGA Awards show a couple of weeks before Christmas. I put some Christmas music in the rough animatic we made, and everyone liked it. We already had terrific looking snow effects and a winter version of the city, and the art team was able to build a nice church and create some holiday decorations for one of the city streets. The backstory was that all Vito's mother wanted for Christmas was for him to go to church with her, and go to confession. This provided a believable way to have Vito tell someone about all the stuff he's done. Wiseguys don't normally speak openly of the crimes they commit, but you can tell pretty much anything to a lawyer or a priest.

Because I know someone will ask - yes, the church did end up making it into the game. And no, you cannot go into it and cause trouble. This would have added a lot of work, and I would have asked that the player's weapons be locked if they were allowed to enter because a wiseguy would never, ever go into a church and start trouble. So there would be no compelling reason to have the church be interactive anyway in that case.

[2K_Jack]

Is Mafia 2 going to make us cry?

All I will say about that is that certain scenes are designed to stir emotions.

[Fugue]

that scene at the end of confessions when Vito gets in the car is brilliant, it sitll makes me laugh now :D

from the last podcast it seems there's more of that sort of humour with the karaoke in the car, there wasn't much humour in Mafia 1 and 2 is supposed to be darker & grittier but I hope there will be a few more chuckles along the way :)

[2K_Jack]

Hey there, Jack.
I have a question too. :)

In one of the interviews at E3, you talked about how the Demo won't have all the cars and will (only) have 40 of the songs from the game.
Can you tell us how "limited" the demo will be?

Will, for example, certain areas be locked?
Will the demo have a timer, like in E3, meaning you have limited play-time?
And what about the clothes? Are all clothes and shops be avaiable?

I can't think of any other demo-related questions right now, but, I was just wondering if you could/are allowed to tell us how "limited" the demo will be.

--
Goodnight, or...err... Morning.
I'm looking forward to see more answered questions tomorrow!

As for the cars, the demo takes place in the 50s, so you're not going to have some of the cars you'll have in the 40s in the full game. I'm personally not sure how many 50s cars will be available in the demo.

The demo will let you drive around a piece of the city. There will be barriers in the demo that won't be there in the full game.

I think Denby could provide answers to your other questions in his thread.

[floyd06]

Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions! :)

Will Frankie Potts make an appearance in the game? All I need is a yes or no answer. Thanks! :)

[Dbeat]

While not in a car, you will often hear the licensed music playing from shops or other sources in the environment. You can also hear the radios of certain cars as they drive by.

During the intense shooting sequences, these will often be accompanied by the game's orchestral score. We have about 3 hours of original orchestral music in the game in addition to the 120+ licensed tracks.

Just as you can set or enhance a certain mood with music, you can do the same with the absence of music. This means that when the environment is relatively silent in the game, odds are we did that on purpose.

cool, that reminded me to a racetrack mission in Mafia, it was in the morning, usually the city was acomplished with music, but the mission tooked in the morning, so there where hardly 3 or 4 cars and there was no music, you only hear the sound of the motor and the birds, it really felt like you was driving in the morning.

[Peterek93]

Is there big difference between PC and consoles? I mean Physx. Is worth to buy better PC than console for Mafia II?

[Fugue]

Is there big difference between PC and consoles? I mean Physx

if you have the hardware & Nvidia GPU then yes there's a big difference, PC is getting many more PhysX effects the consoles can't do.

[2K_Jack]

thanks Jack, for answering my question regarding when the demo will be released, much appreciated..:D

I do have a few more questions..

Will magazines and casings stay on the ground after firing(weither it be the Vito or AI)? Will they lay on enviromental objects in which we take cover behind? - And if they do, will they disappear after a while? Also..Will there be execution kills?:confused:

Hope you can answer those questions, after your sleep of course:p

Thanks, Much appreciated!!:)

All versions of the game have had PhysX implemented. This should allow things like you describe. But eventually these things do eat up memory, so don't be surprised if they eventually disappear.

The PC version of the game has what they call enhanced GPU PhysX. The bits and pieces of debris will stay in the world forever. If you're taking cover behind a concrete pillar and it is damaged by bullets, the bits and pieces will stay on the ground. I should also mention that the PC version also supports nvidia 3D Vision Surround, which is 3D spread across 3 monitors.

There are no weapon execution kills. There are some really cool melee finishing moves, some of which you may have already seen.

[2K_Jack]

Is there a Free Ride game mode?

Will there be a carencyclopedia?

Are there any cheats (i.e big fists :D )?

You should post these questions for Denby in his thread. Gameplay-specific stuff is all him.

[2K_Jack]

Hay Jack.In Mafia 2 can Vito watch TV?

No. It would have been a lot of work and a whole lot of money to get the rights to display the old shows from the 50s on our in-game TVs. We chose to spend that time and money on things like the radio content and soundtrack. Besides, Vito and Joe have more important things to do than watch TV :)

[Devil Ghost]

hello jack

I have question

Will you postpone the game soon ?? :D

[Fugue]

:eek:

hopefully the fact that they are here and talking about it freely means it's done & dusted and there can be no more delays :o

[Devil Ghost]

Is it possible to tell us about the side missions in the game ؟؟ and things that we can do outside the story missions ؟؟ :)

[Devil Ghost]

:eek:

hopefully the fact that they are here and talking about it freely means it's done & dusted and there can be no more delays :o

The game was delayed hundreds of times, what is strange when these are time delayed :D

[Dbeat]

hello Jack eem few questions:

1.- The legth of Mafia II will be larger, equal or shorter than Mafia 1 gameplay?!


2.- Mafia haved side missions, the ones with Lucas Bertone, we will see this kind of side mission, is there still the casual episodes in Empire Bay like a ladie that is being menaced by a greaser or there are gone?


3.- we will hear music outside of the car while walking? that gived more atmosphere to mafia 1.


4.-Can Vito get out of the cars when they're movin'?


5.-Can you get whacked if you are killing people with no sense at all like in some interview Jack Scalici said, if this feature is in the game, can you explain more of how it works?


6.-LAST ONE: After all this cuts in the gameplay ( sidemissions, wife systems, RESPECT SYSTEM (I WAS PRETTY CURIOUS ABOUT THAT COULD YOU EXPLAIN ME HOW WAS GOING TO WORK THAT SYSTEM?)alternative endings, story, length) do you feel the game was better with all that modifications, I mean, dont you think some of that features would gived more personality-originality to the game?,why cut some features that worked in Mafia game( garage, sidemissions, losing ammo when you reload)?

[onixer2010]

Hi Jack.
I have only one but the most important question ..
!!!Will it posible to be a taxi driver , in Mafia 2 like in Mafia 1?!!!
Thanks!!!

[2K_Jack]

Jack will there be any sicilian/italian speaking in the game?

Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions :)

There will be some characters who speak Sicilian, and some who speak Italian. I don't want to spoil anything, so that's all I'll say, other than the main characters all speak English. 99% of the dialog in the English version of the game is spoken in English. This may spark some discussion, so I will explain further:

Something that many people do not understand is that Italians and Sicilians, and Italian-Americans and Sicilian-Americans, do not get along as well as you would think. The Italians and Sicilians see the first-generation and second-generation Italian-Americana and Sicilian-American mobsters as having lost something, having become too American. Similarly, the Americans see the Sicilians and Italians as a bunch of foreigners who have no idea how America works, still stuck in the old ways of the mafia, which don't work as well in America as they do back in the old country.

Part of this is because back then, immigrants were proud to be American. They helped build America up to be what it is today. They worked in the coal mines and they fought in the wars and they became Americans. They weren't Italian-American or Sicilian-Americans, proudly displaying the flags of their countries - they were just Americans whose parents had come here from Italy and Sicily. They Americanized their names from things like Pietro and Paolo to Peter and Paul, and they spoke English peppered with words from the language of their parents and grandparents. They still retained the customs and the food (especially the food) of the old country, but they were decidedly American.

I can go on and on and on about this, but I think you get the picture.

[2K_Jack]

Thank you so much for the very insightful reply. :)

Btw, In response to your 3rd answer, I meant if you was driving in the middle of the night, And police give chase and if you pull into a dark alleyway, And shut the lights off, I am assume the police will fly right by you.

I have seen it in many movies, And I have always like'd it. :)

You know what, I have honestly never tried that. My favorite thing to do is get one of the really fast cars, upgrade it at one of the body shops, and outrun the cops when they bother me.

[2K_Jack]

that scene at the end of confessions when Vito gets in the car is brilliant, it sitll makes me laugh now :D

from the last podcast it seems there's more of that sort of humour with the karaoke in the car, there wasn't much humour in Mafia 1 and 2 is supposed to be darker & grittier but I hope there will be a few more chuckles along the way :)

Thanks :) Especially because it's a buddy story, Mafia II's script is not as dark as the first game's, but it's not all fun and games and laughs either. It certainly has its dark moments, because it is a story about mobsters after all, but one of the things I worked on with Dan Vavra and with Tomas Hrebicek (our cutscene director) was to balance those dark moments with some lighter stuff. This wasn't done just for the sake of getting a laugh out of the player, it was done because this is how these guys behave. The characters in our story guys aren't just coworkers, they're friends. They have fun doing most of the stuff they do. They make jokes, they get drunk, they bust each other's balls, etc. just like we all do with our friends. The main difference is that these guys do all of this while doing some pretty unpleasant things.

In summary, we were very careful not to turn the game into a comedy. You will definitely laugh when playing it, but it remains an epic mob story at its core.

[2K_Jack]

Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions! :)

Will Frankie Potts make an appearance in the game? All I need is a yes or no answer. Thanks! :)

Maaaaaaaaaaybe... :D

[2K_Jack]

hello jack

I have question

Will you postpone the game soon ?? :D

Good to see I'm not the only ballbuster on this forum. I actually have many witty retorts to this "question" you ask :) but because this is a public forum, my words could be instantly taken out of context and I would be set upon by angry PR girls. So the official answer to this question is:

Mafia II is shipping August 24th in the U.S. for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. Keep and eye out for the public demo also coming in August. For our friends down under, I believe the game will be available on August 27th.

[2K_Jack]

Is it possible to tell us about the side missions in the game ؟؟ and things that we can do outside the story missions ؟؟ :)

That's a Denby question :)

[Mafiashock]

2k Jack,
What games are you enjoying at the moment (besides mafia 2 of course) and what games are you most looking forward to in the future?

[2K_Jack]

hello Jack eem few questions:

1.- The legth of Mafia II will be larger, equal or shorter than Mafia 1 gameplay?!


2.- Mafia haved side missions, the ones with Lucas Bertone, we will see this kind of side mission, is there still the casual episodes in Empire Bay like a ladie that is being menaced by a greaser or there are gone?


3.- we will hear music outside of the car while walking? that gived more atmosphere to mafia 1.


4.-Can Vito get out of the cars when they're movin'?


5.-Can you get whacked if you are killing people with no sense at all like in some interview Jack Scalici said, if this feature is in the game, can you explain more of how it works?


6.-LAST ONE: After all this cuts in the gameplay ( sidemissions, wife systems, RESPECT SYSTEM (I WAS PRETTY CURIOUS ABOUT THAT COULD YOU EXPLAIN ME HOW WAS GOING TO WORK THAT SYSTEM?)alternative endings, story, length) do you feel the game was better with all that modifications, I mean, dont you think some of that features would gived more personality-originality to the game?,why cut some features that worked in Mafia game( garage, sidemissions, losing ammo when you reload)?

I will pick up with these questions when I come back. I'd love to talk to you guys all day, but I need to go earn my paycheck now ;)

[Mbeats]

Thanks for you time 2K Jack !! :)

[Ljud]

The setting plays a big part of creating a wonderful experience, and Empire Bay is looking great. I know I'll want to revisit it after compleating the story.

So the question is: Are you planning any DLC? We've been waiting 8 years for Mafia II and I know from replaying Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven that after finishing the story in Mafia II we'll want more stories (maybe a spin-off) from the Empire Bay, because waiting another 8 years for a game from you guys, just feels too long :D

Yeah, I know that making a good game with a great story takes time :D

I like what you've done with the game, and I am hoping for high sales. :)

[Devil Ghost]

What are the New Unique Things that the game Have ?

[2Rare2Die]

Will The PS3 Have a Complete Good Port, or Another Half-@$$ed one

[summer_nights]

Hi Jack. How is Daniel Vavra lately? :D
I`m surprised that nobody talks about his big contribution for Mafia 1 & 2. The new Mafia fans should know more about the man who created the story for both games:p
It will be intersting to have a new interview with him.You think this is possible?Maybe a podcast ...
I think we,the old fans deserve that.And the new ones also.
Thank you also for your contribution to this fenomenal franchise.

Sorry if I was offtopic:o

[packardcaribien]

Hi Jack. How is Daniel Vavra lately? :D
I`m surprised that nobody talks about his big contribution for Mafia 1 & 2. The new Mafia fans should know more about the man who created the story for both games:p
It will be intersting to have a new interview with him.You think this is possible?Maybe a podcast ...
I think we,the old fans deserve that.And the new ones also.
Thank you also for your contribution to this fenomenal franchise.

Sorry if I was offtopic:o

I think he left the team awhile ago; after the story was done. I don't think he would be available for an interview if so. Wonder what they'll do if they need to make a Mafia III. :confused:

[Mbeats]

I hope that they dont make Mafia III without Daniel Vavra.

[1Sicilian1]

There will be some characters who speak Sicilian, and some who speak Italian. I don't want to spoil anything, so that's all I'll say, other than the main characters all speak English. 99% of the dialog in the English version of the game is spoken in English. This may spark some discussion, so I will explain further:

Something that many people do not understand is that Italians and Sicilians, and Italian-Americans and Sicilian-Americans, do not get along as well as you would think. The Italians and Sicilians see the first-generation and second-generation Italian-Americana and Sicilian-American mobsters as having lost something, having become too American. Similarly, the Americans see the Sicilians and Italians as a bunch of foreigners who have no idea how America works, still stuck in the old ways of the mafia, which don't work as well in America as they do back in the old country.

Part of this is because back then, immigrants were proud to be American. They helped build America up to be what it is today. They worked in the coal mines and they fought in the wars and they became Americans. They weren't Italian-American or Sicilian-Americans, proudly displaying the flags of their countries - they were just Americans whose parents had come here from Italy and Sicily. They Americanized their names from things like Pietro and Paolo to Peter and Paul, and they spoke English peppered with words from the language of their parents and grandparents. They still retained the customs and the food (especially the food) of the old country, but they were decidedly American.

I can go on and on and on about this, but I think you get the picture.



I gotta say, you really know your stuff Jack. Just curious, are you of sicilian or italian heritage. My fam is from Palermo.

[Mafioso]

Im pretty sure that Jacks ancestors is from the land of gli azzuri. (Or am i wrong?)

"Originally Posted by 2K_Jack"
There will be some characters who speak Sicilian, and some who speak Italian. I don't want to spoil anything, so that's all I'll say, other than the main characters all speak English. 99% of the dialog in the English version of the game is spoken in English.

Anyway thanks for your answer Jack. Glad to hear that you put some Sicilian and Italian in Mafia 2. That is a plus for me. Played AC 2 in Italian with subs.

[fcederberg]

Hi Jack.

I have a question. Will the game take up anything about McCarthyism?

Have a nice day!

[2K_Jack]

2k Jack,
What games are you enjoying at the moment (besides mafia 2 of course) and what games are you most looking forward to in the future?

I recently started playing two big games whose names I will not mention because I am no longer playing them. The dialog and acting was so awful, and the characters so unlikable and uninteresting, that I had to stop.

The next game up is Red Dead Redemption. I've been traveling a lot lately and I'm finally going to have time to check it out soon.

I play a lot of different games, and the ones I am looking forward to, in no particular order are The Old Republic, Guild Wars 2, Gears of War 3, Portal 2, Diablo 3, anything from Bioware, Fable 3, Arkham Asylum 2, and I'm also excited to see what Rockstar does with Max Payne and LA Noire. The next couple of years should be an incredible time for gaming.

[2K_Jack]

I will pick up with these questions when I come back. I'd love to talk to you guys all day, but I need to go earn my paycheck now ;)

OK, I lied. This is like 6 questions in one so let me answer all of the easy ones first, then I will come back to this :)

[2K_Jack]

The setting plays a big part of creating a wonderful experience, and Empire Bay is looking great. I know I'll want to revisit it after compleating the story.

So the question is: Are you planning any DLC? We've been waiting 8 years for Mafia II and I know from replaying Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven that after finishing the story in Mafia II we'll want more stories (maybe a spin-off) from the Empire Bay, because waiting another 8 years for a game from you guys, just feels too long :D

Yeah, I know that making a good game with a great story takes time :D

I like what you've done with the game, and I am hoping for high sales. :)

Yes, there will be DLC. I can say no more than that. I can't talk about the next game either, except to say that if there is a next game, it will come far sooner than 8 years from now ;)

[2K_Jack]

What are the New Unique Things that the game Have ?

Zombie mode is what's really going to set us apart. Just kidding. This has all been discussed elsewhere :)

[2K_Jack]

Will The PS3 Have a Complete Good Port, or Another Half-@$$ed one

The PS3 version runs just as good as the PC and 360. There are no "ports" this time around. The game was developed simultaneously for all 3 platforms. When you hear us talk about the delays due to the technical challenges of creating Mafia II, this was definitely one of them. The result though is that the game runs great on all three platforms.

[Pittsburgh Phil]

Hey Jack, hate to bother you and not sure if youve answered this one yet but, will any of the green areas on the map be accessible, as in a countryside/rural area?

[2K_Jack]

Hi Jack. How is Daniel Vavra lately? :D
I`m surprised that nobody talks about his big contribution for Mafia 1 & 2. The new Mafia fans should know more about the man who created the story for both games:p
It will be intersting to have a new interview with him.You think this is possible?Maybe a podcast ...
I think we,the old fans deserve that.And the new ones also.
Thank you also for your contribution to this fenomenal franchise.

Sorry if I was offtopic:o

I don't want to speak for him, so all I will say is that he left to pursue other opportunities and I wish him the best. I really enjoyed my time working with him.

[2K_Jack]

I gotta say, you really know your stuff Jack. Just curious, are you of sicilian or italian heritage. My fam is from Palermo.

Thanks :) My family has been in America for a very long time. My heritage is Italian. Some of my ancestors were from Calabria and Naples, and there is a rumor that there was a Sicilian somewhere in there too.

[2K_Jack]

Hi Jack.

I have a question. Will the game take up anything about McCarthyism?

Have a nice day!

Elizabeth has commanded me to identify possible spoilers, so... no, we don't touch on McCarthyism. We had it mentioned in one scene at one point in development, but most people didn't understand what it was, or thought we made it up and it was somehow important to the story, (it wasn't) so we chose to remove it in a subsequent script revision For anyone who doesn't know what McCarthyism is, look it up, it's very interesting.

[2K_Jack]

Hey Jack, hate to bother you and not sure if youve answered this one yet but, will any of the green areas on the map be accessible, as in a countryside/rural area?

There aren;t any super rural country areas, but the game doesn't only take place in the big city. There are suburbs and some more remote areas. No old farmhouses though :)

[Pittsburgh Phil]

There aren;t any super rural country areas, but the game doesn't only take place in the big city. There are suburbs and some more remote areas. No old farmhouses though :)


Well that satisfies me, thanks:)

And a trip to a farmhouse just wouldnt be the same without Paulie and Sam anyways;)

[2K_Jack]

1.- The legth of Mafia II will be larger, equal or shorter than Mafia 1 gameplay?!

All depends on how you play. I won't put a number on the average playthrough because I simply don't know what that number is. I often spend half my day just driving around and looking for cars to populate my garage with.




2.- Mafia haved side missions, the ones with Lucas Bertone, we will see this kind of side mission, is there still the casual episodes in Empire Bay like a ladie that is being menaced by a greaser or there are gone?

Yes, there will be optional things you can do at certain places in the game. These are not randomly generated events though, for reasons I have stated in my answers to previous questions on this topic.



3.- we will hear music outside of the car while walking? that gived more atmosphere to mafia 1.

Yes, sometimes. This question was answered in much more detail in one of my earlier posts.



4.-Can Vito get out of the cars when they're movin'?

You cannot bail at high speed. It is a videogame, but we try to encourage remotely realistic behavior in Mafia II.



5.-Can you get whacked if you are killing people with no sense at all like in some interview Jack Scalici said, if this feature is in the game, can you explain more of how it works?

We removed that feature. It was planned, but got removed a while ago. The reason was that our police system works well enough to discourage this kind of behavior. Having both the mob and the cops try to kill you when you behave like a homicidal maniac was just too much. We also realize that some players like to occasionally behave like that, so if they can do it without getting killed by the cops, good for them. We're not going to ruin their fun by having them automatically get killed.



6.-LAST ONE: After all this cuts in the gameplay ( sidemissions, wife systems, RESPECT SYSTEM (I WAS PRETTY CURIOUS ABOUT THAT COULD YOU EXPLAIN ME HOW WAS GOING TO WORK THAT SYSTEM?)alternative endings, story, length) do you feel the game was better with all that modifications, I mean, dont you think some of that features would gived more personality-originality to the game?,why cut some features that worked in Mafia game( garage, sidemissions, losing ammo when you reload)?

That's one hell of a last question.

The short answer is that the reason we removed all of these legacy design features was to improve the overall quality of the game, and to put the focus on what we do best, which is story-driven action/driving gameplay.

The "respect system" was identical to what you mention above, and is exactly what you would expect. If you behaved like a maniac in Empire Bay, you would lose respect. Once it falls to a certain level, it's automatic game over. While some people would enjoy this, most would find it very irritating. It also made things very, very weird when you were about to get whacked for acting like an *******, and your boss was yelling at you on the phone and threatening you to shape up, but then you go see him 2 minutes later to continue the main story and he acts like nothing is wrong.

You guys should understand that everything we add to the game has an exponential effect in a game the size of Mafia II. Plus we want the experience to be a lot of fun yet also feel realistic and be executed at super high quality. When we can't do that, this is why we remove certain non-essential features.

I don't know anything about a "wife system" in the original design. I have been on the project for almost 5 years now and if there was a wife system, it was removed before I got the script. I remember hearing from Dan Vavra that at one point you could have a girlfriend, but that was also removed before I started working on the game. The reason behind this, I assume, is that just like in real life, in videogames women really complicate the hell out of things ;)

Losing ammo when you reload - I personally hated that feature :) There are tens of millions of gamers out there who play shooters these days. In just about every great shooter I have ever played, the player is conditioned to reload as often as possible because you don;t lose ammo when you do this. This is not realistic, but is fun and it's what everyone knows. If we forced the player to lose the ammo left in his magazine, most players would run out of ammo shortly after the start of their first gunfight. Then they'd need to go back and pick up their old magazines. This would not be fun. I understand some people liked the realism of losing the remaining ammo with the magazine, but it went against our goal of making Mafia II instantly accessible to fans of modern shooters. If you want realism, just don't hit the reload button until you're out of ammo :)

[VitoScarletta]

hey Jack, my question is, do u know how many referrences there are between M1 and M2

[glesson]

2k_Jack,

We all know Mafia as a series (this close to release date I can finally say that) is based heavily on classic movies about organized crime. My questions is this: When making the game world realistic as possible, have you searched for other sources of inspiration except movies? I mean "real" mob stories, books, etc...

[Vito Scaletta]

Hello 2K_Jack, I have a few questions...

1. If you shoot the gas tank on cars, Will the gas in the car run out?

2. Can Vito drag corpses/body's?

3. Can Vito modify weapons?

4. Can wheels on cars wobble if you get into a accident?

5. Can Vito participate in Drag Races?

Thanks for answering so many questions here, We all appreciate it. :)

[2K_Jack]

hey Jack, my question is, do u know how many referrences there are between M1 and M2

Yes, I do. :)

[Fugue]

good answer :D


Hi Jack. How is Daniel Vavra lately?
I`m surprised that nobody talks about his big contribution for Mafia 1 & 2. The new Mafia fans should know more about the man who created the story for both games

he has a website

http://www.danielvavra.com/

in Czech obviously but google translate does a pretty good job & it's worth having a dig around, there's some very interesting stuff about Mafia 1 on there...

http://www.modrak.cz/index.php?lang=cz&action=clanek&id=690

his linkedin profile says he's freelance and..


Lead designer / writer - Next project (2K Games)

:)

[McGee]

1. Many games have that 1 point where something incredible happens, and many developers like to ask the gamers what they thought of that moment? Is there a moment like such in Mafia 2 where you would really like to know what we thought of?

2. I understand gamers got to test Mafia 2, overall when they completed the game, what did they think? Did most love Mafia 2? Was it half on half?

[VitoScarletta]

Yes, I do. :)

haha ok how many?

[2K_Jack]

2k_Jack,

We all know Mafia as a series (this close to release date I can finally say that) is based heavily on classic movies about organized crime. My questions is this: When making the game world realistic as possible, have you searched for other sources of inspiration except movies? I mean "real" mob stories, books, etc...

The first game was heavily inspired by classic mob movies, definitely. That's the first thing I noticed when I played it.

Mafia II may have started out like that, but it's not how it ended up.

I am so tired of seemingly every journalist saying to us "So, because you and every other game developer are completely devoid of creativity and original ideas, what movies did you rip off when you were making your silly little game?"

Obviously I'm exaggerating but that is exactly how this question feels. Regardless of what anyone else says, where story is concerned the answer is zero. None.

If someone is looking for correlation between Mafia II's story and a classic mob movie, the best way to explain it is that it's a lot more Goodfellas than it is Godfather. We all love The Godfather (the movie, not the game), but this is a story about the guys out there on the street with no hope to ever become the head of a major crime family.

There will undoubtedly be similarities between certain characters and plot lines in Mafia II and those seen in classic mob movies, but that's because we all get our inspiration mostly from the same source - history, as you say "real" mob stories. A big part of what a good writer does on a movie, a game, or whatever, is research.

The main sources of inspiration for the things I contributed to the story and to the characters were things that I either experienced myself, or were told me by guys who had experienced them. For example, my grandfathers were both NYC cops back then.

Where the overall look of the world is concerned, I know Road to Perdition is a film that we looked to. It was beautifully shot.

[2K_Jack]

haha ok how many?

That I cannot reveal. I have said elsewhere that there will be things we put in the game that fans of the first game will pick up on and appreciate. I can say no more :D

[Fuzzy McDoodle]

I don't quite get what everyone at 2K means by a limited sandbox...

When I see an open city, I want to go exploring like GTA 4. When I watch videos from E3 and other events, the player is constantly driving from one place to the next. Is there any down time between events to go exploring? What if I simply go off the beaten path while driving to a mission? Will I die or respawn or can I go wherever...

I really don't see the point, if it isn't a sandbox, to show off this amazing city with all these civilians and random events going on when you can't even explore.

Thanks for answering =)

[2K_Jack]

1. Many games have that 1 point where something incredible happens, and many developers like to ask the gamers what they thought of that moment? Is there a moment like such in Mafia 2 where you would really like to know what we thought of?

The ending.



2. I understand gamers got to test Mafia 2, overall when they completed the game, what did they think? Did most love Mafia 2? Was it half on half?

I don't remember the specific numbers from each round of testing, but if it wasn't way more than 50%, the game would not be coming out in August ;)

[McGee]

I don't quite get what everyone at 2K means by a limited sandbox...

When I see an open city, I want to go exploring like GTA 4. When I watch videos from E3 and other events, the player is constantly driving from one place to the next. Is there any down time between events to go exploring? What if I simply go off the beaten path while driving to a mission? Will I die or respawn or can I go wherever...

I really don't see the point, if it isn't a sandbox, to show off this amazing city with all these civilians and random events going on when you can't even explore.

Thanks for answering =)

What they mean (and please correct me if I'm wrong Jack :)) is that the whole world is open and explorable. So if all you desire is to randomly shoot pedestrians, and go crazy then, yes, you can do that. But with Mafia 2 the main priority is the story. So there's no diversions in between, no random, pointless side missions your asked to do.

Here's an example. Say you have a mission to go to the Bank and meet with Joe. You can do whatever you want, but at the end of the day the game won't progress without you meeting joe, if you get what I mean?

[2K_Jack]

I don't quite get what everyone at 2K means by a limited sandbox...

When I see an open city, I want to go exploring like GTA 4. When I watch videos from E3 and other events, the player is constantly driving from one place to the next. Is there any down time between events to go exploring? What if I simply go off the beaten path while driving to a mission? Will I die or respawn or can I go wherever...

I really don't see the point, if it isn't a sandbox, to show off this amazing city with all these civilians and random events going on when you can't even explore.

Thanks for answering =)

With the exception of a few objectives where you need to get to a certain place in a certain amount of time, you are free to explore Empire Bay all you want in between the main story beats.

[glesson]

Thanks for the reply, Jack!

I know what you mean about Road of Perdition. The overall atmosphere in this movie was fantastic. The theme with the rain, which wipes away the individual' sins, and redeems the siner was something that makes me watch the movie once every 3 - 4 months. I actually like the idea for the real life experience inspiration. That's what made A Bronx Tale for example the movie that it was - the script was based on the childhood of Chazz Palmintieri. I always thought that after The Godfather 90% of the movies tried to do the same things like Coppola's masterpiece ( there are exceptions of course - Goodfellas, A Bronx Tale, etc.). Anyway I'm glad you guys took a different and more realistic approach, I was hoping for something like that. When I first read about how Mafia II will show the realistic part from the mob life - I was a 100% confident that this project would be special. After all attention to details is what shows the difference between a good and a great game. (Sopranos is the best example for a show/movie that relied heavily on realism, and this took them to become the cult they are now)

btw: You're right, even taken out of the context - The Godfather: The Game sucks - great example to show thow people who don't undestand a certain culture, behind a project with great potential can fvck it all up.

[2K_Jack]

What they mean (and please correct me if I'm wrong Jack :)) is that the whole world is open and explorable. So if all you desire is to randomly shoot pedestrians, and go crazy then, yes, you can do that. But with Mafia 2 the main priority is the story. So there's no diversions in between, no random, pointless side missions your asked to do.

Here's an example. Say you have a mission to go to the Bank and meet with Joe. You can do whatever you want, but at the end of the day the game won't progress without you meeting joe, if you get what I mean?

This is correct.

[2K_Jack]

Hello 2K_Jack, I have a few questions...

1. If you shoot the gas tank on cars, Will the gas in the car run out?

2. Can Vito drag corpses/body's?

3. Can Vito modify weapons?

4. Can wheels on cars wobble if you get into a accident?

5. Can Vito participate in Drag Races?

Thanks for answering so many questions here, We all appreciate it. :)

I am gonna pick this one up tomorrow :)

[Fuzzy McDoodle]

With the exception of a few objectives where you need to get to a certain place in a certain amount of time, you are free to explore Empire Bay all you want in between the main story beats.
Holy **** that is a relief. When hearing all the previews and stuff you guys made it seem like you couldn't explore at all... phew

Another question, what was the thought with not including multiplayer? I know the stuff you say is you wanted to focus on singleplayer and create an epic story telling experience but Rockstar was able to create an amazing narrative along with an awesome multiplayer that I still play from time to time. Is there any chance at all, maybe a hint, that multiplayer DLC will come out.

I find that a game with only story and no MP quite sad in this age of online gaming...

[McGee]

The ending.

That's good. One of my favorite games of all time (which is Bioshock) had such a half arsed ending. Ken Levine did admit the the last half of the game was simply rushed...So it's nice to hear that. Hopefully it won't be such a cryptic mess like Alan Wake's ending was.



I don't remember the specific numbers from each round of testing, but if it wasn't way more than 50%, the game would not be coming out in August ;)

Well that's good. I'm really excited for the reviews, usually when I hear about a game for the first time I usually know what to expect. The fact that this is Daniels story, and it's a 2K Czech productions, I know it will do well:cool:

So a few more questions if you don't mind.

1. I really enjoy cut-scenes, especially cinematic cutscenes such as Mafia's. Overall could you give a guess on how long the LONGEST cutscene, and how short the shortest cutscenes are. Or if that's to spoilish, could you just the average length of the cutscenes?

2. Do you feel the story will be something that alot of gamers will remember? (like bioshocks, or Uncharted 2 stories are) And when asked about in 5 years time about Mafia 2 story they will say "yeah that story was unbelievable

[2K_Jack]

Thanks for the reply, Jack!

I know what you mean about Road of Perdition. The overall atmosphere in this movie was fantastic. The theme with the rain, which wipes away the individual' sins, and redeems the siner was something that makes me watch the movie once every 3 - 4 months. I actually like the idea for the real life experience inspiration. That's what made A Bronx Tale for example the movie that it was - the script was based on the childhood of Chazz Palmintieri. I always thought that after The Godfather 90% of the movies tried to do the same things like Coppola's masterpiece ( there are exceptions of course - Goodfellas, A Bronx Tale, etc.). Anyway I'm glad you guys took a different and more realistic approach, I was hoping for something like that. When I first read about how Mafia II will show the realistic part from the mob life - I was a 100% confident that this project would be special. After all attention to details is what shows the difference between a good and a great game. (Sopranos is the best example for a show/movie that relied heavily on realism, and this took them to become the cult they are now)

btw: You're right, even taken out of the context - The Godfather: The Game sucks - great example to show thow people who don't undestand a certain culture, behind a project with great potential can fvck it all up.

I loved A Bronx Tale, as well as the story of how that movie ended up getting made. You guys should check out a movie called My Blue Heaven. It's a comedy staring Steve Martin that's loosely based on Henry Hill after he entered the witness protection program. I moved to California from NY almost 3 years ago and there have been many times where I've felt just like Steve Martin's character does in this movie. Here's some trivia: the actress who plays Filomena in My Blue Heaven plays one of my favorite characters in Mafia II.

[McGee]

I loved A Bronx Tale, as well as the story of how that movie ended up getting made. You guys should check out a movie called My Blue Heaven. It's a comedy staring Steve Martin that's loosely based on Henry Hill after he entered the witness protection program. I moved to California from NY almost 3 years ago and there have been many times where I've felt just like Steve Martin's character does in this movie. Here's some trivia: the actress who plays Filomena in My Blue Heaven plays one of my favorite characters in Mafia II.

Would we know the answer right away, or do we have to play the game first?

[Jukebox]

1. How the clothing store works? Whether every store sell the specific clothes? You know like in GTA series, there's a store called Binco, and its selling the cheapest apparels.

2. In console version, is it possible that weapon's magazine will stay remain on the ground after we reload?

[2K_Jack]

Holy **** that is a relief. When hearing all the previews and stuff you guys made it seem like you couldn't explore at all... phew

Another question, what was the thought with not including multiplayer? I know the stuff you say is you wanted to focus on singleplayer and create an epic story telling experience but Rockstar was able to create an amazing narrative along with an awesome multiplayer that I still play from time to time. Is there any chance at all, maybe a hint, that multiplayer DLC will come out.

I find that a game with only story and no MP quite sad in this age of online gaming...

At 2K we never have to do things just so we can check it off our list of things that should be in a game. If we're not going to be able to create something we're going to be proud of, we're not going to put it in our game. This was no different than when we did BioShock. Better to put all the resources on the single player experience than to end up with a lesser single player experience and mediocre multiplayer.

[glesson]

Yeah, "My Blue Heaven" is a great flick. After I watch it, I always watch Mickey Blue Eyes with Hugh Grant. I don't know what's up with that to name mafia-themed comedies "blue" something. :) If you haven't watched them I strongly recommend Jane Austen's Mafia! and Mob Boss (the 1990 version with Eddie Deezen).

btw: After a quick look at the Mafia II IMDB page I have to say - kuddos! Having a character named Tony Balls (for me) is something to look forward to!

[2K_Jack]

Time for me to get back to work. I'll pick up where I left off tomorrow. Good night guys. (or good day, depending on where you are in the world... where are you guys all from anyway?)

[McGee]

At 2K we never have to do things just so we can check it off our list of things that should be in a game. If we're not going to be able to create something we're going to be proud of, we're not going to put it in our game. This was no different than when we did BioShock. Better to put all the resources on the single player experience than to end up with a lesser single player experience and mediocre multiplayer.

AMEN, AMEN, AMEN!!!!!

That's why I loved Bioshock. It felt like Ken Levine was saying F.U to all the developers who were crying for no multiplayer.

That's also the reason why I hated Bioshock 2. Because of it's less than stellar story, and it's crappy mp. Also since I prefered Levines direction much more than I did Thomas. (btw did you actually play Bioshock 2?)

[kriauciuniux]

I have many games with multiplayer but I only play one:
BattleField bad company 2 that is what this game is built for it also has sp but it's meh

[glesson]

That's also the reason why I hated Bioshock 2.

You mean that Bioshock 2 is a different game? I always thought of it as a Bioshock 1 + multiplayer mod. :) Didn't stop me from buying it though.

Also... I thought I heard Vito's voice somewhere else, and I was right. The actor voiced Aldo Trapani in The Godfather: The Game Part II. :)

[McGee]

You mean that Bioshock 2 is a different game? I always thought of it as a Bioshock 1 + multiplayer mod. :) Didn't stop me from buying it though.

Also... I thought I heard Vito's voice somewhere else, and I was right. The actor voiced Aldo Trapani in The Godfather: The Game Part II. :)

No Bioshock 2 story seemed less focus, and more I don't know worser...

[glesson]

No Bioshock 2 story seemed less focus, and more I don't know worser...

That's because the trailers said the player will be a big daddy badass, but when I played the game everyone was kicking my ass. The Daddy was actually weaker than Jack (from the first game not 2k_Jack :) ). And of course it was the old story with new characters, and of as we all know, no one can match Andrew Ryan.

[Fugue]

where are you guys all from anyway?

UK, land of tea & crumpets and **** weather.

[McGee]

UK, land of tea & crumpets and **** weather.

Cincinnati here.

[SirWatkinz]

Where are you guys all from anyway?

Copenhagen.

[Mafioso]

Danish Blood, but born and bred in Gothenburg Sweden.

[Ljud]

(or good day, depending on where you are in the world... where are you guys all from anyway?)
Ljubljana, Slovenia

[james_beckerson]

I'm probably not the best person to speak to the various types of architecture you'll find in Empire Bay. The only thing I really cared about was that we had pre-war buildings in the 40s, and we saw some post-war architecture in the 50s, and the art team nailed that perfectly. Maybe Elizabeth can get Roman (2K Czech's art lead) to talk more about that if you ask her nicely.

Thanks for the reply :) It's great that you did pay attention to the decades too, some major movie mistakes are about switching decades and after all, we're being reminded about that cinematic feel of the Mafia II, it would be good if it wouldn't take in movie-like mistakes with this feel ;)




Because I know someone will ask - yes, the church did end up making it into the game. And no, you cannot go into it and cause trouble. This would have added a lot of work, and I would have asked that the player's weapons be locked if they were allowed to enter because a wiseguy would never, ever go into a church and start trouble. So there would be no compelling reason to have the church be interactive anyway in that case.
Yay ! Personally, I'm happy the church won't be useable, the church mission in Mafia I was one of the best, but I'd have a deja vu if I'd end up in the church in the next Mafia too :)

Oh, and as for my location - Poznan,Poland, EU ;)

[Midzuki]

1) Whether Is in Empire Bay - the Airport?
2) Whether we in game will see planes or dirigible balloons?
3) Whether can Vito go by a taxi - the elevated underground? Or by train like it is - http://pix.playground.ru/download/ga...100fa0897d.jpg
4) What functions of a luggage carrier. Whether it is possible to hide for example in it the weapon or corpses?
5) On video with ЕЗ 2010, we saw as Vito without opening a door straight gets from apartment on street. The similar situation will be and at an exit from other interiors? Or in the final version of game of Vito will leave buildings opening a door without everyones under loadings?

[2K_Jack]

That's because the trailers said the player will be a big daddy badass, but when I played the game everyone was kicking my ass. The Daddy was actually weaker than Jack (from the first game not 2k_Jack :) ). And of course it was the old story with new characters, and of as we all know, no one can match Andrew Ryan.

It looks like you guys got way off topic. Please post comments and questions on other 2K games in their respective forums. Let's keep this about Mafia II. Thanks.

[Muffin]

Jack, can we hail cabs in the game? And another thing, what's your favourite car? (in the game obviously)

[Mafiashock]

Jack,
Can you go through what you do at 2k? What exactly your job entitles?

[Mbeats]

1.We will see dogs and children in Empire Bay's streets or only in Cutscenes ?

2.What different actions can pedestrians realize?

[2K_Jack]

Would we know the answer right away, or do we have to play the game first?

You'd need to play it first.

[2K_Jack]

1. I really enjoy cut-scenes, especially cinematic cutscenes such as Mafia's. Overall could you give a guess on how long the LONGEST cutscene, and how short the shortest cutscenes are. Or if that's to spoilish, could you just the average length of the cutscenes?

The shortest is a few seconds. The longest is a few minutes. I don't remember the exact number. I'll tell you that I worked very hard with 2K Czech's cutscene guys to streamline each scene. You will not be taking bathroom breaks during Mafia II's cutscenes.



2. Do you feel the story will be something that alot of gamers will remember? (like bioshocks, or Uncharted 2 stories are) And when asked about in 5 years time about Mafia 2 story they will say "yeah that story was unbelievable

I sure as hell hope so, but I'm way too close to the project to be an accurate judge. After you guys play it, come back and let me know what you liked and what you didn't.

[2K_Jack]

1) Whether Is in Empire Bay - the Airport?
2) Whether we in game will see planes or dirigible balloons?
3) Whether can Vito go by a taxi - the elevated underground? Or by train like it is - http://pix.playground.ru/download/ga...100fa0897d.jpg
4) What functions of a luggage carrier. Whether it is possible to hide for example in it the weapon or corpses?
5) On video with ЕЗ 2010, we saw as Vito without opening a door straight gets from apartment on street. The similar situation will be and at an exit from other interiors? Or in the final version of game of Vito will leave buildings opening a door without everyones under loadings?

No airport.

You will see planes, but I don't believe we have balloons or zeppelins.

Vito will travel by taxi a couple of times in the story.

The suitcase has no gameplay functionality.

Some interior doors will open just by walking through them. Most doors of them must be deliberately opened by pressing the action button.

[2K_Jack]

1. How the clothing store works? Whether every store sell the specific clothes? You know like in GTA series, there's a store called Binco, and its selling the cheapest apparels.

Some stores in Empire Bay sell better clothing than others.



2. In console version, is it possible that weapon's magazine will stay remain on the ground after we reload?

Probably not for very long. I am truly amazed at the stuff you guys care about :)

[Fugue]

it's surprising how many here still have so much love for an 8 yr old game ;)

have gone through quite a few PC's since 2002, Mafia 1 is still the first thing I install :D

just glad that it keeps working...

[2K_Jack]

Jack, can we hail cabs in the game? And another thing, what's your favourite car? (in the game obviously)

No. Why no hailing cabs? It's much more fun to drive yourself. We want to encourage you to try out the different cars, to customize them, to keep them in your garage. The quality of the cars in our game, and the driving in general, is fantastic.

As for my favorite one, it's called the Roller. (rhymes with "holler") I'm not sure if it made it into the final game, but the thing is badass. If they made one in real life, it's what I would be driving.

[mafia2]

Jack, there will be any character from the first mafia in mafia 2?

[kriauciuniux]

Is it possible to change controls on console?

[glesson]

On the PC how realistic would the clothes (for example a trench coat) be without apex and physx compared to max physics. Let me elaborate: will we still have some of that eye candy, with the clothes behavior (reacting to Vito's actions like running or crouching) without the apex or we will have none of it, because the physx trailer was fantastic. My biggest impression was the way the beige coat reacted when Vito threw a molotov. I just loved it!

[McGee]

No. Why no hailing cabs? It's much more fun to drive yourself. We want to encourage you to try out the different cars, to customize them, to keep them in your garage. The quality of the cars in our game, and the driving in general, is fantastic.

As for my favorite one, it's called the Roller. (rhymes with "holler") I'm not sure if it made it into the final game, but the thing is badass. If they made one in real life, it's what I would be driving.

Hey jack. I posted this in the Denby Q&A, but since he left I thought I might ask you this.

----------------


Denby overall would you say there is enough "variety" in Mafia 2 that it doesn't become, and feel repetitive? So simply put, do we do more than just constantly shoot people in the head?

Is there stealth missions, some puzzle solving involved? Are there missions where we don't need to kill anyone?

So at the end of the day, is there enough variety to make everything not feel so repetitive-ish...

Thanks

edit. Also Denby take a look at this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAo4c...eature=related

You can see a major glitch occur when Vito is introduced to Eddie, he doesn't have his hat!!

[WAYNEN]

No. It would have been a lot of work and a whole lot of money to get the rights to display the old shows from the 50s on our in-game TVs. We chose to spend that time and money on things like the radio content and soundtrack. Besides, Vito and Joe have more important things to do than watch TV :)
Thanks Jack for answering this question.

[assassin creed 2]

Do hierarchy play a role unlike Mafia 1 Will it be a

BOSS OF BOSSES

BOSS

Underboss

Consigliere

CAPO

Soldiers

Associates

Im hoping for a realistic mafia game :cool:

[Fuzzy McDoodle]

Another question, what was the thought with not including multiplayer? I know the stuff you say is you wanted to focus on singleplayer and create an epic story telling experience but Rockstar was able to create an amazing narrative along with an awesome multiplayer that I still play from time to time. Is there any chance at all, maybe a hint, that multiplayer DLC will come out.

I find that a game with only story and no MP quite sad in this age of online gaming...

[Mafiashock]

I find it quite sad that so many people think that every game released now a days should have a multiplayer component. I for one can't express enough how happy I am that there is no multiplayer and gta qualities. No matter what they do though people will still disagree with it. If it had multiplayer I know alot of people on this site would be quite upset. 2k bows to one side but the other side is getting mooned with whatever direction they take.

[Ljud]

As for my favorite one, it's called the Roller. (rhymes with "holler") I'm not sure if it made it into the final game, but the thing is badass. If they made one in real life, it's what I would be driving.

Why wouldn't things like that made it into the final game?

According to your comments I am starting to see a the big picture.
Unlike in GTA where you fell like the developers are trying to do as many things as possible and than they try to implement them into the story and missions, is the other thing around with you. You want to tell a story and than look at what kind of gameplay fits the story. :)

Have you cut a lot of missions, cars, characters just because they didn't fit into the story/feel of the era?


Another question:
Third person shooting games that rely on realism, sometimes fail to impress me, because you are always shooting the same guys (unlike in games like Gears of War where you have different enemies), especially games that use cover, because people can't rush you like melee monsters.
How does Mafia II (without spoiling too much) deal with this problem? Are the enemies really smart, so they move around and attack you from different directions? Diverse scenarios, where you can't always rely on just hiding behind cover? (Red Dead Redemption has this kind of problem)

[Dbeat]

will there be blood i mean enough blood ?jaja l¡ke huum blood splatered in the window of the car when you shoot trough?...i remember a feature in mafia that looked very creepy but very cool, when you shoot a car with someone inside and it explodes, you could see the corpse burned will there be that kind of oh snap! features

[Vito Scaletta]

Hello, Again Jack. :)

In addition to my list of questions...

I really want to know if this jacket has made it into the final game, It's my most favourite jacket in Mafia II.

Vito is wearing the jacket in the photo below...

ScreenShot : http://mafia-daily.net/wp-content/gallery/mafia-2-screenshots/mafia2_screen_013.jpg

Thanks again for everything btw, It's awesome that you spend your time with us. :)

[packardcaribien]

No. Why no hailing cabs? It's much more fun to drive yourself. We want to encourage you to try out the different cars, to customize them, to keep them in your garage. The quality of the cars in our game, and the driving in general, is fantastic.

As for my favorite one, it's called the Roller. (rhymes with "holler") I'm not sure if it made it into the final game, but the thing is badass. If they made one in real life, it's what I would be driving.

The "roller"? Is that a hotrod or something then :o
What car(s) is it based on (if you're allowed to say)?

Also; are there any other station wagons or pickup trucks other than the one of each show thus far?

[Dsmooth16]

Can you still read newspapers

[Jukebox]

2. In console version, is it possible that weapon's magazine will stay remain on the ground after we reload?

Probably not for very long. I am truly amazed at the stuff you guys care about :)
That's cool. At least I can see the realistic thing when we reload the empty gun. Because I'm little bit disappointed about reload animation in GTA IV. Looks like R* doesn't care much about it.

[2K_Jack]

Jack,
Can you go through what you do at 2k? What exactly your job entitles?

For 2K, I oversee what we call "Creative Production." The easiest way to explain this is that it's basically everything a developer needs that the they can't easily create by themselves. This includes all of the stuff you need to make a great game in this day and age - compelling story, memorable characters, great dialog, great voice and mocap performances, a gifted composer and live orchestral score, pre-rendered cutscenes, trailers and TV commercials, a licensed soundtrack, Americanization of games set in the U.S. but developed overseas, and whatever else the game might need.

The level of my team's involvement depends on the capabilities of the dev team and the type of game they're making. For example on some games, we're only asked to help with the script polish, dialog recording, and score. On others, we assist the developer with almost all of the production elements listed above. I work with the producers and developers at the start of development to determine what their game needs, then we come up with a plan to make it happen.

For Mafia II, given the size and scope of the project, I ended up working directly on the game alongside the team.

[Craftworth]

2K_Jack
Maybe it was asking before. but didn't see answer.
Can we use railroad transport in freegame? I remember, we could it use in Mafia 1 :)

[2K_Jack]

1.We will see dogs and children in Empire Bay's streets or only in Cutscenes ?

2.What different actions can pedestrians realize?

No kids will appear in gameplay. You will see dogs in certain areas.

Pedestrians will do natural things like stop and talk to one another, look at things in the world, mail letters at mailboxes, etc. and will also react to the player's various actions.

[2K_Jack]

it's surprising how many here still have so much love for an 8 yr old game ;)

have gone through quite a few PC's since 2002, Mafia 1 is still the first thing I install :D

just glad that it keeps working...

It's pretty remarkable. There are few other games that have held up as long as Mafia, and those games don't work too well on modern PC's :)

[2K_Jack]

Jack, there will be any character from the first mafia in mafia 2?

I will leave that for you to discover ;)

[2K_Jack]

Is it possible to change controls on console?

This is more of a Denby question. I always play with the default control scheme, and I don't have the game in front of me right now to check.

[Fugue]

did you play Mafia 1 before you got involved with working on Mafia 2?

there have obviously been some major changes, far more than the majority of sequels because of the big time gap & the changes in tech, from what I've read it seems Mafia 2 started out more sandbox, optional side missions, going to gym to learn moves etc.

what made the team go back to the first games roots as a very linear movie like experience?

I'm very glad they did ;) but wouldn't making a more "open" game be more popular with the market as it is? if you read comments sections on gaming websites I think many are still expecting a much more free roaming game.

[2K_Jack]

On the PC how realistic would the clothes (for example a trench coat) be without apex and physx compared to max physics. Let me elaborate: will we still have some of that eye candy, with the clothes behavior (reacting to Vito's actions like running or crouching) without the apex or we will have none of it, because the physx trailer was fantastic. My biggest impression was the way the beige coat reacted when Vito threw a molotov. I just loved it!

The technical end of things is more Denby's area. All I can tell you is that the PC version looks and runs great without the GPU enhanced PhysX, but you're not going to get the amazing stuff you saw in the PhysX trailer. I was hanging out with nvidia's technical marketing director just last week, and he was telling me that Mafia II might have the heaviest implementation of PhysX ever. So if you're planning on buying the PC version and have been debating a video card upgrade, Mafia II would be the reason to take the plunge.

[2K_Jack]

Do hierarchy play a role unlike Mafia 1 Will it be a

BOSS OF BOSSES

BOSS

Underboss

Consigliere

CAPO

Soldiers

Associates

Im hoping for a realistic mafia game :cool:

Mafia II is a realistic mafia game, but it is not a mafia simulation, it is the story of two guys who end up in the mob. You will act as an associate at first, then when you get made you technically have the rank of soldier, though this is never explained and it doesn't need to be. You can play Mafia II and know nothing of how the mob works, and you'll still understand what's going on. You will interact with mobsters of varying ranks, but the goal was to have the player care more about the characters themselves and less about their position.

[2K_Jack]

Another question, what was the thought with not including multiplayer? I know the stuff you say is you wanted to focus on singleplayer and create an epic story telling experience but Rockstar was able to create an amazing narrative along with an awesome multiplayer that I still play from time to time. Is there any chance at all, maybe a hint, that multiplayer DLC will come out.

I find that a game with only story and no MP quite sad in this age of online gaming...

This seems to be a dupe. I answered this one already. Check page 20 of this thread.

[2K_Jack]

Why wouldn't things like that made it into the final game?

According to your comments I am starting to see a the big picture.
Unlike in GTA where you fell like the developers are trying to do as many things as possible and than they try to implement them into the story and missions, is the other thing around with you. You want to tell a story and than look at what kind of gameplay fits the story. :)

Have you cut a lot of missions, cars, characters just because they didn't fit into the story/feel of the era?


Another question:
Third person shooting games that rely on realism, sometimes fail to impress me, because you are always shooting the same guys (unlike in games like Gears of War where you have different enemies), especially games that use cover, because people can't rush you like melee monsters.
How does Mafia II (without spoiling too much) deal with this problem? Are the enemies really smart, so they move around and attack you from different directions? Diverse scenarios, where you can't always rely on just hiding behind cover? (Red Dead Redemption has this kind of problem)

I said that because the last time I drove that car was a few months ago, and I accessed it with a special build of the game. I haven't seen it lately, but that doesn't mean it's in or out. The last thing I want to do is tell you guys something is in the game, and then have you go nuts when it's not :)

As the story evolved over the past couple of years, some stuff got cut, sure. But when you "cut" a character, you can always re-purpose him or her somewhere else. So "cut" might be too strong a word. It's more like we shuffled some things around to make them fit better.

The AI is designed to provide a constant challenge, and if you want to always hide behind cover, your wingmen will have all the fun and kill everyone. That is your motivation not to always hide :) Also, the enemies will call you a ☺☺☺☺☺ if you hide too much. Seriously.

[2K_Jack]

did you play Mafia 1 before you got involved with working on Mafia 2?

there have obviously been some major changes, far more than the majority of sequels because of the big time gap & the changes in tech, from what I've read it seems Mafia 2 started out more sandbox, optional side missions, going to gym to learn moves etc.

what made the team go back to the first games roots as a very linear movie like experience?

I'm very glad they did ;) but wouldn't making a more "open" game be more popular with the market as it is? if you read comments sections on gaming websites I think many are still expecting a much more free roaming game.

Yes, I bought Mafia 1. I worked at another game publisher at the time, so no free copy for me. I think I'm the only member of the team who experienced Mafia 1 as a consumer. Denby was a tester at the time, so I always tell him his opinion is skewed because he got paid to play it :) At my job interview with 2K they mentioned that Mafia II would be one of the games I'd get to work on. I was happy to hear that. Like many of you guys, I came away from Mafia 1 with a list of things I liked and a list of things that I thought could have been executed better.

I wasn't on the project before late 2005, so I don't exactly know what the team had planned way back in 2002. When I got involved, we looked at the very best thing from Mafia 1 - its focus on story and atmosphere. That was its strength, so that is the one thing we all agreed we would carry over into Mafia II. Every other feature was brought up to the standards of modern game design. And if a feature didn't tie into the story at all and wasn't a tremendous amount of fun, it was considered expendable. The reason for this is that we want people to understand that these are wiseguys - they aren't going to be doing various tasks for random people they encounter, which is what most side missions end up being.

[McGee]

Yes, I bought Mafia 1. I worked at another game publisher at the time, so no free copy for me. I think I'm the only member of the team who experienced Mafia 1 as a consumer. Denby was a tester at the time, so I always tell him his opinion is skewed because he got paid to play it :) At my job interview with 2K they mentioned that Mafia II would be one of the games I'd get to work on. I was happy to hear that. Like many of you guys, I came away from Mafia 1 with a list of things I liked and a list of things that I thought could have been executed better.

I wasn't on the project before late 2005, so I don't exactly know what the team had planned way back in 2002. When I got involved, we looked at the very best thing from Mafia 1 - its focus on story and atmosphere. That was its strength, so that is the one thing we all agreed we would carry over into Mafia II. Every other feature was brought up to the standards of modern game design. And if a feature didn't tie into the story at all and wasn't a tremendous amount of fun, it was considered expendable. The reason for this is that we want people to understand that these are wiseguys - they aren't going to be doing various tasks for random people they encounter, which is what most side missions end up being.

But like Fugue mentioned at one point this game was more GTA like. But it quickly developed to "no let's erase all of that, and stick with are roots."

For example why did you get rid of the multiple scenarios (if I remember correctly you would be able to chose your own family, and other moral descions)?