Hangar 13 shone its spotlight on Meeckes of Mafia: The Old Country and the authenticity they bring to the game.
A Sicilian Partnership for Genuine Detail
For that visceral Sicilian feeling, Hangar 13 enlisted Sicilian help from Stormind Games. Salvo Fallica, Senior Project Manager at Stormind, spoke to their essential ambition:
"Our priority has always been to ensure that everything in the game feels authentic."Such valued input really was essential in grasping the general feel of the setting.
The development team understood that for players to immerse themselves into the world, these little things matter immensely. According to Matthew Aitken, Lead Writer at Hangar 13,
"The details are absolutely key in keeping the immersion of the player."
Grounded in Real History
Game director Alex Cox mentions how the historicity of the Mafia should be paramount, so
"we need to make sure that the game is grounded in the real history of the Sicilian Mafia."These guys were not just reading books; they wanted to find experts who could give context based on "real lived experiences" to what they were seeing and reading. This historical view they had then colored every stage of the game's development.
Consider the sheer difficulty that reconstructing items from that period would pose to whomever would attempt making it. Incredibly, Steve Noakes, Art Director at Hangar 13, had this story about looking for references for knives:
"When it comes to something like the knives in the game, there's very little reference that's available for that...We went into some tiny little backwater of a machine shop where this guy and his son were still crafting knives by hand, imbuing them with their particular regional styles... We just wouldn't really [have] experienced that any other way."This story is a fantastic illustration of how far the team went for the sake of authenticity.
Into the Wilds of Sicily
What will draw the attention of series fans is the new scenery. According to Jakub Vavrik, Associate Art Director,
"Previous Mafia games were more or less city heavy, and now we are moving to more organic wildlife setting of Sicily".I think this change means a whole new experience, and Alex Cox has described the environment as
"very realistic, high fidelity, authentic... It really feels like we're transporting you back to 1900 Sicily".
They believe that the environment will become intertwined with the player's journey.
"Players will form a relationship with Sicily over the course of this game,"Cox spoke. Steve Noakes echoed this sentiment:
"The landscape is always a character in any Mafia game. I think that's especially true of this location and of this time period and setting."
Mob Movie Dreams Come to Life
In the end, what can players expect? Alex Cox summarized it:
"The promise is to play a classic mob movie. That's the game that you're going to play. From there, let players really immerse themselves back to that time and play through the game as a Sicilian gangster. I just wish it would have the same excitement for the players as it is for us."
Mafia: The Old Country will launch on August 8th for $50 as a strictly narrative-driven experience.
