In the world of subterfuge and espionage, James Bond stands head and shoulders above anything else. The beloved agent has seen his fair share of missions in video games, but 007 First Light presents a unique opportunity.
With First Light, we meet a brand new version of Bond, a younger, rougher-around-the-edges man who hasn’t yet become the legendary MI6 agent. This presents IO Interactive, the studio behind Hitman, to explore a new side of Bond, and brings its chaotic sandbox expertise to something more narratively crafted. And much like Agent 47, one of the core parts of First Light is digging into Bond himself.
“The interesting part about Bond is he's defined by the people around him, and the loss of people around him — that's why he can't get close [to people] because it's dangerous,” franchise art director Rasmus Poulsen tells Inverse, “So there's this cat-and-mouse game about actually getting close to people or not.
While we’re still waiting to see actual gameplay, Inverse had the chance with Poulsen to dive into IO’s upcoming take on the world's most famous spy — from understanding who Bond is, to blending Hitman’s chaos into something new.
There have been a few game original Bonds over the years, but they’ve typically still been inspired by actors. How did you go about designing the style and personality of this original version of Bond?
Poulsen: Everything stems from our research into the DNA of the character, by really deep diving into the films and deep diving into the books to understand who Bond is, what drives him, what are the tropes of his character, and what are the character points that lead to drama? That’s what defines him.
That was the initial take, and then the choice of him being a young man is an opportunity for us to align the character's expectations to the expectations and experience of the player. Rather than playing a rough, old, seasoned, cold and cynical agent, it's something different this time.
That allows us to play with the expectations of what it means to be Bond, and also have an opportunity to understand how he became who he is.
Part of Bond’s journey has often been about this kind of world-roving trip. When you’re looking at that, how did you decide which locations this game would visit?
Poulsen: The interesting part about Bond is he's defined by the people around him, and the loss of people around him — that's why he can't get close [to people] because it's dangerous. So there's this cat-and-mouse game about actually getting close to people or not.
And in terms of location and traveling the world, that's a trope that we’ve played with before at IO, and it’s super important to me to finally get to play with one of my biggest inspirations, the Bone IP.
For traveling the world, we have these relations and drama with people. It's a wonderful opportunity to visit a wide array of locations that are really rough and grimy, and some high-class. A wide spectrum of locations that allows us to show where and in what social layer does this world play out? The world of espionage plays out in all different tiers.
Gadgets are, of course, an iconic part of Bond. How have you used IO’s expertise in sandbox games to integrate gadgets into the experience?
Poulsen: In the past, let’s say the games we've been doing are almost like a Chaos Engine, where anything can happen. And that expertise is something we brought over to the world of Bond, because it makes sense to have a world that's dynamic, emergent, and has different rule sets for you to engage with ... through means of action and weaponry, through social means, and as you mentioned, with gadgets. Gadgets for us is a really fun way to allow you, the player, to reach out into the game world and manipulate that as you see fit.
And you will certainly have a wide array of options there as well, meaning you can hide and make trouble at the other end of the room — loud dumb action trouble, or more passive, sly agent trouble. What I mean by that is that you’ll have an array of gadgets that allow you to choose the outcome that you want, the one you think is more fun.
Bond is unique within the larger world of espionage stories. But in terms of video games, was there anything you looked at for inspiration on how to craft an espionage experience?
Poulsen: We've sort of assimilated all the movies and books, and again, analyzed our way into the core of the character. So when you have an understanding of the core of the character and what type of problems he needs to face, it makes it easier not to rely on other resources or examples. It allows you to build something that is your own based on the needs of the character. That's first and foremost.
But obviously, there are many games in which you can manipulate the world in some way or another. For us, the way that makes it “agenty” is that it has to have that wide set of ranges available to you, from gun toting loud action to manipulation, but also social and human aspects play a role for us a s well, in terms of how you engage with NPCs and, let’s say, gatekeepers in the world.
You mentioned Bond is defined by the people around him, and I think that often includes a compelling villain. Can we expect that same kind of experience here? Will Bond have a strong foil?
Poulsen: Absolutely, we have many characters in this game that will, again, play with the expectations of the audience. Certainly, we’ll have very memorable villains of different degrees of villainy — from more low-slung, half-charming villains to full-blown ice-cold. We have a full roster of good guys and bad guys.
I have to ask about the iconic Bond gun barrel moment. Is that in the game, and how do you go around fitting something that’s so iconic into this experience? Making sure it’s right?
Poulsen: We certainly have it, and make sure it’s right. Beyond that, I’ll leave it to the future, and maybe not even, because maybe there’s a reason to not tell you about it.
There’s been a lot of talk of how IO’s experience with Hitman can be used in Bond. But I'm curious what this game means for the studio going forward. What have you learned from Bond that can be used more widely?
The obvious thing is a lot of technological developments in terms of animation, especially lighting and driving mechanics. So a whole wide range of upgraded and completely brand new additions to the tech, which has been a massive undertaking for us, and something that has been really exciting to see.
It enables us to do wider fantasies and wider experiences for the players. And of course, in that sense, it allows us to go where our imagination goes without having to say, you know, we can now say yeah, and rather than know what, right? And that's an amazing place to be.
