Joystiq talks about Heavenly Sword's Chatterbox and more

by Andrew Yoon { Jul 30th 2007 at 10:35AM }

Rhianna Pratchett is the esteemed writer of Sony's upcoming PS3 action game, Heavenly Sword. In a revealing interview with Joystiq, she reveals her inspirations and the responsibilities of a game writer (you know you want to be one).

One of the more interesting aspects of Heavenly Sword's dialog system comes from its "Chatterbox" system. As she explains: "the Chatterbox system that the Ninja Theory guys have talked about way back when they did the cover of Heavenly Sword in Edge. You've got the soldiers talking away to each other during fights, mocking Nariko, mocking each other, reacting to the player's moves etc. The enemy will have a noticeable change depending on how many of them there are in the fight. If there are lots then they'll be more upbeat and bolshy. If there's just a few they'll be much more panicked or cowardly."

Read Joystiq's full interview to find out more about Heavenly Sword and game writing.

Tags: heavenlysword, interview, joystiq, rhiannapratchett

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Dahk @ Jul 30th 2007 11:01AM

Actually its name fits perfectly well.

The game's origin takes from chinese fictional history where there are two swords: Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre (translated directly from chinese).

Nariko's heavenly sword also depicts the ones in those fictions very well. It can be used as one blade for power moves, and split into two smaller blades for quick and short action. Though I THINK the one in the fiction can't be separated unlike Nariko's lol.

But either way, this game truly has master leverl art and story, which I absolutely love.

MYPS3KilledMy360 @ Jul 30th 2007 11:23AM

you really sound stupid commenting on a game that you yourself hasent played yet. if you have the demo and judged a complete game by that demo then your an asshole thats like saying A. Creed sucks ass because of the preveiw and glitchs. that goes for a lot of people. although all the gamplay footage of heavenly sword doesnt look impressive its because they always have some noob who clearly hasnt touched the game before button spamming the same god damn button. if you saw ninja gaiden beeing played and all you saw was somebody pressing square all the time you wouldnt be impressed same thing goes for devil may cry and god of war. im guessing with all the great voice acting and cutscenes there banking on you falling in love with story. when you watch the cutscenes you have movie like atmosphere. i dont now why people continue to make comparison with god of war. all the games i stated follow the same format great story, fast paste action, puzzle solving, multiple weapons, god like powers, blood and gore. its like comparing all jrpgs they seem to follow the same plot you got the chosen or the hero that no one thought could be a hero, the girl who grows fond of the hero, the heros friends, then the heros arch enemy, then the endworld plot which only the hero and your friends can accomplish the end but you still continue to play every square enix game. you know why why because each story has there own twist that draws you in to the experience the same way you cant deny that HS has the potential of being a great game. i have weird feeling that you dont have a ps3 but that just how i feel.

Popfrogs @ Jul 30th 2007 11:30AM

Come on guys, rule #1 is don't feed the trolls. The first commenter is some tiny child poking a sharp stick at the dog behind the fence.

Dahk @ Jul 30th 2007 11:45AM

Lol yeeeeeahp he got fed. I think he wants more.

Dahk @ Jul 30th 2007 11:59AM

You don't make sense.

You're name says EAT ME, while you say FEED ME.

You are contradictory. You are a paradox. Therefore you do not exist.

KeVil @ Jul 30th 2007 12:18PM

*sigh* I have never played Magic nor am I ever likely to. Why do you ask tired of playing with yourself, sorry I meant by yourself. As for the homo thing, sorry to disappoint you'll need to find someone else to play with.

Andy @ Jul 30th 2007 12:21PM

Is that some gaming 3.0 Sony has been talking about?

While Chatterbox doesn't affect the gameplay or graphics; it adds to the atmosphere and the overall appeal to the game.

KeVil @ Jul 30th 2007 12:25PM

No Game 3.0 is about community and user generated content. Chatterbox is just a nice touch. A couple of games have similar features it's suppose to increase your level of immersion within the game.

Popfrogs @ Jul 30th 2007 12:27PM

See what I mean?

*sigh*

KeVil @ Jul 30th 2007 12:28PM

@Popfrogs: But its fun and you have to admit he's quite funny

pete @ Jul 30th 2007 12:42PM

yeah let him be, we here at ps3 fanboy are laughing at him not with him, and isnt that enough!

'Do u need a peepee so u can use ur mouth 4 other than sighing???'

what does that mean?? i dont know, point and laugh people, point and laugh!

Andy @ Jul 30th 2007 12:53PM

As much as I think this fellow is an idiot (and not funny) I agree with his screen name.

EA will continue to suck until 2008. When you use PS3 as the lead platform, I will buy.

MYPS3KilledMy360 @ Jul 30th 2007 1:22PM

I dont even know why im feeding you but i need to ask are you calling anybody who plays a female protagonist perveted or gay. dude/chick i would love to see how you would react at a public swimming pool/beach "omg all you girls dont have enough clothes on" if video games affect you that much just put down the controller and leave the room you sound like the type to shoot up a church because resistance told me too.

Dahk @ Jul 30th 2007 1:23PM

Lol @ Andy. Its true. Esp with Peter Moore heading up EA Sports.

Neh, let him be. Its just sometimes annoying that he's hogging up the damn comment threads on useless crap lol.

secret @ Jul 30th 2007 2:14PM

Heavenly Sword seems more movie-like than a game. Another game that provides this film, cinematic atmosphere is MGS4, which is also coincidentally finding its way to the PS3.

Dahk @ Jul 30th 2007 2:24PM

MGS4 on PS3 wasn't exactly a coincidence. Kojima-san has always had loyalty to the playstation brand, and its core players are (or at least used to be) all playstation owners.

And NOW he got on my nerves after that last post. I didn't care about his pointless drivel, but that is just pure annoying. I think thats sufficient for a ban is it not?

Dahk @ Jul 30th 2007 2:24PM

I heart Andrew.

KeVil @ Jul 30th 2007 3:26PM

Both HS and Metal Gear look fantastic and are two of the reasons I shelled out for a PS3. I think we'll see many games aim for the more cinematic approach.

I'm not a big sports fan so don't have any feelings about their lacklustre support for the PS3(the 30fps shenanigans) Overall I think lots of publishers will sink and lose money on support for the Wii, its a great console but the games the likes of EA publish aren't aimed at the Wii's core demographic and shoddy attempts of converting their games to use the wii remote seldom work out.