Denby and Jack are back for our third Mafia II podcast. This episode gives you a deeper look at the characters of Mafia II, and hopefully will help you envision who you'll be spending time with when you step into the world of Empire Bay.
Martin Zavrel, Development Manager at 2K Czech, talks about his work in the studio and on the game. (You may already know Martin from around the 2K Forums -- if so, here's your chance to learn a bit more about what he does when not posting about Mafia II!)
Tell us about your background - how long have you been at 2K Czech? How did you get in the industry?
Originally I started out as a game journalist. I was freelancing for several media outlets (online, print, television) before settling down as a chief-editor of magazine Doupe. By that time, Petr Vochozka, who was Illusion Softworks CEO back then, approached me. He told me that he liked the ideas and opinions in my articles and that I should make better use of them by actually making games, not just writing about them. Obviously this was an offer you can't refuse. I joined the studio in 2004 and since then I have taken on several duties on few consecutive projects, starting with Hidden and Dangerous 2: Sabre Squadron.
Interview to developers of game. In spite of the fact that language of video is Czech translated into French and only few times is English, shots are really amazing and rare.
Recently it was known from the official Mafia II game site that the much-anticipated game will now release early in 2010 for Xbox 360®, PLAYSTATION® 3 system, and PC unfortunately. Keep your eyes on this community page, as we'll continue to update regularly with news and inside information about the game over the coming weeks and months.
Download the second episode of the Mafia II podcast focuses on the franchise as a whole, talking about both past and present Mafia games. Denby Grace and Jack Scalici join us again to give us closer look at the history of Mafia, and more insight into what we can expect for the upcoming release.
I work as a lead animator for Mafia II. At the very beginning, I was responsible for all the animations in the game, such as basic controls, in-game animations, and cutscenes. However, Mafia II is such a big project that it is just impossible for a single person to take care of all three disciplines. Therefore, I have focused solely on cutscenes and passed basic controls and in-game animations to other two senior animators in the team who lead their own animation sub-teams. Thanks to these reliable senior animators my workload has been very much reduced since and I can fully focus on creating the cutscenes and making them amazing.
What is your typical day like, being lead animator on Mafia II?
To be honest, there are no typical days at all. The only thing I do every day is that I come to work in the morning and turn my machine on. Then, my colleagues start coming to discuss various issues, planning, and game improvements. I also give feedback on other animators’ work… Simply put, it is never the same. Unfortunately, it is not that others assign tasks to me and I just complete them; I have to deal with a lot of things as they emerge and adjust my work to it. When I finally get some time, I deal with editing or with the MoCap.
Many people don’t understand exactly what a producer does. Can you let the community know what a typical day is like and what your responsibilities are?
There is no simple answer to this question and that’s probably also the reason why there’s no general awareness of this job. I’ll try to sum it up somehow and not get long-winded, but I apologize if that happens anyway. Basically, as a producer, you talk and write a lot but create no physical assets for the game content (unfortunately)... You’re responsible for the team and project you are working on; the product has to be finished, it has to correspond to the qualitative goals of the project and it has to be released to the market when it is able to bring good profit. I’m not trying to depict producers as businessmen; the term “manager” would fit better. Fortunately, I still spend most of my time with the team dealing with both pleasant and unpleasant issues that keep emerging all the time during development.
The begining of Mafia II Podcast series by sitting down with Denby Grace, Producer, and Jack Scalici, Director of Production. They give some insight into the extended version of the Holiday Confession trailer: how it was made, who some of the characters are, and more. You can douwnload it from our downloads page
The extended 90 second version of the Holiday Confession trailer is now available for your viewing pleasure. Who knew it can be extended:)
Last time I posted the new Mafia 2 trailer, it turned out to be a cut version. This time however, Take 2 has released the full version which has additional scenes after the credits near the end.
While that doesn't really warrant the repost of the video, the interview that goes with it reveals a lot of new information, including the fact that the trailer was made ingame.
Tomas Hrebicek, lead animator at 2K Czech said in his interview with IGN:
"We've been receiving a lot of questions about whether or not the trailer was real-time and I'm here to clear the air. It really was. All the scenes were completely created in our editor the same way we create cutscenes for the game. Our cutscene editor is a very powerful tool. Besides, we can see it all real-time which makes our work a lot easier. There was absolutely no need to modify the resulting video in the postproduction.
Because everything was created solely in our editor, only our in-game scenes and models were used. So what you see here is great representation of the quality of work that you will see throughout Mafia II. Of course, this is not the end yet, and frame rate and other technical issues are still being tweaked in order to have the game working smoothly on all the platforms we create it for.
The common theme found in the trailer is the same common theme found throughout the entirety of Mafia II: strong interpersonal relationships. Of course, when playing you will experience all kinds of shootouts, car chases, and fights, but what I think is the most important is to identify yourselves with the main character and those close to him. Every single thing you do in the game causes a corresponding reaction. And it is only up to you what you do.
In the trailer, the relations are hinted at in the church sequence. However, we would not really like to reveal any more important facts; you have to experience it yourself with Vito from the beginning to the end.
I would like to emphasize that the game has a very dark humorous side to it. It definitely is not a superficial comedy. The story as such is quite varied so you could look forward also to a true, mafia atmosphere and strong emotions of all kinds. I can't wait to see the first players actually play it.
I'm very excited to see the reaction of this trailer. Over the coming months, you will have plenty to look forward to in the way of Mafia II. In the meantime, please enjoy this trailer and look forward to more in-depth behind-the-scenes coverage next week!"
I find this one similar to the first trailer we've seen 1.5 years ago. Again, the developers show us that we're going to have a rocking storyline, sharp humor and real Mob atmosphere.
I'm a person who values good storyline most of all in a video game, so I'm really impressed by this one.
There are a number of different animators working on Mafia II – what does being the lead animator of MoCap entail on a daily basis?
Most of my work lies in communication with lead animators, actors and the organization of motion capture sessions. The key thing I am responsible for is the quality of the MoCap data and that it is delivered on time.
What are you doing to make the game look different, better, more distinct than any in the past?
We use modern technology. A good example of this is the optical system VICON. It helps us to record the movements of the actors in more realistic way than ever before. In the past we used a magnetic system, which wasn’t nearly as good.
My name is Dan Vávra and I’m 33… unfortunately! Currently, I work as a lead designer.
How did you become a game designer?
It was quite a long way. I started working for an advertising agency as an artist and I then joined IS as an artist. I created games at home, but at the time nothing like game designers existed so I didn’t see any future for the job. Only when we started working on some project in IS I got involved and had some comments from time to time, and thus I became a designer.
What would you recommend to those interested in becoming game designers?
It’s difficult because I didn’t start as a game designer. Nevertheless, you have to be talented for this job. Lots of people would like to become designers, but they don't have the skills they need, at least not yet. The simplest way is to join a game-producing company and work at some other position, e.g. as a tester. In my opinion, it’s better to get some experience first, such as to create some quality game modes or a new level with a good idea for some existing game. Another option is to start working as a script programmer which is something I have no idea about. Being programmers, they in fact affect what happens in the game and locations. And if they prove to be good, they may advance to designers. In my opinion, it is best to try the mode scene and then work as a scripter programmer in the company.
Roman Hladik, Lead Artist at 2K Czech, talks about two more pieces of art today built right from the game's engine. I'm sure by now you'll recognize these two faces.
This is an arranged screenshot created directly in editor tool. It's a simple image with Vito and Joe. They don't really like visits by the photographer -- which is why they look so annoyed.
This is another arranged screenshot created directly in editor tool. Joe's in this picture -- of course you know him by now -- and he's wearing his favourite clothes -- a comfortable sporty jacket and his Hawaiian shirt. Joe doesn't like clubby suits.
Roman Hladik, Lead Artist at 2K Czech discusses how the team goes from quick sketch to a final, more polished piece of art.
Here is an example of how we realise our concept art by Mikulas Podprocky, another of our character artists. First we make quick sketches to capture the mood and composition. Then we select some to work up to ingame quality – not everyone can relate to rough drafts so easily, so by creating these dramatic images we tell a story that everyone who has ever seen a crime movie can understand (plus we set a benchmark for the art quality of the final game!). Working from the sketch Mikulas poses models using our ingame editing tool then touches up the details using Photoshop to create the final look.
In the picture Vito is taking cover in a side street. As you can see Vito has a tough job and sometimes he takes a hit, he is angry to be injured and hiding. He could choose to be a dock worker of course, but I’m sure you don't want to play game where the only gameplay is to carry crates! ;) So Vito has to sometimes endure a little pain for you…
What were your inspirations when you started creating concepts for Mafia II?
I don`t remember exactly. It wasn`t just one thing. I like the era, design of fifties, old movies. So this all was inspiration. Based on this I made my own vision about Mafia2. Our game won`t be strictly realistic, we want to have strong atmosphere in it so we have to stylize rough facts. Work with them but distill only the important and interesting stuff of them.
Who are your favorite artists? Can be any type of artist…comic books, traditional painters…anything.
I like Frank Millers comic books. His drawings are really amazing and stories are dark romantic and breath-taking. Also I like impressionist paintings and one picture by Amadeo Modigliani, Sleeping nude.
Roman Hladik, Lead Artist at 2K Czech, shows off some of the Mafia II concept art and gives us some insight into what went on behind the scenes to create each design.
This is a moodboard of Joe Barbaro, Vito’s best friend. A moodboard like this isn’t necessarily taken from a scene in the game, it is created to communicate Joe’s personality to everyone on the Mafia team – a picture speaks a thousand words. Here we see that Joe is a gregarious young gangster enjoying his life of dirty money. The girl on Joe’s lap definitely isn’t his girlfriend (if you get my meaning). The author of this sketch is Jiri Svetinsky, one of our character artists.
Another moodboard of Joe by Jiri. This is Joe’s flat in Little Italy, he likes to party and keep his neighbours up all night. Joe himself sleeps through the day, usually with some of his “girlfriends”. Maybe this scene is the morning after the night shown in the first sketch?
I am responsible for all AI features to be completed in the proper quality and proper time. This is a good manager-answer, right?
What is your most favorite thing about your job?
It’s great when a person can see how a game gets created from the very beginning and even better is if a person can contribute with his own ideas or feedback. I am really glad that I can be part of this project with all these great people.
What is your least favorite thing about your job?
Maybe waking up in the morning (I find waking up before 9am rather weird) or the coffee machine that sometimes forgets to return the coins properly.
As a lead mission designer, what is your mission at 2K Czech?
My main responsibility is to ensure that the final look of all the missions of Mafia 2 is as best as possible. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to stick to fixed regulations and, if possible, try to reach all the goals that have been set. In practice this means that I am primarily in charge of assigning tasks to each of the designers from my section, and I also need to make sure the first drafts they create can be used and look as best as possible. Naturally, I take care of what the missions should look like concerning both visual and gameplay aspects. In case any problems emerge, I try to resolve them immediately so that the time spent on production is as effectively used as possible and that the things do not have to be reworked several times. If something is unclear, I immediately go discuss it with my seniors, mainly with Pavel Brzák – the lead designer – and Petr Mikša – the game producer.
Official Mafia 2 site has published third official wallpaper where Vito and Joe are indoors. You can download it from our gallery in different resolutions.
Czech site mafia.hodnoceniher.cz published one more wallpaper where Vito escapes from pursuit. It seems like unofficial but looks great. You can download it from our gallery .
New Mafia 2 wallpaper was published on official Mafia 2 site . Vito and Joe standing in Empire city docks on it. Impressive. It is added to our wallpapers category, you can download it from there.
New Amazing screenshot was published on 2K Games. You can see Vito is hiding behind the boxes using ingame cover system. It was uploaded to our gallery.
New exclusive screenshot had been published at www.2kgames.com . You can see Vito shoots another gangster in some kind of warehouse of the Empire city. It is also added to our gallery .
The last international gaming exhibition E3 was held in 2007 in Leipzig. Illusion softworks presented the Mafia 2 there. Several screenshots from this exhibition were added to our gallery .
New Mafia 2 screenshots appeared on http://www.gamesradar.com , some of them already had been published in bad quality, now all of them in excellent quality. Now watch it in our gallery and get enjoy.
Recently it was known from Games radar about new character in the Mafia 2 game Henry Tomasino . Unlike Vito and Joe Henry is brutal gangster as well as from gagster movies. He takes a place of "made man" in a crime family. It is still unknown what kind of role plays Henry in business of Vito and Joe. Maybe he grew up with main characters, or maybe he took them under his guardianship like a big brother.
PC will be the main platform for wich Mafia 2 game will be developed.
The scenario of Mafia The City of Lost Heaven game consists of about 500 pages, the scenario of Mafia 2 game consists of about 700 pages.
There will be 18 basic missions in the game.
The system of face animation counts 30 muscles.
Names of some districts of Empire City: Chinatown, Little Italy, Sand Island, Millville, Harbour.
Under the hood of cars it is possible to see a working engine.
A police will pursue after pickpocketers and drivers that will cause car accidents.
Through a stores windows it is possible to see pedestrians, which enter to the shop, purchase and leave.
It is known that one mission will be at the foundry, and other in the space laboratory.
According to subject Vito is son of immigrant from poor family who was engaged in little crimes together with Joe (his friend). After the police caught them they had to choose between prison and army. Vito had chosen the army. After coming back to the Empire city Vito began his in the Cosa Nostra. Aspirations of friends were different. Vito looked for the best life and wanted to get out from poverty, but Joe wanted to be the real gangster.
Developers will put an accent on realism in the game:
Every object in the game can be broken on 32 parts
It is possible to hear on radio about some crimes done by Vito
Fat policeman pursues after Vito, it is more easy to hide from him
Every covers In the game can be destroyed
It would possible to open hood, backside, doors, you can paint cars, change license plate, also you can catch a bus and taxi.
There won't be loadings in the game, it is assumed that will be only one loading when enter the game
Recent issue of BGamer magazine was devoted to Mafia 2 game. The article shows screenshots with shocking realism. You can take a look at scanned pages of the magazine in our gallery.
Yesterday official Mafia 2 site presented first concept art from the game. There is the main character Vito represented. It looks great! 2K Czech promised that more concept arts over coming weeks would be released, we hope so.
Logotype of Mafia 2 will be shown off on the cover of the official “Playstation” magazine in the may 2008. No doubt, because of lack of information about the game the interest of fans grows. We hope that after the May issue of magazine new details will be uncovered.
Few days ago Gamespot published 4 new screenshots from the game. You can take a look at them in our gallery.
There was uncovered more information. It was known that the last name of Vito is Skaletta. There will be more than 80 cars in the game and game will be produced initially for 3 next gen platforms: Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PS.
According to last information from Tiscali Games, the game will be produced for X-Box 360, Playstation 3 and PC platforms, however, PC version, will as usual be produced few weeks (or even months?) later, so the gamers willing to be the first to play Mafia 2 would only be able to do that on a console.
The game will feature 2 main characters: Vito (the guy you’re playing with) and Joe (it won't be possible to play as Joe, but he will play one of major parts in game story).
Physics and graphic model of cars will be shocking. Broken frontal glass, exploding fuel tanks, realistic holes from bullets, different dents and damaged corps will just charm.
The game is promising to be very realistic, you’d need to fuel-up your car at gas stations, you’d be able to buy new clothes at shops (to evade pursuers) and eat at restaurants (to strengthen up). Your car would also need to be washed after driving. Stuff quite similar to GTA San Andreas.
Empire city would be around 10 Km2 large and the city will live with its own, extremely realistic, life.
The cover system in fight will feel like the systems of fight in “Rainbow Six: Vegas” or in “Gears of War”, cover can be found in any suitable places: fences, barrels, boxes, walls, cars, etc.
According to reliable Czech sources, the story will begin as Vito returns to Empire City from war in Europe, shortly before end of the WW II.
The final release date is still unknown, however, it is predicted to be not later than late Spring - Summer 2009.
Board of Directors of game publisher Electronic Arts decided to postpone the term of making an offer about the purchase of the New York publisher Take Two Interactive to April, 18th.
On this date the next annual meeting of board of directors and investors of Take Two is scheduled.
Largest world publisher of computer games Electronic Arts once again called a company Take-Two to return for a bargaining table - in order to discuss potential absorption of the last. The deal is estimated in 2 billion USD. Take-two reported that they evaluate other alternatives to EA. In particular, Take-Two can make confluence with one of other game developers to remain independent.
As for today, one of main aims of Take-Two is to hold off negotiations until April, 29th. The scheduled release date of GTA - Grand Theft Auto IV, which is prognosed to become the game of year.
However on Wednesday this week Take-Two unexpectedly declared a desire to begin negotiations with the interested parties. They said that they wish to save minimum of 20% voting stock in company's share and at least one of present board members to remain in Board of directors after absorption. EA greeted this decision and reminded that their current offer is 60% higher than the market price of Take-Two shares.
EA made official tender offer to the investors of Take-Two. The purpose of the tender is to carry out the purchase of company through the public offering to the investors of Take-Two to purchase their shares at 26 USD for every share, which exceeds the market price of Take-Two shares by 60%. In this scenario the total price of shares of Take-Two is appraised at 2 billion USD.
On this occasion John Risitillo, executive director of EA, officially commented that the offer is very advantageous for the shareholders of Take-Two. He also said that EA seriously intend to close this deal. The term of this tender offer ends on Friday, 11th of April.
This Thursday largest producer of computer games - Electronic Arts (EA) undertook a new attempt to purchase Take-Two Interactive Software - proprietor of rights on one of the most popular game series of the last years - Grand Theft Auto. At this time EA made an effort straight to the shareholders of company.
EA estimated Take-Two in 2 billion USD or $26 for a share. At the end of February the board of Take-Two already declined similar offer from EA, considering that the price is understated. "Board of Take-Two did not react on our previous suggestion, however we consider that the shareholders of this company won't lose the chance to get 26 USD for a share", - the press secretary of EA Jeff Braun declared (Jeff Brown).
On March 12th, the shares of Take-Two were estimated at 17 USD, since it was known about the EA suggestion, their price rose to $25.64. The board of Take-Two, wish to set negotiations aside till the end of April, when the sales of Grand Theft Auto IV are scheduled to begin. The company have great expectations for this release and, if the release is sucsessfull, bargains to raise the price of a share will start.
Take-Two Interactive announced that release of the Mafia 2 game will take place in 2009 fiscal year, which begins in November 2008 and ends in October of 2009. Mafia 2 is developed by Illusion Softworks studio for PC and next-gen platforms.
Take-Two has decided to kick off the new year in the way many consumers have been--by splashing out. The company, which already owns Rockstar Games, Global Star Software, 2K Games, 2K Sports, Gotham Games, and others, has a new addition to its stable--Czech company Illusion Softworks.
Illusion Softworks is based in Brno in the Czech Republic and also has operations in the country's capital, Prague. Established in 1997 by Petr Vochozka and venture outfit Cash Reform, the developer has worked on games, including Mafia, the Hidden & Dangerous series, and Vietcong. The company is currently known to be working on Enemy in Sight and Mafia II.
Ben Feder, CEO of Take-Two, commented that the deal was part of the company's bid to continue to expand its ownership of "high-value" IP. In December, the company confirmed the existence of 2K Marin, a studio based in California and rumoured to be working on BioShock 2.
Illusion Softworks will be renamed 2K Czech as part of the deal. Financial terms of the acquisition were not revealed.
Illusion Softworks have opened the first trailer of Mafia 2 for download. The video is full of crazy action with mobster 50's in their beauty. The trailer is a masterpiece to show the fans everything they could wish for in the upcoming game. A dinner scene with the mob boss talking with 2 gangsters and our character, who looks very much like "The Godfather" Marlon Brando in his youth. Car chase with shooting out of the windows, a classic scene with a body in the trunk, perfect mobster-style music, drama, violence and sense of humour.
Mafia 2 is the sequel to the original Mafia title that sold more than two million copies worldwide and helped popularize the gangster genre. Featuring a deep mobster-driven narrative packed with both behind-the-wheel and on-foot action, Mafia 2 is the sequel fans have been clamoring for. The game is being developed by Illusion Softworks, developers of the original Mafia title, for next generation consoles and Games for Windows.
Like the original Mafia title, Mafia 2 immerses players in the mob underworld of a fictitious late 1940's-early 1950's scenario. Players will easily become engaged in the game's cinematic Hollywood movie experience with strong, believable characters in a living, breathing city. By fusing high octane gunplay with white knuckle driving and an engaging narrative, Mafia 2 looks to be the industry's most compelling Mafia title to date.
Today, Take-Two Interactive announced that Illusion Softworks are indeed developing Mafia 2. While nothing much known so far, Take 2 said that the gameplay will be similar to Mafia - The City of Lost Heaven. The game story takes place in late 1940s - early 1950s crime syndicate, about the same period of time as Electronic Arts' recent release The Godfather.
Mafia 2 is being developed for modern consoles and the PC.
Release News 
I work as a lead animator for Mafia II. At the very beginning, I was responsible for all the animations in the game, such as basic controls, in-game animations, and cutscenes. However, Mafia II is such a big project that it is just impossible for a single person to take care of all three disciplines. Therefore, I have focused solely on cutscenes and passed basic controls and in-game animations to other two senior animators in the team who lead their own animation sub-teams. Thanks to these reliable senior animators my workload has been very much reduced since and I can fully focus on creating the cutscenes and making them amazing.
