LAKE FOREST, Calif. (AP) – It’s a hairy time inside Turtle Rock Studios – and not just because many employees have pledged to stop shaving until they’ve finished work on “Evolve,” a highly anticipated video game about hunting huge, Godzilla-like creatures. Really, it’s because the creators of the popular zombie shooter “Left 4 Dead” are working diligently to deliver another monster hit.
The hype for the new co-op shooter has been building since June when “Evolve” captured the industry’s attention – and a slew of awards – at the Electronic Entertainment Expo with a simple, subversive conceit. Instead of equal groups of gamers aiming for each other as they do in online “Halo” and “Call of Duty” battles, “Evolve” pits a team of four against one.
The catch? The solo player portrays an oversized, overpowered monster built for destruction, while the others are cast as humanoid hunters dispatched to an alien planet to eliminate the threat. They’re equipped with traps and special abilities to isolate the towering creature, which can grow and attain more powers by devouring wildlife and deceased hunters.
“E3 was obviously a huge morale boost for the team, but it also heaped on the pressure,” said veteran design director Chris Ashton, whose blonde beard now almost reaches down to his chest. “When we set out to make this game four years ago, we never imagined that we would win all these E3 awards and receive all this acclaim. It’s not something we ever considered.”
The outlook for “Evolve,” well, evolved in August when publisher 2K Games announced that the multiplayer shooter was being delayed from an Oct. 21 to Feb. 10 debut, so that “Evolve” could “reach its absolute, optimal state before we release it,” according to Strauss Zelnick, chairman and CEO of 2K Games’ parent company, Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.