- Haden Blackman lead designer, previously on Star Wars: Force Unleased, Galaxies, joined 2K in late 2012
- Assembled veteran team including devs from Infamous, Dead Space 2, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, 1313 and Tomb Raider Reboot
- “Mafia doesn’t just mean the Italian mafia” = lead writer William Harms
- 1968 New Orleans as a backdrop, “wanted to show the fall from grace of the Italian mob and them being exposed for what they actually were, which was brutal criminals and the rise of the new breed of criminals at the same time.”
- Lincoln Clay, main character = Vietnam veteran with vendetta against local crime boss Sal Marcano / mob wipes out his adopted family (small time black-mob outfit) and he swears revenge
- Aided with two people on his quest: Father James ran the orphanage Clay grew up in, reconnects with him after the war & John Donovan, who is a wealthy East Coaster, cavalier CIA operative who ran black operations with Lincoln in Vietnam
- Marcano money man is Tony DeRazio (greases palms of govt. officials, launders dirty money), lives in a Penthouse loft; Donovan gives information on two contacts = these appear as dossiers of various operations in the city, with other contacts you can talk to learn more information
- Informants appear on the city map, player an pursue any of the leads, 1st contact in the demo is being blackmailed by DeRazio’s associate, Jimmy Cavar, who operates a construction outfit , gives Clay info on foremen to strong-arm for more details
- Lincoln finds a thug selling city-owned construction materials in back alley, begins an interrogation process. Thug reveals vulnerable construction site being used (can kill or spare informants). If you kill them, maybe immediate money payout. But if spared, can lead to providing you with more information about criminal racket and help you earn more money after taking over
- Kills informant, immediate effect subtracting Cavar’s racket. “Systemic open world… they only come to check their rackets when you cause enough damage” = how much money are you making them lose
- You can do this by eliminating thugs, intel you receive from informants is randomized (sometimes small tip, other times high value target to deal major damage)
- Lincoln visits second contact hiding in a storefront, punches him to make him talk- he reveals locations of area enforcers (these guys protect racket leaders, once they emerge from hiding so taking them out first weakens them considerably)
- Third person combat, some A.I. enemies have blades, others stay in cover with shotguns, another called squealer who runs to a payphone to call for backup
- Button to take cover, range attacks/melee context sensitive, aim assist/snap-to targeting depending on difficulty levels
- Tactical tools from a walkie talkie (after earning favors from three lieutenants)- calling in a drive-by to cause a distraction, hiring muscle, killing lights, positioning snipers to fire at a specific location, bribing to cops to stay away from an area, restocking supplies with a mobile weapon shop = better relationship with lieutenants, cheaper the services are
- Stocks up on C4 to stealthily infiltrate construction site, plants explosives and escapes, detonating bombs cut the racket take in half
- You could’ve discovered the location of the construction site in many ways, “living world and our crime ecology interact” ex. If you see a junkie walking down the street to grab heroin at a spot, might find a drug dealer in the alley = in this case, maybe follow a Cavar Construction truck to the location
- Do enough damage, bosses come out of hiding, Each boss location gives the player 3-4 ways to infiltrate, because of the explosion more hired guns in position, big shootout / when you reach Cavar, if you know how, you can have him turn on his boss and join you/ or immediate payout by killing him
- Once player takes down hideout, Clay assigns it to one of the three lieutenants. Assign the district, might lead to tension between Burke, Cassandra and Vito = this leads to long-term decisions that also impact the narrative with multiple endings
- Another series of missions opens up after you control a hideout for more money opportunities / finales with rackets are in line with traditional Mafia experience/narrative set-piece missions
- As you tear down Marcano’s crime racket, you’ll see how Sal Marcano reacts- Blackman thinks this is “very uncommon in games… empowering”
- Physics-based driving mechanics evolved to feel like ‘60s action movies like Bullitt = awesome drfits, e-brake turns of muscle/sports cars that are faster
- Targeting of tires, gas tanks, drivers while driving, not fully auto-targeting + ramming system / rearview mirror in top center of screen to track cars in pursuit/highlight takedowns
- Acquire one car from each class, can become ultimate version through upgrades= cosmetic upgrades by winning races throughout city, performance upgrades by completing passion ? activities for Burke (he works in a junkyard)
- Passion activities delve deeper into the stories of the three lieutenants, and earn unique rewards
- Players can earn skill points by completing challenges to improve Lincoln’s abilities like lethal takedowns, faster reloads, expanding inventory, increasing health/stamina
- Variety of collectibles to attain
- More open world activities, more player choice to influence narrative
- Burke- hot-headed leader of the Irish gang, racist, degenerate drunk. Busted knee, rewards Lincoln with car upgrades
- Cassandra- leader of Haitian gang, after Marcano because she feels their mafia is bad for race relations and the city
- Vito- exiled to New Orleans after Empire Bay fallout, begrudgingly taken in by Marcano, meets Clay through mob dealings = “While it won’t be the very first thing you learn in the game we are going to address the one loose end that everyone wants to know. That is part of the story depending on some of the choices you make.” J O E
- Deep South, serves as backdrop = Clay experiences institutional racism firsthand; goal is to tell an authentic story / “put you in a role that maybe you haven’t been before”, someone who is viewed as Black in 1968 in the South is unique
- Police to reflect the times, overt racial slurs, institutional targeting; minimal police presence in Clay’s home has minimal police presence to get away with petty crimes but in rich White areas, police response is much greater
- Commit a crime and a pedestrian reports you, immediate area is a blue zone where cops actively try to find you, may witness police harassing every person of color if you’re in hiding
- Commit a crime and identify you as a suspect, becomes a red zone = police in full pursuit ; break line of sight and get out of the region as fast as you can = get in car chase and they will target your tires, or they might try to run you over while you’re on foot
- “Lincoln wrestles with any sense of belonging and doesn’t necessarily fit in anywhere.” Complete outsider, no one knows for sure who is parents are, Father James thinks one of his parents was Dominican not Italian
- “At the end of the day, you’re going to feel like this is a true Mafia experience. The people are worried that we are just ignoring Mafia II, and that couldn’t be farther from the truth. From a narrative standpoint we are absolutely committed to making sure a lot of your questions about Mafia II are answered in Mafia III.”
