According to Antoniades, Alex Garland, a screenplay writer whose videogame credits include Enslaved, ”warned me about it (death threats) because he experienced a similar thing with 28 Days Later where people were upset that it didn’t feature real zombies. And now with his upcoming Dredd movie.” He added, ”So I was half prepared for it, although I have to say that it has been pretty eye opening to see some of the creative ways in which people have chosen to vent their hatred. We didn’t expect death threats in comic book form or anti-DmC death metal songs!”
The fan outcry stemming from the Devil May Cry reboot is due to the recasting of protagonist Dante from a ”sneering pretty boy” to a ”rougher version” of the character. Fans of the series decry the new interpretation of the character as ”emo”.
Antoniades is confident that as more and more gameplay footage is released, the anger will die down. He also revealed that the new Dante has engendered interest in some who lost interest in the series, stating, ”Lots of people have come and said that they are now interested in DmC whereas they had previously lost interest in the series. We’ll see how this plays out.”
That’s not to say that Ninja Theory has abandoned the original game’s narrative, and that the core of Devil May Cry’s story will remain intact. ”There is of course an expectation from the fans, which is something that has always been firmly in the minds of both ourselves and Capcom. The Devil May Cry franchise is well established and much loved, so we want to keep the essence of what makes the series unique,” promised Antoniades, who then added, ”But DmC is a re-birth, so we’ve been able to explore Dante’s early years in the narrative, meaning that if you’re entirely new to the series you won’t start the game with a disadvantage or feeling that you need to catch up with the story of the previous games first.”
Combat is one part of gameplay that Ninja Theory is keeping special attention on. “There is a lot of innovation in the game, but where we’re dealing with key areas of the Devil May Cry DNA, such as the combat, we’ve been particularly careful to ensure that innovative features sit hand in hand with the core elements that we’re looking to preserve.” Antoniades then noted, ”Combat is something that we are taking very seriously and is one of the areas that we’re working closely with Capcom on. Technical, fluid combat with depth is one of the key pillars of the Devil May Cry series and as such is right at the top of our list of priorities. We wouldn’t be making a Devil May Cry game if this wasn’t the case.”
