Three members of the team behind John Wick: Hex provided a last-second look into the game's creation.
Director Mike Bithell joined composer Austin Wintory and voice actor Troy Baker at New York Comic Con, as the three found time to preview the game in-between effusive compliments for each other. Though they had no new game footage to debut, John Wick: Hex is clearly such a passion project for the creators that it's hard not to get excited about.
The panel opened up with each team member telling the story of what drew them to the game in the first place, as they've all been trying to collaborate on a video game for years. Initially resistant to discussing details of the game itself, the three panelists spent much of the time on why they love working with each other so much.
Early on in the session, Wintory, who has recently increased production of unique videos on his YouTube channels, played a hilarious parody of his process writing the game's score. In the clip, the Grammy-nominated composer of Journey put himself in John Wick's shoes, rolling around on the floor and peeking around corners en route to pressing a "synth" button. It's sure to land on his YouTube channel soon.
We also got a brief look at the gameplay in John Wick: Hex. Much like Keanu Reeves' iconic character, it's bathed in neon, but operates more in the realm of strategy and choice than quick-thinking action. The full trailer, which debuted earlier this week, shows it off in more detail:
Eventually, Bithell began explaining how Hex fits into John Wick's larger universe. A prequel to the first film (but, as Bithell stressed, not an origin story), it features a mysterious villain known only as Hex. The character, played by Troy Baker, kidnaps Wick's friends Winston and Charon, with actors Ian McShane and Lance Reddick reprising their roles from the films. Aside from this, the team refused to offer any additional information, but Bithell did discuss the work they did to collaborate with the team behind the films to ensure consistency.
"Chad Stahelski, who directs the movies, has played the game," Bithell said. "As he's played it he's said what's great about this is I can tell you're big John Wick fans, you've built on this, but you continue to go in your own direction."
After playing so many iconic characters through voiceover and motion capture, Baker mentioned that it's his desire to disappear into his roles. Veteran of blockbuster gaming franchises (and even a reimagining of The Joker) he said he hopes to evoke a particular Hollywood actor.
"The best compliment somebody can give me is 'I had no idea that was you,'" Baker said. “Then I did my job. I’ve always respected Gary Oldman for numerous reasons, not only for his adept ability to navigate a character, but to completely convince you that that’s who he always is."
Wintory, who has composed dozens of slow, meditative games, ran into a bit of a challenge writing music for a game in the John Wick universe. Simultaneously new to the genre and afraid to too closely ape Tyler Bates' music in the films, they took a new angle to creating a bold sound in a familiar world.
"It's a very specific sound," Wintory said. "Tyler really knows how to produce, and are we in that space? It's a very specific kind of vibe, it's mostly kind of down-tempo and not overly, explosively loud, and it's not orchestral. Let's start there, the first part of the game let's make that our playground, but then as the game goes, let’s go to our own place with it. It gets really weird."
With his parting words, Bithell promised that the game would recreate what it feels like to actually be John Wick, which was the most important part.
From Good Shepard Entertainment and Bithell Games, John Wick: Hex released on PC and Mac on Oct. 8.