Dave Perry Talks “Enter the Matrix”

Game Informer Magazine has published an extensive look at Enter the Matrix, the game based on The Matrix Reloaded. Here’s a clip from the article:

“”Why didn’t we do the first Matrix film?” voices David Perry, Shiny Entertainment’s president, who for the best portion of the last three years, has seemingly vanished from the face of the Earth. “I was actually asked to do it. I met with the Wachowski brothers (Andy and Larry) and they showed me the original storyboards for the first Matrix movie. Joel Silver did his little pitch, yet I sat there in their office and said no. It was the worst mistake I ever made in my career. When I watched the movie in the theater, I was so blown away by it that I thought, “What the hell have I done?” I thought it was going to be another hacker movie!”

Although they weren’t able to create a game that coincided with the timing of the first film, the Wachowskis remained deeply rooted within the video game industry and sought out other partnerships for their upcoming plans. Hideo Kojima, the mastermind behind Konami’s acclaimed Metal Gear series, was asked to apply his unique fingerprint to the Matrix universe. Although not quite the development powerhouse it is today, the Wachowskis also pursued Bungie, the studio that delivered the Xbox juggernaut Halo. As interesting as these reports are, nothing ever came to fruition, and a game based on the first movie exists only in the imagination of its fans.

Shortly after the theatrical release, negotiations resumed with the number one draft pick, David Perry recalls, “When the movie came out, they called me right away and asked, “Did you see the film?” I replied, “[expletive deleted] year, it’s awesome!” So they said, “Come on up here and we’ll talk about the next movie.” I jumped into my car and we inked the deal as quickly as possible. The deal was signed February 2001, and we were secretly working with the Wachowski brothers on it for six to eight months before that. That’s when we were getting all of the plans laid out. The day it got signed, we really got started. We dove right into the technology to make it possible.” As avid gamers (who have reportedly destroyed an Xbox unit during a fevered Halo match), the Wachowskis didn’t want to make a derivative game that followed the story arc of the second film. They wanted to try something different. Something that speaks volumes to gamers. Something that Matrix fans can embrace. Something that seamlessly blends the efforts of developer and studio. Something that will redefine the way that moviegoers view games and gamers view movies. That something is Enter The Matrix.