Archival article from the official Enter the Matrix website: February 2003.
Two years later, and we’re almost ready to Enter The Matrix.
It’s a Saturday in January at Shiny’s new digs in Aliso Viejo, CA. We’re about two weeks away from an important internal deadline, and the parking lot is full of cars. Everyone’s here – artists, developers, scripters, editors — working like crazy, guzzling coffee by the gallon, all of us headed for another big deadline. We’re almost there.
Mind you, the release date of the game is still months away – May 15, 2003, to be exact. There’s still a long, long way to go. But these internal deadlines are vitally important. These are the days where you can see two years of work coming together. Every day, the game is getting better and better. These truly are exciting times!
With that spirit in mind, this is the first of what will be many Developer Diaries, offering you, the reader, a behind-the-scenes look at the development of Enter the Matrix. Shiny has been focused solely on Enter The Matrix with laser-like intensity since August 2000, when we began our intense collaboration with the Wachowski brothers to bring the Matrix universe to the gaming world.
Enter The Matrix is an action-adventure game set in the Matrix universe, and based on the upcoming release of The Matrix: Reloaded. This game’s got everything you expect and so, so very much more.
The Developer Diaries will cover everything – art, programming, design, sound, and more. We’ll talk about the unique, patented technology we’re using to make the game. The thousands and thousands of motion-capture moves. The martial arts choreography, conceived of by Master Yuen Wo-Ping himself. The hacking system. Over one hundred “cineractives.” The FULL HOUR of unique filmed footage directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski. And the guns. Lots of guns.
So, where to begin? How about answering the first question: How did we get here? Let’s relate an interesting story, as told by Shiny president David Perry, in the December issue of GameInformer magazine.
“Why didn’t we do (a game based on) first Matrix film? I was actually asked to do it. I met with the Wachowski Brothers and they showed me the original storyboards for the first Matrix movie. Joel Silver did his 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 be to another hacker movie!
“They called me right away and asked, ‘Did you see the film?’ I replied, ‘[expletive deleted] yeah! It’s awesome!’ So they said, ‘Come on up here and we’ll talk about the next movie.’ I jumped in my car and we inked the deal as quickly as possible.”
It’s been two years. It’s already been a wild ride, and in many respects, we’re just getting started. Exciting times, indeed.