The Matrix Online Interview

GameZone has published an interview with Monolith’s Toby Ragaini, in which the online creative director and lead designer reveals some general information about The Matrix Online. A taste:

Q: Neo had unique talents, as did all those who understood the matrix for what it was. How do you intend to handle some of the unique elements, like slowing time to avoid damaging shots, et cetera, while still keeping the server active for all the other players in the world?

A: Bullet-time is part of the MxO combat experience. Like in the movies, bullet-time kicks in during dramatic moments in a fight scene. For example, perhaps you are just about to land the killing blow on an opponent. Suddenly, the familiar slo-mo and dramatic camera angles of bullet-time activate and you watch your character’s knee slowly smash into your opponent’s face with a sickening crunch. Just like the movies, bullet-time is used as a visual signifier that something really cool just happened.

This doesn’t actually take place on the server, though. It’s a client-side event that speeds up part of the animation and then slows it down for bullet-time. This way everything is synched up with the server when the move is over.