Tim Tran Interview

This is our Tim Tran Interview who was the associate producer on 2005’s Predator Concrete Jungle game which was released for PS2 and X-Box.

The Ultimate Predator – Hi, please tell us what your role was in the Predator: Concrete Jungle game?

Tim Tran – My name is Tim Tran and I’m the associate Producer on the game.

The Ultimate Predator – Have you ever played any previous Predator / AvP games, and if so, what were they, and what did you think of them?

Tim Tran – Yes, I have played all of the Aliens, AvP games. I really enjoyed the Alien resurrection game. The AvP games are really good in terms of keeping the feel of the movies. Playing the marine in those games really give you a feel of fear like the movie. My only grip about them is the balance, the Aliens and Predator has way too much advantage over the humans.

The Ultimate Predator – Why did you make the decision to make a single franchise game instead of staying with the “Aliens vs Predator” theme?

Tim Tran – Why not? The Predator is one of the most “kick-ass” characters that have been around for the past decade. It was a crime that he didn’t get his own game.

The Ultimate Predator – What are the environments like in the game?

Tim Tran – The game takes place on Earth between two separate time periods, 1930 and 2030. In a fictional city called New Way City, and the future downtown area of Neonopolis. You see city building from the 1930 to the futuristic city of the 2030, the Harbor, inside chambers of the hidden secret labs of the Mafia, inside of broken down churches, etc..

The Ultimate Predator – Have you put lots of things from the previous movies into the game?

Tim Tran – There are over 20 different kinds of weapons that are based on the old movie. Many of them are from the concept of the AVP movie. We used the same vision effect mode from the movie and the sound effects are ripped right out of all the predator movies. We also add a little history on how a certain company was formed for all the “Aliens” research. You have to play the game to find out

The Ultimate Predator – Why choose to do a GTA type game over the common FPS?

Tim Tran – It was designed that the player will explore through the city and most of your traveling will be going from rooftop to rooftop to avoid being detected by the humans. This is very difficult to have jumping mechanics in first person games. Also in 3rd person, we concentrated more on the combat system of the Predator. The player is able to see all the cool moves and executions of the Predator.

The Ultimate Predator – How about the artificial intelligence of your opponents?

Tim Tran – There are several NPCs AI. They range from civilian AI to Boss AI. Each of the different AI has many different states from calm, to fear, to aggressive. They will react to the Predator if they see him. Depending on the AI, they either run away or become aggressive.

The Ultimate Predator – What was the most difficult part in designing the game?

Tim Tran – Since the game has large environments, we has to make sure the player did not get lost in it and make sure that the player can find their way back if they wander off their objective.

The Ultimate Predator – How long did it take you to make the game?

Tim Tran – It took around 2 years to complete this game.

The Ultimate Predator – How difficult was it to make sure that the game matched up to the success of the AvP and previous Predator movies?

Tim Tran – It was difficult, but we are fortunate to have the Fox studio to supply us all the assets we needed to make the world consistence.

The Ultimate Predator – Is there anything you would have done different in the game if you had more time?

Tim Tran – Yes, we would put back everything we had to cut. Some of these things include a bigger world to explore. I can’t really say a lot on this subject.

The Ultimate Predator – Do you think Predator: Concrete Jungle outranks the previous AvP/Predator games?

Tim Tran – This is a difficult question as Predator and the AvP games are very different games. The only similarity of the game is the Predator universe. You can do things in Predator that you can’t do with the AVP game and vise versa. So I can’t really rank the game against AVP games.

The Ultimate Predator – Why do you think this game was designed for Xbox and PS2, and not for the PC as well?

Tim Tran – The PC audience is different from the console audience. The PC audience prefers the super fast action of first person shooter of this series; however the console audience prefers the 3rd person games. The game was design to explore a lot more than.

The Ultimate Predator – What does the future hold for AvP/Predator games?

Tim Tran – As you know, there is another AVP movie in production; I wouldn’t be surprised if another game based on this franchise get release too. The AVP universe has so much to offer and we only barely scratch the surface of these worlds.

The Ultimate Predator – Is AvP3 or a Predator: Concrete Jungle 2 on the horizon?

Tim Tran – It all depends if the people and fans like this one. Only time can tell.

The Ultimate Predator – Thanks, and any last words?

Tim Tran – Thank you and go out there and start hunting down your prey with Honor!

Related Links:
AvPGalaxy – Predator Concrete Jungle