Luke Karmali sitting down with Mortal Kombat's creator Ed Boon, therefore, was always going to result in me bombarding him with questions about just what we should expect from the latest MK installment in terms of returning characters, and how the game's story will play out.
it's a direct continuation, but the timespan it crosses is 25 years in length," Boon explained regarding
Mortal Kombat X's storyline. "There are periods that are directly after MK9, then there are periods that are five, ten, 15 and 20 years out. A lot of the events take place 25 years after where we see older versions of the characters, like Cassie Cage and all that. But it does jump around in time; it's not a linear thing." Mortal Kombat 9's Story Mode serves as the basis for how we'll watch events unfold in the new installment, though we should expect things to move around somewhat. Though Boon wouldn't be easily drawn on specifics, he did admit the rise and fall of Kotal Khan and his (presumably non-romantic) relationship with D'vorah would both have roles to play.
"You still play the different chapters and each chapter has a character where it follows their actions, but instead of just jumping from one character to the next, it'll jump in time as well. So all of a sudden, you may have a flashback and you'll participate in those, but sometimes the story will just move forward five or ten years.
"A lot of the new characters are those that came into power after MK9. Kotal Khan is one of them. He was one of the rulers of Outworld during that 25 year period, and the story mode basically follows his rise and fall. D'vorrah works with him, but there's twists there. I won't give away the story, but a lot of these characters come in and out of power over the course of the story."
That more than half of the characters announced with the game were new should give some idea of NetherRealm's intentions. While Boon assured me the inclusion of characters like Cassie Cage in no way means her parents Johnny and Sonya won't be playable, as he reckons interaction between parents and their offspring is one of the most exciting possibilities of such a wide timeframe, the focus here is very much on new blood.
"The last game we did in 2011 was a complete fan service title, so we really felt it was time to add a lot of new characters to the mix," he said. "So yeah, a lot of old faces won't make the roster, but to us it was more important we did introduce new characters. We're probably introducing more in this game than in any other MK title ever."
All's not lost if your favourite doesn't make the cut, however. Boon promised the roster would be expanded with DLC post-launch, as well as revealed that yes, console-specific exclusive fighters would again be back. But between now and launch, the focus is very much on creating new characters that fans can get behind. When I ask if this means we should expect these new players to be the one carrying the franchise forward, however, the answer pulls me up somewhat short.
"One thing that's certainly on my mind after jumping ahead 25 years, is I don't know where we'd go from here," Boon tentatively begins. "We wanted to do something bold, and this is a bold new story, despite the fact it's the tenth game. But when you jump ahead 25 years it's like... what do you do now? Do you jump in time again? Do you go back 25 years? Do you introduce a whole new cast? We'll worry about it when we reach it, but I do think it could be hard to continue, if we do another one."
Despite the ominous words, it looks like NetherRealm has no intention of hanging up its entrails anytime soon. Mortal Kombat 9 was apparently the best-selling in the series and, with the hype around MKX already at fever pitch, it's hard to see them letting that slip through their fingers anytime soon. The new characters already show their enthusiasm and creativity isn't in danger of drying up anytime soon but, if I was in any doubt, the gleeful glint in Boon's eye as uttered one last sentence before I left the room reassured me this definitely isn't the last we'll see of Mortal Kombat.
"There's a New-ality that we're going to reveal soon. So yeah. That'll be fun," he says, smiling. After spending time talking to the man, I can promise it's for himself every bit as much as us.
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Gamescom 2014: Ed Boon Talks Mortal Kombat X Story Mode, Characters and Guests
