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062 JUNE 2015 JB Hi-Fi
visit FEATURE GAMES
The concluding part to the Batman Arkham trilogy is upon us.
We dig up some interesting facts on the franchise that
convinced us that Batman video games could indeed be good.
Rocksteady Studios rose from
the ashes of Argonaut Games, a
London-based developer formed
in 1982 by teenage entrepreneur
Jez San.
Argonaut Games closed the
doors in October 2004, laying off
over 100 staff members. Former
employees Sefton Hill and Jamie
Walker began Rocksteady two
months later in December 2004.
The studio’s inaugural game,
a first-person shooter for PS2
and Xbox called Urban Chaos:
Riot Response, was
released in 2006. It
was well received.
In 2007, British publisher
Eidos Interactive secured the
rights to develop a Batman game.
They turned to Rocksteady to
develop the idea.
When Rocksteady announced
it was working on a Batman
game, it was met with a negative
response from fans of the Dark
Knight, who were tired of the
character’s poor representation in
video games.
Reprising their roles from the
animated Batman series, Kevin
Conroy – who voiced Batman –
and Mark Hamill – the voice of
Joker – were recruited to lend
their vocal talent to the first game
in the Arkham Trilogy, Batman:
Arkham Asylum.
Veteran Batman writer
Paul Dini was enlisted to
pen the story.
Batman: Arkham
Asylum took 21 months to
develop.
The studio started
out with 40 staff and
completed the development
cycle with 60.
According to Eidos
boss Ian Livingstone,
one developer spent
the entire 21 months
singularly working on
Batman’s cape and
employing over
700 animations.
On release, the critically
acclaimed Arkham Asylum sold
two million copies globally in the
first three weeks.
Confident in Asylum’s
success, the studio began plotting
the sequel seven months before
completion.
A hidden room in the
warden’s office in Arkham
Asylum reviews blueprints and
clues to the sequel. The studio
revealed its existence six months
after Asylum released.
Events in Batman: Arkham
City take place a year after
Asylum.
The game is five times the
size of ArkhamAsylum.
Rocksteady were keen to
expand on the lauded combat
system and subsequently, the
number of animations were
doubled.
Paul Dini was recalled to
create the narrative once more.
Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill
also reprise their respective voice
roles. However, Hamill announced
that it would be the last time he
would voice the part of Joker.
Arkham City clocked up an
incredible two million copies sold
worldwide in its first week!
With the final conclusion of
the Arkham trilogy in development
for new-gen, Rocksteady informed
Warner Bros. Interactive they
were going to need a three-
year development cycle. To plug
the gap, Arkham Origins was
developed in-house at Warner
Montreal.
Batman: Arkham Knight
plays out a year after Arkham City.
The Batmobile is finally
a playable vehicle in Arkkam
Knight.
Rocksteady developed the
story in-house using its own
writers for Arkham Knight
instead of Paul Dini.
Rocksteady wanted to create
a unique character for the game
that hadn’t been used anywhere
before in the Batman canon.
Working with DC Comics CCO
Geoff Johns and comic artist Jim
Lee, Rocksteady conceived new
supervillain, Arkham Knight.
Batgirl is a fully playable
character in Batman: Arkham
Knight if you buy the season pass
DLC.
25 Facts about
the Arkham Trilogy
You Probably Didn’t Know