http://www.freep.com/entertainment/videogames/club24e_20050224.htm
Rockstar Games, maker of the blockbuster "Grand Theft Auto" series of
video games, is about to put Detroit on the map -- the game map, that is.
Detroit is one of just three locations to be featured in its upcoming
"Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition," the latest game in the incredibly
popular street-racing series that is all about cool cars and even cooler
places to be. This is the first time that Detroit will be featured so
prominently in an A-list video game. And it's not just the city's
streets in a starring role: About 20 songs by artists from Detroit's
revered underground electronic music scene are used in the game's
soundtrack.
"Since 'Midnight Club 3' captures the current scene in America, we
decided to have the game take place in the three cities most important
to American street racing: San Diego, Atlanta and Detroit," said Jay
Panek, game producer for Rockstar San Diego. "Detroit is the birthplace
of the automobile and where this country's love for cars originates. Of
all the cities, Detroit has the best appreciation for muscle cars, like
the '69 Charger, a personal favorite."
It's unusual for games to feature cities like Detroit in such realistic
detail. Most driving games focus on coastal cities, such as Washington,
D.C., Los Angeles, New York or San Francisco, or feature swanky overseas
locations. And though the "Midnight Club" series focuses on a typically
illegal activity -- street racing -- it's been largely controversy-free,
thanks mostly to the fact that it doesn't feature the kind of
antiestablishment violence (smooshing pedestrians, battling police
officers) that has gotten Rockstar Games like "Grand Theft Auto" into
trouble.
The "Midnight Club" series has been a consistent best seller, thanks
both to the production quality of the game -- it looks and drives so
smoothly you really feel like you're hurtling down city streets at 100
m.p.h. -- and the attention to detail in its cityscapes. Rockstar reps
spent some quality time in Detroit getting the look and feel of the city
and even consulted with top members of Submerge, a Detroit-based company
that is known worldwide for producing and distributing electronic music.
That said, don't expect a slavish reproduction of the Motor City.
"We don't re-create exact city layouts," Panek said. "They're
architectural caricatures of the cities they represent. The basic street
layout and key landmarks are there, but the cities have been modeled to
maximize the driving experience.
"For example, in Detroit, you can race through Greektown, but it won't
be a street-for-street replica. Unfortunately, real cities don't have
the sort of shortcuts and jumps we want to offer gamers. We take the
real city and apply imagination to it. For example, we'll make it
possible for you to do things like hit a jump and land on an elevated
train track, then as you continue to race you might have the train
coming up behind you so you have to quickly find a stairwell to drive down."
Detroit's techno music scene is what initially attracted Rockstar Games
to the city. The gaming company originally wanted Underground Resistance
-- a local collective that has been making electronic music for nearly
20 years -- to be featured on the soundtrack of another game, "State of
Emergency."
Rockstar games approached Mike Banks (also known as Mad Mike), who
founded Submerge and is a member of Underground Resistance, commonly
called UR. Submerge does just about everything: recording, management,
distribution, licensing and publishing.
"The founder of Rockstar Games ... came here when Mike Banks was working
on construction of the Submerge building. And basically, Mike Banks is
not really down for commercial exploitation of his music whatsoever. So
he gave him the big Mad Mike UR speech and kicked him out," said Ade
Henderson-Mainor, president of Submerge Recordings. "But J.D. Simpson,
our general counsel for Submerge, kept the relationship alive for years.
When I came on board in 2002, we were able to rekindle that relationship."
"So we said we will do this deal if we have Detroit in the game," said
Henderson-Mainor, who also will be a key player in this year's Memorial
Day weekend electronic music festival, which was announced Wednesday.
"And they said OK, only if you let us use the music."
Among electronic music aficionados, UR is known for its spare and
hard-driving beats and strong anticommercial stance. This is the sound
of secretive dance parties, not mainstream radio music. And it's not the
kind of stuff usually featured in video games.
"It's more mainstream, club and television dance music,"
Henderson-Mainor said of typical video game fare. "It's not underground
dance music. It's not like the stuff that we make. So they get cool
points having us being a part of this game."
All of the music was preexisting, not created for the game, with
Submerge handling the licensing. Featured artists include
Henderson-Mainor (known as Mr. De), UR, B. Calloway, the Suburban
Knight, Orlando Moore and the Tek Brothers.
The game's streetscape images made available so far show some familiar
Detroit landmarks (such as Comerica Park and some popular downtown
businesses) and have a definite Detroit feel. The game features more
than 60 real-life cars, including a heavy selection of Detroit muscle,
all of which can be customized with real parts.
"Detroit looks great in the game," Henderson-Mainor said. "People will
really be impressed. Rockstar Games has a reputation for being risqué
and violent. This game isn't. You can't run people over and see blood.
It's not that sort of thing. I went out to New York two months ago and
played the video game. It's fun. I wasn't any good at it; I was crashing
up the cars. But they went and got licenses from all the original
manufacturers, all the rims with the real part numbers, too. It's really
interesting if you're a real car person."
The game is named "DUB Edition" because of the popular automobile
customizing magazine, which acted as a creative consultant on the game.
It's due out April 12 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. It hasn't been rated
yet, but previous installments in the series were rated T for Teen.
Contact HEATHER NEWMAN at 313-223-3336 or [EMAIL PROTECTED] Contact
KELLEY L. CARTER at 313-222-8854 or [EMAIL PROTECTED]
