Talking polar bears and fictional ice worlds with the makers of The Golden Compass DS

Back in February this year, Sega announced it had snapped up the video game licence for Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials series of books and was in the process of bringing the first game, The Golden Compass, to DS and PSP (as well as home consoles).

The game is due at the end of November, a week prior to the big screen debut for the series, which is set to be the biggest cinematic release this Christmas.

While studio Shiny Entertainment is tackling the PSP game, Canadian developer Artifical Mind & Movement (aka A2M) is working on the DS version. Little has been revealed to date on exactly how it will play on the Nintendo handheld, but we've been able to talk to producer Philippe Gaudé and designer Dave Richard about their creation, as well as finding out just how they're re-imagining Pullman's fantasy epic.

Pocket Gamer: First, can you tell us how the DS version differs to the PSP game?

Philippe Gaudé: We really wanted to do a game tailored to the strength of the DS. In this version, you can actually play all three main characters of the movie: Lyra, Pan – her shape-shifting daemon – and Iorek, the ferocious armoured bear.

The Alethiometer is used extensively in the gameplay to provide clues for the puzzles and decipher the truth in the conversations with the characters that populate the world.

There's also an exclusive wireless two-player Alethiometer contest.

How do the different characters play within the game?

Dave Richard: Lyra is agile, fast and witty; she can pull acrobatic moves to pass the hazardous environments. She can also hide and sneak past her too powerful enemies. Pan can shapeshift at will, and, of course, the mighty Iorek can dispatch any enemy with his powerful charge attack, his earth-shaking ground punch and his destructive tackle.

How is Pan used during the game? Can he change shapes in order to help Lyra?

DR: Pan is fully playable at all times in the DS game. He can shapeshift in four main forms: a bird to explore the environments and move small objects to solve puzzles; a butterfly to observe enemies without being seen; a rodent to dig and activate remote switches; or a feline to fight opponent daemons.

In the course of the adventure the player will gain new shapes, for example, upgrading the feline from the wildcat to a more powerful panther.

Will the game follow the storyline of the film and of the other console versions?

PG: It's an epic story that has elements which appeal to both young and old and we think both these audiences are attracted by many of the same elements. We feel we have a game that will appeal to the fans of the movie and the more hardcore book fans.

The game is huge! The player will be brought to the Nordic frozen planes, the icy caverns, the experimental station of Bolvangar, the quays and hangars of Trollesund, Jordan college, the Gyptian's boat Noorderlicht, the tundra and, of course, the Panserbjørne fortress Svalbard.

How do you utilise the DS's abilities to enhance the game experience? Have you used the touchscreen to interact with the Alethiometer, for instance?

PG: A bit like the Alethiometer, the DS fit in your pocket, and you can pick it up anytime. When designing the Alethiometer feature, we wanted this very tactile feeling.

So when using the Alethiometer in-game, the player can move the needles with the stylus on the touchscreen as if he was moving them with his hands in an actual Alethiometer.

This doesn't stop at moving the needles, though. To recreate the challenge of Lyra focusing her mind to learn the truth, the player has to memorize and draw the answer's symbols in order to decode the message.

Have you shared resources with Shiny in order to make the game as authentic as possible? Or have you been able to check out the film set for yourselves?

PG: Because of the technical gap between the DS and the main consoles, we were not able to share any actual assets.

But thanks to Sega's and New Line's constant support, we were fortunate enough to have access to a lot of the movie material, so the game will look and feel very close to it. The artists have done an amazing job to transport the player to world of The Golden Compass on the DS.

Do you use the actor's likenesses and voices from the film?

PG: The faces and character models are definitely based on the movie actors – players will stay in the movie's universe for the characters as well as they are for the locations.

Presumably you're not tied entirely to the film. Do you have sections of the game which are based more on the book?

PG: Having less constraint on the duration than a movie has, we had the opportunity to expand on some areas where the book provided more material than the movie.

I think players will enjoy that a great deal, and those who have seen the movie but not read the book will learn new elements about the story by playing the DS version.

Can you talk us through how a few of the levels in the game play – what can gamers expect?

DR: The Golden Compass universe is so rich that we have been able to offer the player a lot of different gameplay through all the environments. Platforming, stealth and puzzle solving – and of course mastering the Alethiometer – will be the bread-and-butter of Lyra and Pan from Jordan College to Trollesund.

The encounter with Iorek will open new range of possibilities by introducing the combat phase from the streets of Trollesund to the frozen lands of Bolvangar and Svalbard. And of course, as the game advances you will have to combine the abilities of all three characters to overcome deeper challenges.

What do you think fans of The Golden Compass book will appreciate most about the game?

PG: The book's fans will be delighted to find more book-related material. We think they will also appreciate the interactive conversations integrating use of the Alethiometer, where they will have to reveal the truth or make their way through dangerous situations when talking with the various characters of the story.

Our thanks to Philippe and Dave for their time. Explore the snowy peaks of the North Pole on the back of a polar bear for yourselves when The Golden Compass is released for DS (and PSP) on November 30th. We'll obviously aim to have a review ready for your delectation beforehand.