There was also someone we became chatty with who gave us insight into how Triads work within their stamping grounds. He’d been there 25 years orchestrating undercover operations so he knew the ins and outs of the local Triads, from the pettiest crimes all the way up to the high scale stuff. There’s a big Chinese community there, lots of people from Hong Kong, and we managed to talk to the former head of the Hong Kong police force’s organised crime bureau. We were fortunate enough to have a few contacts in Vancouver, where we’re based. We weren’t interested in doing caricatures and stereotypes. We wanted to be as authentic to that as possible. Stephen: There’s a lot of literature around on Triad hierarchy and structure. How do you research each aspect of such an expansive game? Lots of the landmarks are there, many of the names are similar yet, first and foremost, we wanted to make that space fun to navigate around.Ĭheck out our full E3 livestream interview with United Front Games above.

It was important for us to capture the essence of city. Stephen: We took 35,000 to 40,000 reference photos and hour upon hour of video footage, but it’s not a street for street depiction. How faithful were you to Hong Kong’s city planners? There’s a whole narrative drive and lots of side quests, favors that you do for people, mini-games, even things like cockfighting, which is part of the world we’ve created. Stephen: Yep, sandbox gameplay, go wherever you want, in whichever order. That’s what really attracted our attention. It really lends itself towards different gameplay styles, such as street racing and free-flowing combat. The different neighborhoods are so unique and distinct, there’s a rich mix of tradition and technology. Geographically it’s a very interesting place, especially Hong Kong Island, which is where our game focuses. There’s such a richness there and, from a gameplay standpoint, you think about doing it in an open world where there are so many possibilities. What’s interesting for us is seeing those older action movies and the new wave of Hong Kong cinema like Infernal Affairs and that shift towards more serious story telling. Its history in cinema, in martial arts, kung fu, everything as far back as Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Chow Yun Fat, John Woo. What is it about Hong Kong that inspires? Executive producer Stephen van der Mescht of United Front Games took time out at E3 2012 to explain how Bruce Lee and PlayStation 2 classic Bully have helped shape this extremely promising title, and why we’re seeing gaming leave its teenage obsessions behind.

New from developer United Front Games in conjunction with Square Enix London Studios is Sleeping Dogs, the stylish tale of undercover cop Wei Shen and his journey through the murky world of the Hong Kong Triads.

Sleeping dogs true crime