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Lula 3D Feature Feature
Derek dela Fuente
15/07/2003
Our roving reporter gets the 'Full Monty' on Lula's return after eight years...
Lula first appeared on the scene in a first person adventure title from Gametek in 1995. At the time it was slightly outrageous and only moderately received. Now almost 8 years on Lula returns and is totally upfront, in glamorous 3D with plenty to offer. Our roving man spoke with Producer, Martin Deppe, at CDV Software Entertainment to get the âfull montyâ.
As adorns any classic adventure a background story sets the mood for the ensuing experience. Lula, the curvaceous producer of erotic films, is in a serious fix. Just before shooting begins on her new strip, three of her best porn stars are kidnapped. The only clue to the culprits is the tapes recorded by the security cameras of her luxurious estate in Beverly Hills - Masked characters sneak through the park. A black delivery van is parked close to the wall. Lula wastes no time, but races off at once in her sparkling Corvette. A wild chase across America begins...
Lula 3D is not another formula adventure game ready to appease the small and dwindling band of adventure gamers but one that CDV hope will pull in many new gamers. With focus on technology, characters with up to 5,000 polygons for more realistic movements, a modern look and feel, and simple mouse controls that will allow the player to get into the game and immerse themself straight from the onset, expectations are high from CDV and the development team based in Cologne in Germany. The high quality looks and performance come thanks to the Vulpine Vision Engine which has taken the team a little longer to create than initially planned but if you add to the equation that they are using motion capture to guarantee perfect animations then this is already looking and sounding interesting.
Martin was eager to start the interview by getting the slant for this title correct. âLula 3D is not only an action adventure, but a 3D erotic action adventure, combining the gameplay of a 3D adventure (yes, including finding and combining objects or talking to characters) with a lot of action scenes and erotic sequences. There's simply no similar game!"
âWe started the level design a year ago, and the last levels will be finished soon. In parallel we have developed the different characters and created a very intense set of in game cast. Lula herself took the most time, since she's to look perfect - and she does. The whole game is based on the Vulpine Vision engine, developed by the German company Vulpine. This engine offers tons of features, like full stencil shadow support, per-pixel lighting, bump mapping, scalable curved surfaces and landscapes or fully customisable shaders. We created huge outdoor and very detailed indoor levels. And the good thing is: You don't need a high end PC, even with a PIII 1000 and a GeForce 2, the game looks stunning and is still really fast.â
It appears that Lula 3D is inspired by road movies and a lot of movie blockbusters. Hitchcock fans, especially, will enjoy the innuendos to movies like Psycho or North by Northwest. And Lula's not alone - on her trip she makes some special friends, like Gina or Dusty. Lula's able to use her charm and âbody weaponsâ, plus an arsenal of beats, kicks and firearms. You will chase gangsters with your car, flee from the police, etc.
Lula offers plenty of variety and interaction, and puzzles are both deep, cerebral, and obvious - some say the perfect mix. Some puzzles demand combining different objects, e.g. you have to brew a special drink for your suspectâs neighbour, who'll give you the apartment keys you need in exchange. Or Lula has to convince a bar boss with a very special pole dance⦠The story is linear, but within a level you can choose in which order you solve the puzzles.
Martin was eager to point out that detailing the story and puzzles would spoil the game and that the screenshots really speak for themselves! Being an adventure game means you have to unravel the plot and so giving even the smallest piece of information out would lessen the impact of the game, which brought us neatly on the one very important point in that adventure games are possibly the least demanded game genre at present. âPURE adventures are dead. But a good story, combined with good riddles, excellent graphics and action elements will not only survive, but also become more and more important. It's like books vs. TV - most people prefer watching TV, but there will always be people who love reading. In many cases, they do both - just take a look at the Lord of the Ring saga. Suddenly, the novels are in fashion! Another good example is Baldur's Gate - Everyone said RPG is dead. And boom, thereâs a cool looking game, a good story and a detailed tactic system, and the RPG genre raised like a phoenix. This can happen to the adventures as well, when they âacceptâ the modern times."
Lula will visit the most famous sceneries of the USA - like Mount Rushmore, Las Vegas and San Francisco. She'll meet strange people from the red light districts, cops and especially wild Gina, who wants more than friendship⦠Dialogues are spoken and written, and Lula's inventory is shown over her head on demand, you can simply scroll through it with your mouse wheel.
Lula 3D offers a refreshing change in that it has a cartoony look but with plenty of detail whilst also at the same time ensuring it does not become a weak and slapstick affair. Some of the techniques used, which appear to be hand drawn graphics used on top of or over digitised backdrops, work brilliantly. Even the use of digitised objects, which have been photographed, placed in the scenery merge in well!
Lula 3D offers both 3rd and 1st person views and there will be special cut scenes which you can watch over and over after 'unlocking' them.
Mike, âLula 3D won't be hardcore, even with it's explicit scenes. Sure, it will show more than every other computer game before, but no primary sexual organs. There'll will be a lot of scenes players will talk about, promise."
A game with a fresh spark of creativity that looks a pleasant alternative to the regular diet of adventure games served up!
Anonymous
Date Added:Fri 19th Jan 2007 23:16
Anonymous
Date Added:Sun 10th Dec 2006 10:35