Lake on Quantum Break: "your choice, your version of the show"

The concept that underpins Quantum Break certainly has potential, with Remedy mixing up interactive entertainment in a way we've not seen the likes of before.

During Gamescom, where the game featured prominently during Microsoft's press event, we got a chance to see the game in action and understand better exactly how the studio plans on fusing live-action film with the triple-A video game experience.

After having seen it for ourselves we caught up with Remedy creative director Sam Lake, who was able to neatly sum up what players can expect when the Xbox One exclusive lands in April of next year.

"Quantum Break has two elements; cinematic story-driven action game, and a live-action show," Lake explained in summary.

"They tell two sides of a story. There are two perspectives in the disc. In the game Jack Joyce our hero, and in the show you follow what's happening in the enemy camp, inside a corporation called Monarch Solutions."

There had been some confusion as to how the two pieces would fit together to create a cohesive experience, but Lake told us how player decisions in the interactive part of the game will feed into the live-action sections.

"So how the experience goes, you play through an act of the game. It ends in a special scene that we are calling 'a junction in time', where - because it's about time travel, because it's about alternate timelines - you see glimpses of two potential futures, you make a choice which future comes to pass.

"And then, immediately afterwards, we unlock the next episode of the show. We shot a lot of alternate content, so depending on your choice you get your version of the show. And then you watch more or less twenty-two minutes of network TV episode-length of show, you know, what's happening with the villains inside Monarch Solutions, teams, power play.

"As things roll forward time starts to break down and Paul Serene, who is the bad guy, the founder of Monarch Solutions, his empire starts to crumble down, and there is... people are trying to grab more power, some are just trying to survive. We follow that. And after watching an episode of the show, we go to the beginning of the next act on the game."

With alternate paths and bespoke live-action scenes, it begs the question of just how much variety there is in the story. We asked Lake about branching narratives, and this is what he had to say:

"The way we approach it is that it is one story, so the spine of the story stays the same. That being said, there is... it gets wider and wider as we go forward and you have done multiple choices. So there are quite a few different versions of the last episode of the show already. So even if it's one story, you as the player determine the fate of quite a few characters in the ensemble cast."