MinnMax Interview - The Full Story Behind Saints Row's Reboot (Patreon)

MinnMax's Ben Hanson talks to the Saints Row reboot's creative director Brian Traficante and writer/narrative designer Jennifer Campbell about the full history of the game's development. They talk about the history of Volition and how the reboot started, some alternate early ideas that involved Bob Saget, specifics of the gameplay, and what they think about Grand Theft Auto 6.

You can watch and share the video version of the interview here - https://youtu.be/_c8gr115Ec8

To jump to a particular discussion, check out the timestamps below...

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:18 - Finishing the game

00:06:09 - It’s the biggest Saints Row game

00:07:07 - Online reaction to the reboot

00:11:05 - Pranks in co-op

00:13:28 - The origins of the reboot

00:17:27 - Bob Saget and abandoned early concepts

00:20:08 - What does the community want from a new Saints Row?

00:22:00 - Why do so many developers return to Volition?

00:26:40 - The intense development of Saints Row 2

00:29:42 - Jenny’s path to writing Saints Row

00:32:44 - The funniest moments in development

00:34:58 - The slippery slope of adding more jokes

00:38:48 - Does modern Volition feel like “old” Volition?

00:42:53 - Transitioning from THQ to Deep Silver

00:43:43 - Crossovers with other Embracer Group characters

00:44:27 - The biggest challenge of Saints Row

00:46:31 - How does the game feel?

00:49:30 - The challenges of designing indoor areas

00:51:48 - Thoughts on Grand Theft Auto 6 stories

00:53:09 - Eureka moments while writing

00:57:37 - Why they’re feeling confident about the game

Become a Game Champion by supporting MinnMax at the $50 tier on Patreon and lock in the game of your choice! https://www.patreon.com/minnmax

Team Fortress 2 - DJDio

Ghost of Tsushima - ProcyonNumber6

Earth Defense Force 2017 - ErinJBear

Jak and Daxter - SteveB

Wordle - PrettyGoodPrinting.com

Spy Fox in: Dry Cereal - Clemens Zobel

Journey - Spider_Dan

BioShock - Maniac

The Addams Family Pinball Machine (Bally, 1992) - Bob Buel

Elite Beat Agents - Divorced Cougar (Mike M)

Snowboard Kids 2 - Tanner

Borderlands - Jawarhello

Viva Piñata - Nickfilo

God Hand - Patrick Polk

The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker - Otsego12

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - Starkiller