‘Batman Arkham Knight’ Dev Talks Evolution Of Its Villains And Upgraded Combat Mechanics

A Batman Statue — A Batman statue is pictured during a media preview of the Warner Bros. VIP Studio Tour of "The Batman Exhibit" in Burbank, California June 26, 2014. Reuters/Mario Anzuoni

Perhaps more than any other character in comics, the Caped Crusader is defined by his foes. They exist as a psychological fun-house mirror, enhancing and warping the most mundane human attributes. “Batman Arkham Knight” developer Rocksteady Studios is placing special emphasis on its diverse cadre of villains for the final game in the series, and now gamers get to find out why.

In a recent Reddit AMA, Rocksteady Marketing Manager Gaz Deaves discussed the evolution of characters like Harley Quinn, Scarecrow and the Riddler. Discussing the Riddler, Deaves states that the writers at Rocksteady have been having a blast writing for him, pointing out that his need to best the Bat intellectually leads to an intimate level of conflict.

As GameRanx notes, Harley Quinn has taken on the character of Gotham gang leader following the death of her idol, the Joker. Deaves says her revised character design is an indicator of her growth as a character. He states that she’s changed quite a bit with every new game, from a crazy nurse in “Arkham Asylum,” to a tough biker chick in “Arkham City.” He notes that her choice of costume in “Arkham Knight” is a reflection of the events that have moulded her as a person.

When asked by a fan if there are any villains the studio wishes they could use but never got to, Deaves responds by stating that design decisions typically drive which villains appear opposite Batman. He mentions that one of the primary reasons the Joker featured in “Batman Arkham Asylum” was because the team liked the idea of bottling both characters up in a small environment.

Deaves goes on to explain that it’s such reasoning that saw the Scarecrow introduced as the primary antagonist in “Batman Arkham Knight.” He states that the team left him out of proceedings in “Batman Arkham City” with the intention of introducing him as the big bad in “Arkham Knight.”

“Scarecrow is easily my personal favourite Batman villain - he's an expert in the use of fear, just like Batman, and he thrives in situations where his opponents are second-guessing themselves. In terms of both gameplay and narrative, that makes him incredibly interesting because players never know what to expect or what to believe,” he explains.

Speaking to GamingBolt about the evolution of the game’s combat engine, Deaves states that the team’s goal is to make sure players feel like the Batman. The FreeFlowCombat system has been revised in order to allow the Caped Crusader to use his environment against his foes. Batman can now drop a ceiling light on an enemy or disarm bad guys and use their own weapons against them.

Originally scheduled for release in late 2014, “Batman Arkham Knight” was delayed and pushed back to give the development team more time to work on the game. Attack of the Fanboy reports that game director Sefton Hill spoke to Edge Magazine and explained that the delay allowed the team to add more content and deliver fully on their vision for the game. “Batman Arkham Knight” launches on PC, Xbox One and PS4 on June 2, 2015.