When the Battery agency was first contacted by Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment (WBIE) in December, their team was already working on another title for WB. “Word got around that we were doing some cool projects and when they came at us we jumped at the opportunity.” says Phillip Khosid, Battery’s chief creative officer.
The agency was charged with coming up with a fresh idea for the newest iteration of the Mortal Combat franchise: Mortal Combat X. “There was an existing positioning for the game, which was ‘Who’s Next,’” explains Khosid. “We were basically tapped with bringing the ‘Who’s Next’ concept to life. It was our job to make that part of this universal truth that is Mortal Kombat.”
Related: New Mortal Kombat X Trailer Reveals Undead Liu Kang and the Grisliest Fatalities Yet
How did Battery go about doing that?
“Research-wise, it was us tearing each others heads off playing Mortal Kombat,” says Anson Sowby, Battery’s chief executive officer. “We are fans. We started sending emails to our team just saying “FINISH HIM,” and they all knew exactly what it meant. We’ve known the guys at NetherRealm and they’re great guys. So this was definitely a passion play. It did not feel like work.”
Watching the video takes you back to high school, when the words “fight, fight” would ring out across the playground and everyone would run over and form a big circle around the combatants. “The concept for “Fight” came out of a couple of places,” says Sowby. “People have always loved this game, and we thought, what’s the universal truth behind that?”
“As a team, we realized that nobody can resist a fight,” continues Sowby. ” So when you have the world’s greatest game and greatest fighters going at it, no one can resist. Also, one of the iconic phrases in the game is co-creator Ed Boon’s voice saying “FIGHT” at the beginning of every match, and that’s what we used as our base concept.”
Related: Exclusive Preview: Mortal Kombat X Chapter # 13
The Battery team decided to make this concept a reality in Mexico City, using thousands of extras and one precarious helicopter.
“There were a lot of hurdles,” laughs Khosid. “We were up on a helipad on a 33 story building in Mexico City and the actor got scared, so I was nominated to take one for the team and get in the helicopter. Then when I got in, I realized why he was scared. All the warning lights were going off in the helicopter. The pilot said ‘It’s not a big deal, but we might only have 10 minutes before we have to land.’”
With all this effort spent on such an iconic game, what we all want to know is, Does this game deliver on the fight we can’t resist?
“There’s a lot out there already that gamers are privy to,” responds Khosid. “From our angle I would say it is by far the greatest version of Mortal Kombat that’s ever been produced. The first time we saw it over a year ago, they were showing us some gameplay and we thought it was CG. We didn’t think it was actual gameplay.”
It took Battery just about a month to execute the final product, from casting to post. Mortal Kombat X is set to release April 14th, 2015 on both Playstation and XBOX consoles.
Writer Gary Randall is a CraveOnline contributor and founder of SocialUnderground.com.
