We put our arms out and curled our two fingers back as we webbed Chris Owen, Senior Producer on The Amazing Spider-Man for the PS Vita into a corner and asked him a few questions about the Vita version of the game.

Kutter28 - 

The Amazing Spider-man launched back in August of 2012 for consoles, it’s been awhile since we last saw out web slinging friend. Can you catch us up on the story and where Spidey starts his journey on the Vita?

Chris Owen -

The events take place shortly after the events from the first film.  Like the film, Spider-Man will be dealing with the potential threat of cross-species experiments gone wrong at Oscorp.  It basically asks, “What if the events in the film were just the beginning of larger and more consequential events that might threaten Manhattan?” We take it up a notch by introducing a host of new baddies from the Marvel universe as well as the threat of Oscorp tech that has been unleashed to stop the threat of cross-species, which includes Spider-Man himself.  

Kutter28 -

Can we expect to see some of the Vita’s special features incorporated into the new version of The Amazing Spider-man? If so, could you give us some examples of how we will be swinging our way about New York with these newly designed features?

Chris Owen-

Absolutely.  First, we’ve incorporated the touch screen by allowing you to use your web abilities by simply touching the screen to activate them.  For example, you can quickly travel from one place to another or perform web attacks by giving a tap.   The in-game map also features full touch support, so it’s easy to move around the map, pinch zoom, and set your waypoints.  Another feature we integrated was the tilt controls for the camera.  Just aim and point your Vita like a real camera and take pictures to complete missions.

Kutter28 -

We can only imagine that bringing a console version of a game over to the Vita has its challenges and setbacks. What challenges did you face, and were there any compromises made along the way in which you were forced to leave certain aspects of the game out to fit on a portable platform?

Chris Owen -

The most challenging part was trying to fit the open-world Manhattan onto the Vita cartridge.  Consider that this is the same city that was running on the PS3 version – which was no small feat in itself.  For the Vita, we had to go through all of the systems and assets to eke out every bit of optimization that we could without compromising the quality of the game.    

 Swinging through the streets where ever we go!

Kutter28 -

This is far from the first Spider-man title the team has worked on. What has your teamed learned from previous Spider-man titles that have helped develop this Spider-man game?

Chris Owen -

The game was originally developed by Beenox, and it was their 3rdSpider-Man game.  Their first two games were based on the comic books so their interpretation of Spider-Man was a slightly more cartoony art style compared to the more realistic art style of the movie universe. That said, they learned many things starting with how to properly challenge Spider-Man’s rather powerful abilities: super-strength, danger sense, sticking to surfaces, creating webs that allow him to travel, incapacitate enemies and disarm opponents. In that sense Web Rush was a cool addition since it helps to clearly communicate to the player all the different options he has at his disposal. Probably one of our key learning points would be the need for open space. Spidey works best when there is plenty of breathing room to operate, and Manhattan is such a natural playground to our hero.  Also, it is important to find the right balance between pure brawling and taking enemies down from the shadows.  The wall-crawler can do both and it’s important to showcase that.  Finally, Web Swing is one of the core elements of the character that needs to be done well. This is what set Spidey apart from other characters so you need it to be responsive, thrilling and fun.

Kutter28 - Will we be getting any extra content in the Vita version that the console versions received later as DLC or will there be DLC coming further down the road once the game has released?

Chris Owen -

We currently do not have any DLC plans in place for the PlayStation Vita.

 Take that, there's more where that came from.

Kutter28 -

What is your favorite part of the Vita game that we can’t experience on the consoles?

Chris Owen -

It’s a port of the consoles, so the experience is the same great quality that you can get on the consoles, but it has the advantages that the Vita offers such as the Touch Screen and portability.

Kutter28 -

When can we have our turns web slinging our way around New York?

Chris Owen -

It’s available in stores now.

Kutter28 -

Would there be anything else you would like to add, or something we might have missed that you would like to share with our readers before we go?

Chris Owen-

Just that we hope you all enjoy it. We worked very hard to create a game that utilizes the Vita’s unique features for an experience that would feel new for fans who have already played The Amazing Spider-Man on other platforms, while maintaining that same open-world playground spirit for players who have yet to try it.

I would like to thank Chris for taking the time away from his busy schedule to answer our questions. We can't wait to be swinging our way through Manhattan and beating up baddies.

- Kutter28