The writer Walt Williams has a somewhat cult-like status in the world of videogames. And he has been in the news as his name is attached to a major new project.
Walt Williams is story lead for Insomniac Games’ forthcoming Marvel’s Wolverine. This detail was pointed out by notable finder-outer of game infomation Shinobi602 on Twitter. As of writing, the tweet has generated almost 4,900 ‘likes’ and a few hundred retweets, testifying to Williams’ reputation.
Walt D. Williams’ renown comes from the narratively ambitious military shooter Spec Ops: The Line, which tried to subvert the genre with its daring approach. The game asked players to consider their actions and the morality of what was transpiring, a relatively bold thing to do in such a costly videogame.
Spec Ops: The Line launched on the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC in June 2012, and went on to spark much critical discourse. Renowned games critic and essayist Tom Bissell penned this marvelous essay, ‘Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Shooter‘, on the game and violent shooters in general. In addition, Williams has worked on Star Wars: Squadrons, Star Wars Battlefront 2, and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel.
Not much is known about Insomniac Games’ Marvel’s Wolverine and the direction the story will take – but it will be exclusive to PlayStation 5.
Insomniac Games’ Brian Horton will be Marvel’s Wolverine’s creative lead. Horton has said on Twitter that the game will be a “full size” experience, rather than a DLC or a shorter game such as Mile Morales, and will aim for a “mature tone”.
Marvel’s Wolverine is likely to be part of the same universe as Insomniac’s acclaimed Spider-Man series. The reveal trailer for the game also contained easter eggs on the Incredible Hulk and it’s fair to assume the title will take much inspiration from the comics.
With Walt Williams as story lead for Marvel’s Wolverine we could potentially get something ambitious and daring. Williams published a highly readable and illuminating memoir, Significant Zero, in 2017, about his involvement in games development, describing his almost accidental entry into the industry, and the highs and lows of working with games, including Spec Ops: The Line.
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