Hello readers, I’m back again, and The Saboteur is actually out today! I am truly excited that it’s finally available and you can all play it now. Today, I want to talk about the different characters in The Saboteur. Because the game is very story driven, it was extremely important to us to have a good solid cast of characters for Sean to interact with along the way while trying to get revenge on Dierker (if you’re confused by what all that means, see my previous posts). Our mantra for creating our cast of characters was “everyone has a problem.” This was important because it meant we had to create back stories for all the characters to give them grounding and purpose in the world of The Saboteur. While we have a lot of different characters in the game, there are some really key players you should know about.
Jules – Jules is one of the most important characters in the game because his death is the ultimate motivating factor for Sean’s romp across occupied France killing Nazis. It was a big risk to take to count on delivering Jules as a character. We hope the player likes him so that when he dies there would be an emotional connection and natural motivation for the player. Personally, I’m really happy with the delivery of Jules in the game.
Veronique – Veronique is Jules’ sister and another key character in the story. Before the war, Sean has basically an attraction to Veronique, but then again, he does to most women. After Jules dies Veronique helps keep Sean grounded, tying him into the world of the Resistance, and ultimately giving him something to fight for.
Vittore Morini – Vittore is in many ways a kindred spirit to the real world Ettore Bugatti who was the owner/designer of the Bugatti racing team that inspired our Team Morini in The Saboteur. Confident and wise, Vittore serves in many ways as a replacement to the father that Sean lost many years ago. While Sean may not always listen to him, Vittore tries to guide Sean on the path of right. Along the way he might help Sean track down something that’s very important to the both of them… their car, the Aurora.
Kurt Dierker – Overly cocky but good at what he does, Dierker is the type of bad guy you love to hate. Dierker drives for Team Doppelsieg which is our fictional version of the Mercedes team of the 1930’s where he is famous amongst the racing circles and is going to be a tough match for our hero Sean in his first race. We also wanted Dierker to be the perfect poster-boy for the Third Reich which he represents with the cold calculation of a steel blade. From the first time you meet him in the bar to your run ins with him throughout the game, Dierker is a jerk.
Skylar – While she starts in the game as mainly a sexy friend-with-benefits from Sean’s past, Skylar’s past with Sean helps pull him into working with the British SOE (Special Operations Executive). When Sean first met Skylar, he mistook her for another bored rich girl with an infatuation for race car drivers. He had no idea she was actually a secret agent and the groupie act was merely a cover act to fool the Gestapo. Although being Irish makes him very reluctant to work with the British, the SOE has a great deal of connections in the world which can help him get closer towards Dierker.
Luc – Luc is the charismatic guerilla leader and another key character in the game. He becomes a leader in the French Resistance movement early in the game and by eventually uniting the various rebellious factions of Paris into one single Resistance movement. In the first scene, Luc finds Sean sitting at the bar of the Belle du Nuit, drinking his life away. Luc convinces Sean he should foster his hatred for the Nazis and do something more than sit back idly. The two of them go into the night together and the resistance is born. Their friendship continues to be one of opportunity, both need each other but as time goes on their reasons for fighting grow further and further apart.
Bishop – The British SOE have use for the skills of our renegade hero. The real SOE were set up by Churchill as his secret army with the charge to “set Europe ablaze.” Bishop who runs the SOE in The Saboteur has Skylar bring Sean to him because he understands that by pointing Sean towards Dierker, he can tap into Devlin’s hatred and put a serious dent in the plans of the Nazi occupation. Bishop is a devious mastermind behind several SOE operations – his business is secrets and business is booming – and his own identity is one of the closest guarded secrets of all.
That’s just a sample of the main characters. There are lots of other interesting characters to meet along the way to seeking revenge: Dr. Kessler, the defecting German scientist, other Resistance leaders like Dr. Kwong and Father Denis, the sexy Giselle and her crew of dancers at the Belle, and more. I hope you enjoyed my posts. Now go and kick some Nazi butt in The Saboteur!
Hey Tom,
Saw this game sitting in our backroom at GameStop and wondered what it was about, it looked pretty cool based on the cover but sounds like people are enjoying it, so I’ll definitely try it out.
P.S. Good luck with the job, I’m a game production student, so here’s hoping I get to work with an awesome team like yours someday. =]
The industry is big yet small at the same time so the chances become pretty good we may someday work together. :)