Apparently, irony escapes EA Montreal, as April Fools’ Day last week saw the release of new DLC for Army of Two: The 40th Day. "Chapters of Deceit" is the equivalent of a deleted scene (or 10) for Army of Two: TFD, ostensibly aimed at filling in some of the gaping story holes in the game proper. Set in the murky area between the hospital level and the final chapter, this isn’t DLC for players who haven’t finished the game yet.

Deceit feels like by the numbers campaign DLC. Buildings are destroyed, hostages are taken, and step-jumps are required. Aside from some very basic mentions of the game’s story (a problem omnipresent in the main game as well), these levels could have been located anywhere in the game’s narrative with little issue. […]

Read the rest at IGN…

Have you played the DLC, and if so, how did you like it?

EA Montreal, a studio of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS), today announced an all-new campaign map pack called ‘Chapters of Deceit’ for the third-person co-op shooter ARMY OF TWO(TM): THE 40th DAY. Available for download on Xbox LIVE(TM) and the PlayStation(R)Network on April 1, 2010 for $9.99 or 800 Xbox LIVE points, players will return to war-torn Shanghai where they will encounter more destruction, more devastation and enemies determined to bring the city to the brink of ruin.

ARMY OF TWO: THE 40th DAY – Chapters of Deceit features two all-new co-op campaign maps. In the new chapters, players stumble upon information that could lead to ending the invasion by Jonah and his 40th Day Initiative army. However, they quickly learn that everyone is out for themselves and to trust no one but their partner.

In ARMY OF TWO: THE 40th DAY, players have to work together to escape Shanghai as it falls under attack. The game boasts a robust playbook of co-op moves with one of the most extensive and varied weapon customization systems ever found in an action/shooter game. Players can mix and match weapon parts and execute strategic two-man tactics that create a one-of-a-kind co-op action experience.

ARMY OF TWO: THE 40th DAY is rated "M" by the ESRB and available for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system, the PlayStation(R)3 computer entertainment system, and the PSP(R) (PlayStation(R)Portable). Gamers can also download a demo of the game now on PlayStation(R)Network and Xbox LIVE(TM) Marketplace. For more information on ARMY OF TWO: THE 40th DAY please visit: www.armyoftwo.com. For more information on EA Montreal, please visit www.eamontreal.com or www.ea.com. Or follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Army_Of_Two.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is a leading global interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, wireless devices and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA^TM, EA SPORTS^TM, EA Mobile^TM and POGO^TM. In fiscal 2009, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $4.2 billion and had 31 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA’s homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA’s products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.

EA, EA SPORTS, EA Mobile, POGO and Army of Two are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. "PlayStation" and "PSP" are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies.

The GRIP Digital Extra System enables game developers to rapidly create vibrant living worlds and meaningful game effects which require tens to hundreds of secondary video game characters. With a heavy emphasis on level design and content tools, as well as placeholder content, game environments can be populated in only a few hours.

“ARMY OF TWO: THE 40th DAY is set against the backdrop of Shanghai as it falls under attack by mysterious forces so it was critical to include the civilian population in our design,” said executive producer Reid Schneider, EA Montreal. Nathan Brierley, AI and Gameplay Lead added “GRIP helped us to establish both the large city feel of Shanghai and reflect the human cost of the surprise siege.”

"Having the opportunity to work closely with such an experienced game team allowed us to refine the GRIP Digital Extra System in ways you just can’t do in the vacuum of a lab,” said Dr. Paul Kruszewski, President, GRIP. "It was a pleasure to help the ARMY OF TWO: THE 40th DAY team achieve their vision."

GRIP Entertainment is headquartered in Montreal, Canada and currently provides the GRIP Digital Extra System for secondary video game characters and the GRIP Character Control System for complex non-player character AI.

"Tetris on mobile will never go away," said Henk Rogers, CEO of Blue Planet Software. "As mobile devices get into the hands of more people, so does Tetris. People are always looking for ways to fill their time — be it in waiting rooms or on the bus — and with the advent of touch screens and improved platforms, our eyes are opened to a whole new way to develop games. After Tetris’ success with the Game Boy in 1989, we always hoped that potential would carry over into today’s mobile devices. It’s a testament to the game’s staying power that it remains popular on today’s most modern technology."

Over its 25-year history, the Tetris game has been sold on almost every gaming platform. Currently, the game’s greatest growth is occurring on mobile platforms.

"Tetris is the biggest franchise in mobile gaming, which speaks to the evergreen nature of the brand and the fact that it translates to any platform," said Adam Sussman, VP Worldwide Publishing for EA Mobile. "Our strong relationship with Blue Planet Software has enabled us to optimally adapt Tetris to the ever evolving handset market while keeping the true spirit of the game alive. 100 million paid downloads are testament to this."

Created in 1984 by Russian-born mathematician Alexey Pajitnov, the Tetris game has become a worldwide success model for the gaming industry. Tetris was first available on mobile in 2001, the product of collaboration between Rogers and Takeshi Miyaji of Japan’s G-mode.

"Tetris provided the crucial building blocks for our company when we started 10 years ago," said Miyaji, president of G-mode, the exclusive distributor of Tetris in Japan. "Just this past year alone our ‘Tetris League’ game in Japan has been played nearly 100 million times. As G-Mode and Blue Planet Software grow alongside each other, we hope to continue our contributions to Tetris’ recognition and popularity."

In addition to reaching this mobile milestone, the Tetris brand has created numerous headlines in the past year. It is currently celebrating its 25th Anniversary, which officially kicked-off in June 2009 at an event attended by thousands of videogame enthusiasts and journalists from E3 in Los Angeles. And in September 2009, a scientific study published by BMC Research Notes showed that participants who played the Tetris game over time had increased efficiency and a thicker cortex in areas of the brain linked to critical thinking and coordinated movement.

* EA Mobile internal data, includes iPhone and iPod touch downloads

About the Tetris(R) brand

The Tetris(R) brand is one of the leading and most distinctive video game brands and franchises in the world. In the game’s 25-year history, over 125 million units have been sold. Loved globally by people of all ages and all cultures, the Tetris game continues to be one of the most widely recognized video games of all time. According to researchers, the Tetris game is an excellent tool for neuroscience research and has been used in over 30 scientific studies. Research published in 2009 in BMC Research Notes found that study participants who played Tetris showed increased brain efficiency and, relative to controls, an increase in brain tissue. Tetris Holding, LLC is the owner of Tetris rights worldwide and The Tetris Company, LLC is its exclusive licensee. The Tetris Company, through its agent Blue Planet Software, Inc., licenses and manages the Tetris intellectual property and franchise worldwide. Today, Blue Planet Software continues to work with licensees to deliver top quality Tetris products that are relevant, fun and challenging for its millions of players. For the latest information about the Tetris brand and Tetris products, please visit www.tetris.com.

About EA Mobile

EA Mobile(TM), is the world’s leading wireless entertainment publisher with award-winning games such as Tetris(R), Bejeweled(R), The Sims(TM), and Need for Speed(TM). The EA Mobile portfolio also includes casual games based on the company’s partnership with Hasbro, Inc. including MONOPOLY, YAHTZEE and SCRABBLE (in the U.S. and Canada) as well as sports blockbusters from the EA SPORTS(TM) brand, including Madden NFL Football, EA SPORTS FIFA Soccer and Tiger Woods PGA TOUR(R). EA Mobile develops games for multiple mobile platforms including mobile phones, smartphones, the iPhone(R) and iPod(R). For more information about EA Mobile, please visit www.eamobile.com.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is a leading global interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, wireless devices and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS(TM), EA(TM), EA Mobile(TM) and POGO(TM). In fiscal 2009, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $4.2 billion and had 31 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA’s homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA’s products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.

EA, EA SPORTS, EA Mobile, Pogo, The Sims and Need for Speed are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Tetris is a registered trademark of Tetris Holding, LLC. Bejeweled is a registered trademark of PopCap Games, Inc. MONOPOLY, YAHTZEE and SCRABBLE are trademarks of Hasbro and used with permission. John Madden, NFL, FIFA, Tiger Woods and PGA TOUR are the property of their respective owners and used with permission. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. Apple is a registered trademark, and iPhone, iPod and iPod touch are trademarks of Apple, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

What was your role on Army of Two: The 40th Day (AO2 TFD)?

On AO2 TFD, I took on the role of senior sound designer and started a few months after production was under way, for a period of 10 months.

My role consisted of creating the disaster and destruction sequences, supervising audio for the in-game narrative scripted events, as well as producing audio for context sensitive interactive actions, HUD and front end menus. Lots of sounds, lots of mixes and of course, a bit of ‘running against the clock’. Destruction elements were definitely a ’blast’ to do.

There was also a fair amount of collaborative effort throughout the project, mostly with Francois Lafleur, senior sound designer on the ambience part of the game, Tobias Paice on the Front end and technical integration aspect on the interactive audio design part, and Lewis James, audio director.

How did you get started in the industry? Did you go to a game audio school or just started out as a musician?

I actually started out as a guitarist about 25 years ago. Music was my first ‘affair’ with audio. The ways we could easily shape the sound of electric guitars got me hooked. It was ‘lust’ at first sight.

My first introduction to audio engineering was through a Radio-broadcasting school though. After graduation, I started my own company and built a home recording studio, and has been my creative playground during my 20’s, both musically and technically. But when Digital technology started invading the market, I went on to follow another audio engineering program, in Toronto, to get better digital audio knowledge. Then I went on in sound post-production for the next 5 years for a studio in Ottawa (Sound Venture Productions), working mostly on cartoons and television series as a sound designer and mixer.

In 2002, I got an  amazing opportunity to do audio engineering for a video game company based  in Southern California (The Collective). The novelty of video games and a sense of adventure got me to take a shot at it and move to Newport Beach. I didn’t know much about video games at that time, but I was excited to be part of a young and dynamic industry in which I could make a difference. Very idealistic and maybe naïve, but definitely a life changing moment!  In 2004, I came back home and worked for Ubisoft for about 4 years and finally joined EA montreal on February 2009.

What other big projects have you worked on?

Some other big projects I worked on in video games  include Shaun White Snowboarding, Assassin’s Creed, Mark Ecko’s Getting up-Content under pressure and Wrath Unleashed.

Do you have any mentors or are you fan of other popular game audio designers in the industry?

I am a huge fan of the Skywalker Sound team, especially when they’re working on Pixar’s films (Ratatouille, Wall-E, Toy Story…)

It doesn’t matter if it’s the Foley, the sound styles, the VO work, the music spotting or the final mix, they excel in all areas. It’s actually very hard to do great animation sound since you never really have a scratch location sound track to start with. So  it takes more imagination, more precision, more tweaking, and a lot of talent to get to that level of perfection.

And of course, for mentoring, I have to say the audio fellows I work with everyday. The AO2 audio team include some of the most talented people I got to collaborate with. Whenever I need a solid critic or good advice, I know I have around me guys who can provide the best feedback.

How many people were working on audio on AO2 TFD?

We had a core team of 6-8 people during most of the production but the size of the team peaked at 14 during the Alpha/Beta phase. We had sound designers, voice designers, integrators, audio programmers and one audio tester. I have never worked with that many people on an audio team before and it was great! Can’t wait to start over again!

What is your favorite sound effect in AO2 TFD?

I am biased on this question actually. My favorite sounds on AO2 are the destruction sounds, of course. I like the guns, the bullets, the surrounding ambiences but the real payoff for me is to hear the tearing sound of a falling building or an airplane about to crash meters away from you. It keeps you on your toes and makes you mind your surroundings!

Were the foley sounds created in-house, were they contracted out or from a library?

Foley recording sessions were all outsourced.

We did a few Foley sessions, one in the US with Foley artist Col Anderson of CA Sound, for the in-game sounds and another one here in Montreal, at Cinegroupe with Foley artist Nicolas Gagnon and recordist Dan Bison, this time to cover all of the in-game scripted events.

EA audio designers world-wide  also got together in December 2008, to do what is known today as the Guinness world record of the ‘most microphones used’ for a location recording shoot. Over 80 microphones were used to record EA’s biggest outdoor gun shooting session! Yes EA’s got guns!

What computer tool do you use the most for your audio needs?

We used Audio Kinetic’s WWise audio rendering engine in conjunction with Unreal 3 for AO2 TFD. A great combination of tools and really looking forward to use again!

On the sound designing side, I used a Pro tools HD system on a Mac G5, again, another lethal combination.

What are a few of your favorite game audio web sites?

I recommend Designing Sound. The site is not necessarily aimed only at game audio designers but to all sound designers out there.

Any suggestions for people wanting to get into the game audio industry? schools, instruments to learn, how to send a demo reel?

Be passionate about audio. It’s more of a vocation than a job for anyone who succeeds in it so it should not be any different for anyone who wants in. It’s quite a tough environment and it requires both strong technical and creative skills so I’d say spend as much time as possible recording audio, designing sounds  and mastering the tools before getting in the game audio business. Make sure you create a ‘straight-to-the-point demo reel too! I also think school is a must but I would say you have to choose wisely nowadays. If I had to go back to school today, I would definitely look at a programming and/or game & level design certificate to complement my audio knowledge.

Thanks Alain for your time and rock on!

Do you have any questions for Alain? Have you ever worked with him? Let us know in the comments.

Army of Two: The 40th Day, the sequel to the 2008 hit is now available for Xbox 360, PS3 and PSP. Get it today on Amazon.com.

Come back this week, we’ll have an interview with a dev team member and a contest to win a copy of the game.

Here’s the launch trailer from GameTrailers:

Update: And the review from GameTrailers:

Entrevue avec Jocelyn Gervais (JVAU08) sur le développement de son prototype de jeu Arsenal du Futur avec le logiciel Virtools. Jocelyn nous explique son apprentissage…

1-Expliquez-nous en quoi a consisté votre apprentissage du game design avec VIRTOOLS au Centre NAD : Notre formation a consisté à apprendre à développer des prototypes de jeux dans Virtools.
Pour commencer, Martijn Steinrucken de chez EA Montréal, nous a montré à faire un jeu de « shooter », type arcade vue de haut, basé sur le gameplay du jeu Gunsmoke pour la Nintendo NES. Martijn nous a également donné plusieurs travaux à réaliser tels que la conception d’un jeu de Pong et l’ajout de features, de modèles et d’animation dans son jeu de shooter qui servait d’exemple. Par la suite, nous avons développé notre propre prototype de jeu. […]

Lire le reste de l’entrevue sur Centre NAD.

Voici un vidéo du projet Arsenal du Futur sur YouTube:

EA is "absolutely" committed to the Army of Two franchise, the game’s producer has told CVG.

When asked in our just-published Army of Two: 40th Day interview, EA Montreal’s Matt Turner replied: "Yeah, absolutely and that’s great for us because we’re really excited.

"The original didn’t do that well critically but it did quite well sales-wise, so that was a big thing for EA. We’ve got two great characters and an interesting world to tell videogame stories.

"We also have a talented and experienced team at Montreal that’s been able to grow and learn from our first game in a huge way. Those things together, for the big-wigs at EA, is a win-win situation," he added.

Read the full interview at CVG.