IO Interactive has revealed more details about the development decisions that led to the design of James Bond’s mentor in 007 First Light – John Greenway. In an interview with Eurogamer, writer Michael Vogt spoke about how the inclusion of a mentor figure for Bond was important, especially since the title acts as an origin story for the secret agent. However, it was also important for Greenway to present a contrast to Bond’s own dynamic personality.
“Since it’s an origin story and he’s entering MI6, there always was a mentor figure, so he was always there in some shape or form. It’s a classic dynamic, really, with the surly mentor, where Bond kind of represents human excellence – he’s the maverick, he’s the hero, he takes those odds – then Greenway is supposed to be the one who said, ‘No, it’s not about you, it’s not about heroics, it’s about doing your duty, doing what you’re told.’ Believing in authority.”
Spoiler warning for 007 First Light below.
Further in the interview, Vogt went on to discuss one of the other primary characters of the game, Sir Nichalas Webb. The writer described the in-universe tech giant as “an extreme version of Greenway” that “doesn’t believe” in the “celebration of singular human achievement” as represented by Bond.
“He doesn’t believe in the power of the individual. He doesn’t believe in humanity. Actually, he thinks we’re so flawed that we need a benevolent AI to govern us, so he’s the extreme counterposition to that.”
Discussing an important scene where Greenway suffers from an injury, which forces him to accept Bond’s help, Vogt revealed that the scene was planned quite early during the development process. This is due to the fact that it plays a pivotal role in the evolution of the relationship between Greenway and Bond. However, care had to be taken to ensure that the scene didn’t seem too over-the-top or out-of-place when compared to the rest of the game.
“It’s the sort of moment where, of course, you have to get it exactly right, so it’s not melodramatic or overblown, where it’s actually kind of scorching. The difficulty with a scene like that is that it’s almost certainly expected, right? The mentor always dies. Obi-Wan has to die; otherwise, the hero can’t emerge as the master, and everybody knows subconsciously that it’s coming.”
Ultimately, it comes down to what Vogt describes as being “a celebration of all things British”, which led the studio to handle the game’s writing “in a subtle way, a restrained way”.
On the subject of MI6’s AI, Theia, feeling like a missed opportunity since we never get to see it in action, Vogt said that the team struggled with the writing for the game’s killer robots. Noting that the idea, which we get to see in the Antarctica level, came about due to gameplay considerations, the writer said that he faced difficulty in his attempts to integrate their presence with the plot.
“It’s such a strong trope, killer robots, that I was afraid that no matter how many times characters would repeat that they are not supposed to act like this, that people would actually walk away from it thinking Webb, in the end, was all about killer robots. He was just trying to take over the world with killer robots,” he explained. “Which I would absolutely hate, because that goes counter to the theme. That’s not the kind of villain that he is at all. He’s the kind of villain who does the wrong thing for the right reason because he thinks he’s saving the future or whatever. So that was a concern.”
“I think we managed to massage it in, but that was a bit of a difficulty. That’s part of the job, when some other department comes up with a cool idea; you have to remember that games are not like a movie, it’s an ensemble piece, and you go, ‘Okay! Fair enough. Let me get back to you.'”
007 First Light is available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, with a Nintendo Switch 2 version planned for later. For more details on the Bond game’s narrative, check out what Vogt has said about it originally being pitched as an ensemble game. And take a look at our review while you’re at it.
