Star Trek game required film cast's participation, says Paramount VP

The upcoming Star Trek video game based on the J.J. Abrams' movie reboot was always developed to focus on protagonists James Kirk and Spock, according to distributor Paramount Pictures' vice president Brian Miller.

In a video interview with Upbeat Productions, Miller said that the creative team knew from the start the pair would be their focus.

"Star Trek has always been about these two guys, two halves of our own personality, whether we're the logical type or sort of the rouge cowboy who runs in and doesn't think about things," he said. "That really has inspired every decision we've made on the game."

Miller said the game wouldn't have been given the go-ahead without participation by the actors of Abrams' 2009 Star Trek and upcoming film Star Trek: Into Darkness.

"We wanted to make a co-op game, we wanted to make a third-person game because we wanted you to be able to see and feel Kirk and Spock," he added. "We didn't want you to see it through their eyes, because then you wouldn't get the experience of seeing these amazing actors deliver their roles. And we weren't going to make this game unless we had the cast."

According to Miller, that the team reached out to the films' entire cast early on to discuss the game. Cast members agreed to participate, but on the condition that the rest of their fellow actors were on board. Fortunately, they were in agreement.

The entire interview with Miller, including a brief discussion of the Gorn villain, can be found on YouTube. Star Trek will launch for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Windows PC on April 23 in North America and April 26 in Europe, three weeks prior to the theatrical release of Star Trek: Into Darkness on May 17.