'Lost Planet 3' features more narrative-driven gameplay

Lost Planet 3 will focus heavily on narrative elements and changing weather conditions.

Lost Planet 3 will focus heavily on narrative elements and changing weather conditions, producer Andrew Szymanski told Capcom Unity.

Szymanski touched briefly on the challenges of starting a new entry in a franchise and how creators approached the latest Lost Planet.

"We look at the strengths of the franchise and the weaknesses of the franchise, and sort of what development setup is going to give us the best results," said Szymanski.

"In the case of Lost Planet, the creative director [Kenji Oguro] came to me, and he knew that we wanted to go for a more narrative direction, a more cinematic direction with a strong protagonist, and that we wanted to kind of bump up the ante, if you will, on the shooter mechanics of the game."

"It was sort of natural progression," said Syzmanski.

Lost Planet 3's weather system will help drive the narrative, but also help reinvent old areas. When players return to previously explored territory, weather conditions will impact visibility, the level's look, and even present enemies. The idea was to give players a new experience with old levels, said Syzmanski.

Lost Planet 3 will feature multiplayer and character customization for players to experiment with. The game is scheduled to release in 2013 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.