Vin Revisits Riddick In "Dark Athena"

Movie stars who lend their talents to videogames are becoming a dime a dozen. But Vin Diesel is a different breed: a true, old-school gaming fan, he takes a personal interest in his games. Having founded Tigon Studios several years ago to push the boundaries of interactive entertainment, Vin is now rolling out the latest chapter in the epic "Chronicles Of Riddick" series, "Assault On Dark Athena." We caught up with Vin to ask about his involvement in the game, and a few other items of interest -- such as his penchant for playing "Tekken" on 50-foot screens.

I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about your involvement in the Riddick games, in [Escape From] Butcher Bay and now in Dark Athena. What’s your role in that?

"My dedication to fighting games has been a little sick at times."

Vin Diesel: First of all, I'm involved in amassing the perfect team. And then I take pride in trying to bring out the integrity that's in the movie and letting it live in the game. Also being the guy that wants to push the envelope in terms of gameplay. We come off Escape From Butcher Bay with a great game, an award-winning game, and we say, "How the hell do we push the envelope? How do we one-up that? How do we go further?" And the idea of multiplayer, with this kind of intimate game, this kind of singular-experience game, was the hat-trick in my mind – to be able to give you the same level of gameplay, and now allow you to play your best friend, was a huge component in trying to push the envelope for Dark Athena.

You tried to do an eclectic mix of different elements – some shooter, some stealth, some melee combat – and it looks like that was a real aspect of the gameplay, combining all of that seamlessly.

Escape From Butcher Bay has that first-person shooter style – and I'd always been a fighting game lover. I wanted to make sure that we had a strong melee component. I wanted to make sure that you didn't just have to be hiding behind a crate in order to take down a bad guy, that you did have another option, a cool option, engaging in some hand-to-hand combat. All that stuff also plays with Riddick and the abilities that we know he has, like being able to see in the dark. How we were able to incorporate that into this multiplayer online experience is what got really exciting for me.

You said you're a fighting game lover. Any classics that come to mind?

I am a Tekken guy. I am a Dead Or Alive guy. I'm a Soul Calibur guy. And I played these games like every kid would love to have played these games – on fifty-foot screens. My dedication to these fighting games has been a little sick at times, because it's been in these huge auditoriums, and I've created these tournaments -- I have all these guys come and play, and we'd sooner be playing fighting games for money than poker.

So you actually set up these tournaments with giant screens and play fighting games with your buddies?

Yes I have, and in multiple countries, by the way. I have been known to set up these tournaments at different levels amongst everyone I know for these fighting games.

Is it just a friendly thing, or is it actually money-on-the-line, pro-level gamers?

Pretty good gamers – I've gone to some places where I've snuck into some tournaments with pro players, and shocked them a little bit – they go "Okay, this is Vin Diesel, all right, you hold this controller" – and the next thing you know, "K.O.!" [laughs]. So, nothing official, all kinds of fun, but definitely maxed out that experience, played it to the fullest. There's nothing cooler than sitting in an auditorium filled with people and having your avatar on a 50-foot screen kicking someone's booty.

MORE ON YAHOO! GAMES:

DOWNLOAD NANNY MANIA 2 PURPLE PICKS