The market has changed: Space Siege Q&A
The market has changed: Space Siege Q&A
Interview - posted by Vault Dweller on Sat 28 July 2007, 20:50:41
Tags: Gas Powered Games; Space SiegeCVG has posted a preview/interview of/with Space Siege's Chris Taylor:
Taylor is eager to dive straight in. Staying true to the frenetic action-RPG formula that brought Gas Powered Games such success with the Dungeon Siege series, he informs me that Space Siege is an intergalactic action-romp that sees humanity battling for survival against a terrifying alien race that could peel a man like a monkey would a ripe banana.Scary shit indeed.
"Space Siege's combat is far more tactical. You'll go into situations where you encounter aliens and you won't just take out your biggest gun and start blasting them. There'll be combat that's as frenzied as you saw in Dungeon Siege, only there'll be far better pacing this time around. One minute you may be involved in a really intense battle, the next in one that requires strategy."Frenzied, yet tactical. Sounds believable.
Taylor would be the first to admit that in the past, plot and characters haven't been his main focus when approaching game design. However, all that's about to change. With the games industry slowly waking up to the power of storytelling and believable, deep characters...I think he's talking about Commander Shepard here.
Flying aimlessly into the void commonly referred to as space and with his ship infested with enemies, Seth Walker only has one choice, and I don't mean curling up into a ball and shouting: "We're all gonna die, this is the end, we're all doomed. Whyyyyyy?!" No my friends, his and ultimately your only choice is to pick up a gun and start blasting some bugs.That's some fine storytelling right there.
"Instead of a generic male or female character, we decided that we wanted a character that you can go through a story with," explains Taylor. "Seth is like our Gordon Freeman, only he'll be able to speak. He has a look and a history and there's something loveable about him."*sigh*
At your disposal will be a collection of abilities that'll provide you with bonuses, including reduced cool-down time for power shots and an increased blast radius for your grenades. It's a system that hints at a far more tactical experience than the frenetic and often mindless mouse-clicking mayhem of its fantasy predecessors.Why? Dungeon Siege 2 had exactly the same abilities. The optimism of the gaming media is killing me. Game X had mechanic A. Game XXX will feature innovative mechanic A, which hints that game XXX will be a much better and deeper game than game X. What the fuck?
"We're not going down the Deus Ex road though," explains Taylor when asked if there'll be any similarities to Warren Spector's RPG classic. "Space Siege isn't as hardcore. It's a little more like World Of Warcraft. We've realised that the market is changing. Games are entertainment and people don't want to get stuck on games all the time.Because of crap like Dungeon Siege, Chris.
"We want Space Siege to appeal to everyone. If you want to make it more difficult, you'll be able to go down the human path. If you're younger, the moral dilemma may not be so important and you may just want to become a cyborg. More hardcore players will no doubt want to get through the entire game with no augmentations, simply out of principle."Let's hope that smarter players won't even bother installing this epic masterpiece revolving around the quest for more money.
Taylor is eager to dive straight in. Staying true to the frenetic action-RPG formula that brought Gas Powered Games such success with the Dungeon Siege series, he informs me that Space Siege is an intergalactic action-romp that sees humanity battling for survival against a terrifying alien race that could peel a man like a monkey would a ripe banana.
"Space Siege's combat is far more tactical. You'll go into situations where you encounter aliens and you won't just take out your biggest gun and start blasting them. There'll be combat that's as frenzied as you saw in Dungeon Siege, only there'll be far better pacing this time around. One minute you may be involved in a really intense battle, the next in one that requires strategy."
Taylor would be the first to admit that in the past, plot and characters haven't been his main focus when approaching game design. However, all that's about to change. With the games industry slowly waking up to the power of storytelling and believable, deep characters...
Flying aimlessly into the void commonly referred to as space and with his ship infested with enemies, Seth Walker only has one choice, and I don't mean curling up into a ball and shouting: "We're all gonna die, this is the end, we're all doomed. Whyyyyyy?!" No my friends, his and ultimately your only choice is to pick up a gun and start blasting some bugs.
"Instead of a generic male or female character, we decided that we wanted a character that you can go through a story with," explains Taylor. "Seth is like our Gordon Freeman, only he'll be able to speak. He has a look and a history and there's something loveable about him."
At your disposal will be a collection of abilities that'll provide you with bonuses, including reduced cool-down time for power shots and an increased blast radius for your grenades. It's a system that hints at a far more tactical experience than the frenetic and often mindless mouse-clicking mayhem of its fantasy predecessors.
"We're not going down the Deus Ex road though," explains Taylor when asked if there'll be any similarities to Warren Spector's RPG classic. "Space Siege isn't as hardcore. It's a little more like World Of Warcraft. We've realised that the market is changing. Games are entertainment and people don't want to get stuck on games all the time.
"We want Space Siege to appeal to everyone. If you want to make it more difficult, you'll be able to go down the human path. If you're younger, the moral dilemma may not be so important and you may just want to become a cyborg. More hardcore players will no doubt want to get through the entire game with no augmentations, simply out of principle."
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