De pr-machine van ontwikkelaar Monolith Productions komt op stoom. Vrijdag de dertiende aanstaande komt namelijk het vervolg op de angstaanjagende shooter F.E.A.R. uit. Reden genoeg om de makers eens flink aan de tand te voelen. Kort van stof is lead designer Dave Matthews gelukkig niet, hij heeft heel wat te vertellen. In het Engels, want dat kun je. Overigens is het interview gehouden vóór de demo uitkwam.

Frans: Can you explain the idea behind F.E.A.R. 2? What is this game about? I’m not talking about the storyline, I’m talking about what the player will be doing.

Dave Matthews: “Well, the player will be killing people, lots of them, in more satisfyingly brutal ways than the first game. The basic idea behind F.E.A.R. 2 is to evolve the combat of F.E.A.R. so that the combat remains engaging and dynamic throughout the entire experience. We learned from F.E.A.R. that the player could only take so many gray hallways fighting the same enemies before they started to get bored. With F.E.A.R. 2, we’ve expanded the gameplay in several directions; we added different combat environments, a greater variety of enemies, and the ability to pilot an EPA (to name a few of the new things the player will be doing in F.E.A.R. 2).”

F.E.A.R. 2 is a direct sequel to the original game, released back in 2005. There were two additional expansions (Extraction Point and Perseus Mandate) made, although Monolith Productions does not officially recognize these. One of your community managers stated last year that fans should ignore those expansions. Rather than building on the storyline from the expansions, you chose to continue your own narrative. How do you feel about the non-Monolith games?

“We respect what the developer who worked on the expansions did; however, it wasn’t the direction we wanted to take for F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin and the story of Alma. We wanted to remain focused on telling the story of Alma and what happens to her at the end of F.E.A.R. With F.E.A.R. 2 we are continuing the story exactly the way we feel it should be, the way the original designer of the first game intended it. F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin is the true sequel to F.E.A.R.”

In F.E.A.R. you played the new guy (nicknamed Point Man) who joined the team. He was a character without a voice. In the sequel however, you changed the protagonist to Michael Becket, a member of the Delta Force squad. Will there be a lot of differences between the characters, gameplay-wise? Will Michael speak to the other team members, will he be tougher or weaker than Point Man? And of course, will you encounter Point Man in the game?

“Becket is difficult to talk about in detail at the moment, because so much of his story is tied to the narrative of the game. Reflex time (slow motion) is back, but the manner in which Becket gains this tactical advantage will be revealed through the early narrative of the game. Basically, if you enjoyed playing F.E.A.R. as Point Man, you will enjoy playing Becket as much if not more.”

Last month we heard that the game is banned in Australia because of ‘high-impact violence’. What are you going to do or change to make sure that the game will be released down under? Germany has a reputation of hardcore censorship as well, any complaints from the Germans so far?

“Well, if you watch the Dev Q&A 4 video on the F.E.A.R. 2 community site, ‘Santa’ explains a version of how we got that decision reversed. The ban decision in Australia was reversed at some point in mid-December after our publisher, Warner Bros. Games, petitioned to have it reversed. In Germany, we are going to release a lower gore version of the game because their rating boards are much more strict that Australia.”

F.E.A.R. was praised for its well-designed enemy AI. What can we expect for the sequel?

“One of our biggest successes in F.E.A.R. was our AI, and that’s not something that’s going to be overlooked. In F.E.A.R. 2 we’ve enhanced what was created for the original game and built upon the strengths of that system. You’re going to see enemies that are far more aware of their environment, and a lot more capable of adapting to the way you play.

“We’ve added awareness to environmental hazards such as fire and electrified areas. An AI that catches on fire, doesn’t just continue fighting with complete disregard for being engulfed in flames. They will now drop their weapons, try to extinguish the flames by patting, the ever popular stop drop and roll, or if there is water nearby run to it. If they can douse the flames, they’ll either switch to their secondary sidearm or find a weapon nearby, pick it up and re-engage in combat.

“There will be plenty of opportunities for the player to experiment with new and glorious ways to bring about the demise of their foes.”

In the original game, you were planning on implementing a car chase sequence. Unfortunately you had to remove the level from the game because it didn’t work out the way you had hoped it would. Will there be a similar event in the sequel?

“The EPA [een soort mecharobotpak] is the only vehicle that you’ll be piloting in Project Origin. There will also be opportunities for the player to utilize the turreted arsenal of your squad’s personnel carrier to unleash more destructive mayhem. We wanted to give the players a chance to turn the tables on their enemies, but ultimately F.E.A.R. 2 is about wielding guns and engaging in up-close and brutal first-person combat in the style of a Hong Kong action movie. It’s not a driving game. The EPA and turrets will show up a few times though, so players should get plenty of opportunities to pilot it.”

The first concept of the game was, and I quote, “to make an action movie in a first-person shooter, where you really feel like an action star.” However, during the course of the development, F.E.A.R. turned out to be quite an intense horror experience. There was action, but most people will remember it as a horror game, in particular because of the strange appearances of Alma, the creepy little ghost girl. What’s the main focus in F.E.A.R. 2, action or horror?

“F.E.A.R. 2 is unique in the way it presents high-intensity fast-paced first-person combat with tense horror elements. Ideally, the experience is very much like an emotional rollercoaster where one minute players are fighting apparitions in the hallways of an abandoned school and the next moment they’re laying waste to their landscape in an armored battle suit.

“By changing up the way they encounter enemies we constantly keep gamers on their toes and never let them get accustomed to what’s coming next. We’ve found that because of this, it actually heightens the horror elements of the game. People are in an agitated state to begin with after barely surviving an enemy encounter, so when we suddenly begin to screw with their heads, they are in the perfect state of mind to scare the hell out of them!

“In that way the horror and the action both play an important role in how we control and drive the player’s experience.”

Anything you could tell about multiplayer? Co-op, deathmatch, or any other new modes by any chance?

“Multiplayer is fully featured. We have six different game types, with some very interesting takes on the traditional modes you expect from shooters.

“One of our favorites is Armored Front, which is a variation of the control point style of gameplay. Players are broken up into teams, and each team has access to an EPA. I cannot tell you how much fun it is to climb inside and EPA and mow down your enemy forces. When we finished the mode we knew it was a lot of fun, but we had no idea of the kinds of strategies people ended up creating and employing when playing an Armored Front match. You just don’t realize how much an EPA changes up the gameplay until you’ve gotten into one and started laying waste to the opposing force.”

A lot of people found that F.E.A.R. lacked a variety of environments. Most of the time you were fighting in abandoned warehouses or empty offices. How about the sequel?

“We’ve really paid attention to what our fans had to say about the world of F.E.A.R. The biggest request we get from fans for F.E.A.R. 2 is variety, and I think we’ve done a great job of addressing that. Aside from the ruined city you’re going to be exploring a wide variety of environments like an elementary school, several underground labs, and the heart of where Alma was created. Every location has a unique theme and color palette specially designed to evoke the emotions and feelings we want the player to be experiencing as he makes his way through the game.”

What was the most challenging part of developing this game?

“Well, striking the right balance of action and horror was difficult. We wanted to make sure that the player was never getting bored of a location or combat encounters. To strike the right note, we playtested and iterated on the level design and combat encounters until we got it right. It was a long and difficult process, but in the end it was definitely worth it.”

Why should people play F.E.A.R. 2 and not another first-person shooter?

“I think the whole package. F.E.A.R. 2 continues the excellent story of Alma and the horror that occurs as a result. The AI is second to none, it’s going to keep you on your toes at every turn. The world has been greatly expanded upon from the first game, and you’re going to see environments that are extremely original and a hell of a lot of fun to navigate through. The weapons and toys you’re going to get to play with this time around are going to put smiles on a lot of people’s faces. And let’s not forget the EPA. The sum of the parts really is greater than the whole. We’re extremely excited about F.E.A.R. 2, and we can’t wait for people to get their hands on it!”

How important is it for Warner to release ‘hardcore’ games like F.E.A.R.? Can we expect a F.E.A.R. movie project sometime in the future?

“Certainly we wouldn’t ignore someone who came to us saying, ‘Let’s make a F.E.A.R. movie,’ but one appealing aspect of F.E.A.R. is how well it takes advantage of the nature of video games to create an immersive world that you feel a part of. You can’t have an entire movie told from the first person perspective. It’s been tried in the past, and it just doesn’t work that well. In video games though, it works, and it creates experiences that are personal and intimate in a way that differs from movies.”

What feature are you most excited about, that we haven’t discussed already?

“Personally, the combat opportunities built into the environment are really exciting. Shooting a canister and watching enemies cartwheel through the air amidst fire, debris and their own gore in slow motion is one of the most satisfying experiences I’ve ever had playing a game.”