Exclusive: F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin Interview
Posted 12/18/08 at 06:37:50 PM by Nathan Grayson
Comments
Print
Email
F.E.A.R. was, without a doubt, one of 2005's best first-person shooters -- deftly mixing balls-to-the-wall, head-exploding action with pee-your-pants level horror. Even better, its sequel, F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, is poised to top its award-winning older brother in every conceivable way. We were lucky enough to engage in a quick email exchange with Craig Hubbard, F.E.A.R. 2's Principal Game Designer, and we're posting it here for you today.
MPC: Is this the end of the F.E.A.R. story? Are we going for a trilogy?
Craig Hubbard, Principal Game Designer: As you’d probably expect, our immediate focus is getting the game done. Beyond that, who can say?
MPC: Was the story arc planned from the beginning, or has it evolved as it’s moved along?
CH: It evolved quite a bit, but that’s normal. What works on paper doesn’t always pan out when you implement it, so you have to make adjustments and do what’s right for the game. We also decided to take out the subplot about the unicorn who lost its horn. It was very emotionally resonant, but didn’t really fit the tone.
MPC: What’s the biggest problem you had with the original F.E.A.R.? How do you aim to correct it in the sequel?
CH: The biggest complaint people had with F.E.A.R. was that the environments were repetitive and bland. The sequel has much more varied and interesting settings.
MPC: Are you developing the game simultaneously for consoles and PC? What’s the game’s lead platform?
CH: The team knew how to make PC games but hadn’t done a console title before, so it was easier to ensure that decisions made for the consoles would work on the PC rather than the other way around. When the project started, we didn’t have our tech up and running on PS3 yet, so Xbox 360 ended up being the lead platform by default but we are still developing for all three platforms at the same time.
MPC: Three words: digital rights management. How big of a concern is PC piracy? If not DRM, how do you think piracy should be dealt with?
CH: Anti-piracy measures are a publisher decision, so our only real involvement is doing what we’re required to do by the people calling the shots. I personally haven’t done enough research on the subject to have an opinion on potential solutions.
Although I am fairly familiar with methods the British Empire used to combat piracy back in the 1800s. Maybe an occasional public flogging or slow, agonizing death by hanging would help…
MPC: Why go with a proprietary engine? With development costs as high as they are, wouldn’t Unreal 3 or something of the like make more sense?
CH: The costs are astronomical whatever route you go. Either way, you’re starting off with a tech foundation that you have to modify to achieve your goals. For us, the cost/benefit ratio has been better with our own tech than with licensing, but who knows what the future holds? Personally, I just care that we can continue to make competitive games.
MPC: Your game is generally classified as a horror title, or some variation on the theme. Most horror titles thrive on taking power away from the player (through limited ammo, bad camera angles, etc.) to create a sense of fear. Why give so many potent abilities (slow mo, mech piloting, plentiful ammo, etc.) to players in F.E.A.R.? How do you intend to keep a sense of trepidation alive when the game’s main character is such a badass?
CH: Well, Aliens features a bunch of bad-asses with powerful weapons, but it still keeps you on edge. I personally feel that good horror is more about fear of the unknown than fear of death. The thing that makes a serial killer scary isn’t so much the act of murder as the senselessness of it. Things that defy understanding can get under your skin even if you’re packing a missile launcher.
MPC: In the original F.E.A.R., it seemed like you’d either be fighting, or getting the crap scared out of you – but not both at the same time. How will F.E.A.R. 2 make these disparate elements more seamlessly intertwined?
CH: The trick was making sure you fight some things that scare the crap out of you.
MPC: These days, with games like Far Cry 2, Crysis, and Rage on the rise, linear shooters seem to be fading into the background. Sure, linearity allows the developer to tell a tighter, more focused story, but openness allows the player to create their own. Why go the linear route with F.E.A.R. 2?
CH: It’s not really about the story so much as a tighter, more focused game experience. The great thing about Far Cry 2 is that you can decide where to go and what to do, while the great thing about Gears of War 2 is that it plays like a tightly paced action movie. Each is fun for different reasons.
MPC: F.E.A.R. was one of the first FPS titles to give the player a real sense of body in the game world. If you looked down, your character actually had legs! Legs that could kick people! What do you think about games like Mirror’s Edge, which have taken that concept to the next level?
CH: I’m really impressed with the Mirror’s Edge demo. They did an amazing job. Obviously, it’s imperative to have a sense of body in a game where your body factors into the game experience, so it makes sense that a game about free-running would raise the bar in that area.
MPC: F.E.A.R.’s A.I. was lauded for its craftiness and realism – three years ago. Yet here we are now, and few games have passed or even approached F.E.A.R.’s lofty heights. Why is that? Do game developers care more about tightening up the graphics on level three than improving NPC intelligence?
CH: After Shogo, we decided AI needed to be a much higher priority. If you’re making a game based around fighting NPC enemies, the only way that’s going to be really fun is if they present a suitable challenge. Part of it is making the enemies tactically smart and showing them coordinating with each other, but you also want to feel like they have a desire for self-preservation.
MPC: If you could fix one thing about the FPS genre as a whole, what would it be?
CH: It’s a pretty rich and diverse genre, so I don’t think there’s anything fundamentally in need of fixing. Obviously, individual games have individual issues, but that’s not the fault of the genre.
MPC: Thanks for your time, Craig.
Wasted $$
Submitted by psimmons4 on Wed, 02/11/2009 - 8:50pm
The PC version is terrible...period...film-grain?...why?... WHY?!?!? The best thing about the original FEAR was the crisp clean graphics...now I have to play thru "Mass Effect" type crap...also, physics blows...in FEAR 1, objects were part of the environment and ACTED like part of the environment...while playin just now,I melee'd a stack of papers on a shelf in an office and...ooooo...they did nothing...no movement, nothing...zzzzz....and you don't even want to hear my opinions on the HUD...plain stupid...
Also, PC controls - only 3 mouse buttons are usable? Idiotic...and mouse sensitivity on the lowest settings is nearly unplayable (yes, I did set my mouse DPI correctly...to 400 dpi...which should be plenty low enough sensitivity to play an FPS)...
This game was made for consoles and the PC version should have not ever have been made...a useless waste of $50...and a smear on the FEAR franchise name...
If you are wondering if you should buy this game, trust me, if you like PC FPS's...DON'T! or at least pray that patches are released that will fix the horribleness....which is unlikely imo..
Submitted by Pixelated on Fri, 01/09/2009 - 3:26am
"The team knew how to make PC games but hadn’t done a console title
before, so it was easier to ensure that decisions made for the consoles
would work on the PC rather than the other way around."Great another fucking console port. This is another reason people complain of the PC's decline (even though it's not in decline, growth is just slower compared to the consoles). They use piracy as an excuse to release half ass console ports when the development should be the other way around. We are getting shafted though, make no mistake. If EA, Ubisoft and Activision keep up this trend they'll be left with their dicks in their hands and not a pot to piss in becasue I'll never but another inferior console system. Just to clarify there is nothing wrong with consoles they're just not for everyone. Garbage.
Also wasn't FEAR a PC and XBox360 title? Isn't the team working on this game the same ones who worked on FEAR. Yes they were. PC first, console last. That's how it's supposed to work if you want to release a good game.
Hell Yea
Submitted by s3th on Fri, 12/19/2008 - 5:40pm
I really hope I get a good computer built before I go into the airforce, I really want a chance to have a computer good enough to experience some of the newer games which I havn't had the chance yet. Now we have this F.E.A.R. coming out and I don't have one built yet.
Im a fan of all the past F.E.A.R.'s just the thought of a scary FPS game is awesome, I love getting scared to death and I love killing <-(in game lol) so it works well. The engine looks alot better to from the screenshots or is it the same as the old ones? I've played all the past ones on lowest settings though so Idk how the graphics really are :[, unfortunately.
As for the DRM, Im definately AntiDRM but I have never ran into a problem cause by the DRM on anything yet, so I guess Im in good shape.
Submitted by POMF2K on Fri, 12/19/2008 - 11:49am
have I been so captivated by a game. Sure I probably logged many more hours on Morrowind or Ultima VII, but games like this stand out in a way you never seem to forget. Monolith develops amazing games. I can't explain why, but somehow they manage to actually create an element of fear for the player. I can't really think of any other games, or for that matter any movies, that have actually frightened me in recent years. Doom 3 was a terrible disappointment. That's right I said it. Startling me every time I flip a switch is not my idea scary or enjoyable, and I'd been hooked on 3D shooters ever since the original Doom. In fact it was so annoying, I never played it through.
I also think it's really important that they touched on the open ended vs. linear gameplay. While I generally much prefer open ended, FEAR was an absolute masterpiece. I think we'd all agree that Half-Life 2 was an incredible game, but then again I haven't actually had a desire to play it again like I have with FEAR.
F.E.A.R.
Submitted by Tekzel on Fri, 12/19/2008 - 9:04am
Man, that was a great game. Alas, it is highly unlikely I will ever be able to play the new one. I have deemed my PC an "Invasive DRM" free zone. I have Steam, and that is the only form of DRM allowed on my PC. If they release it on Steam with no additional 3rd party DRM, I will snap it up in a heart beat. If the the only other options are retail with something evil like any flavor of SecureROM, or anthing else like that, then I am going to have to pass. I refuse to play another FPS on my console. Its a terrible experience.
Submitted by ExarKun1138 on Fri, 12/19/2008 - 7:42am
This is great news! I played through FEAR and it's 2 add-ons a while back, and still find time today to go back into it and do it all over again. Creepy and fun is what made it for me, though I agree that it did get repeditive in some of the environments. But, that aside, it was a blast to play. I can't wait! FEAR still has some of the eeriest and creepiest scenes in it than any other game. And, it was superior on the PC......the console versions sucked. Can't play FPS's with a gamepad.....not enough buttons/control compared to the mouse/keyboard combo of the PC. And the graphics/sound fx are always superior on the PC over ANY of the consoles.
So if you're playing FEAR on one of the consoles, you aint seen, heard, or played anything like what we PC gamers experience!
Submitted by xs0u1x on Thu, 12/18/2008 - 10:38pm
maybe they can beef up the online play. and take that stupid forrest map out, gd i hate that map, thats the only one everybody ever plays for the pc version and it SUCKS. also i always seem to get killed with 1 shot yet it takes about 6-7 to kill the other person. lame.
Submitted by hammerfell on Thu, 12/18/2008 - 6:58pm
i saw some developer's vid on the game trailers podcast thing on zune marketplace and i believe they confirmed a trilogy.
I, too, just started to play
Submitted by I Jedi on Thu, 12/18/2008 - 6:57pm
I, too, just started to play F.E.A.R. and then this happens. Ironic.
Submitted by knexkid on Thu, 12/18/2008 - 6:35pm
Funny, literally last night I installed and started to play FEAR. My brother got it for me when it first game out, and I couldn't get very far, it simply scared the crap out of me (ahh I was young back then....). I would say it is pretty darn fun. Obviously if you put it to todays standards it is not spectacular, but I love the slomo and some of the effects still look pretty damn good. Luckily this playthrought isn't nearly as scary! I after I hack through this I was going to try to pick up a copy of Persus Mandate in preparation for FEAR 2!
Submitted by Velcrow on Fri, 12/19/2008 - 8:00am
Careful, the two expansion packsare not 'official' extensions of the story. Sierra just owned the rights to the name and tried to bank off it. Not to say they're terrible games. A little slow at first (ie. boring), but I ended up enjoying them none-the-less.
Alma could either...
Submitted by QUINTIX256 on Thu, 12/18/2008 - 6:13pm
...find a Flannery O'Connor form of redemption or find redemption at the end BFG in yet another generic climatic final "boss fight". Let us hope it is the former rather than the latter.
F.E.A.R.: What a trip
Submitted by maniacm0nk3y on Thu, 12/18/2008 - 6:05pm
Fear was great, then it hit a wall. Then another. Then it fell down the hole.
It was great the first time and was great, but it's flaws bled through like stains on a white shirt. That d*** securom/ security software couldn't read my disc at all (even though I used cracks) and just the fact that it tries to install DX9c no matter what the state of your system was were big problems to me.
Just hope they do something that is NEW, not "recycled" in the greatest way possible.
Must Read Articles
Feature
Review
Feature
Feature
Feature
Most Popular Articles
This Month's Issue
FEATURE How to Get FREE Programs, Services, Software & MoreFEATURE Digital Photo Printer RoundupHOW TOBuild a 3D CameraFEATUREDIY Arcade PCWHITE PAPERHow TRIM Works
Technology News
Computer Cooling Fans
Computer Cases
PC Game Controllers
PC Games
Computer Hardware
Headphones
MP3 Players
Stream Video
Computer Mouse
Monitors
Motherboards
NAS Storage
Networking
Laptop Computers
DVD Burner
Digital Cameras
Portable Storage
Computer Accessories
Smartphone
Antivirus Software
Sound Cards
Speakers
Computer Systems
Thumb Drives
Video Cameras
Video Card Reviews
Water Cooling
Gadgets
- Keyboards
© 2009 Future US, Inc. All Rights Reserved.