Pre-E3 2005: F.E.A.R. Trailer and Interview
It's FEARday the 13th. Grab a clean pair of underwear and watch the show.
May 13, 2005 - Not to hype up a game or anything, but FEAR is one of our most anticipated shooters this year. It looks gorgeous, has some smart AI, and makes us curl up under thick blankies at night, sucking our thumbs and whimpering. When we tested SWAT 4 multiplayer, the first map had us tasked with taking down a serial killer, and we all thought to ourselves, "Man, wouldn't be great if you could really combine action and classical horror?" Because everyone's done slasher horror (Doom and Painkiller, for example), but few have attempted to tackle something more along the lines of The Sixth Sense or Ju-On. That looks like where FEAR is heading, and we're eager to climb in the back of this truck of doom and head into the depths of ghosty goodness.
Our anticipation is so great, in fact, that we managed to wrangle a brief but informative Q&A and a neat little trailer, so that no one else will be able to sleep, either. So read on to see what Chris Hubbard, Lead Designer and Creative Director, has to say about the game, and be sure to check out the trailer you won't find anywhere else, plus some exclusive screens!
IGNPC: How far are you guys along, and how exciting is it to start getting the word out there again?
Craig Hubbard: We are really excited. We're currently focused on tightening up loose ends and refining the pacing, visuals, and gameplay. We just did the last voice session, so everything is really coming together. Now it's mostly just a matter of finalizing, polishing, and bug-fixing.
IGNPC: What are we seeing here in the trailer? Who are these soldiers running around, and what is it that's mangling some of them? What other kinds of enemies can we expect, aside from regular soldiers?
Craig Hubbard: Our E3 demo should answer a lot of questions for you, or at least give you some clues from which to formulate your own theories. A game like FEAR relies on mystery, so the last thing we want to do is spell out anything that might undermine the experience.
IGNPC: Scare tactics are obviously a major point to the game. What sorts of mechanics will you be using to put the fear in the hearts of gamers?
Craig Hubbard: We're concentrating on creating a nice, creepy sense of atmosphere with occasional, subtle events and even rarer in-your-face moments. A big concern is not wanting players to get numb to the scarier elements, which requires a lot of discretion.
The challenge in a first person game is that you can't dictate where players will be looking at any given moment without taking control away from them, so you have to resign yourself to the fact that some percentage of your audience will miss some percentage of the events you lay out. For example, we've had players walk backwards into an area and not see something they were supposed to. The process really requires a lot of playtesting and bulletproofing.
IGNPC: There are some basic hints about the story in the trailer, but we haven't heard anything new in a long time. Are you guys planning on letting anymore details about the story out before the game ships, or are you hoping to keep things pretty tight lipped?
Craig Hubbard: Again, the E3 demo should give you some more insight into the premise, although nothing that would spoil the actual plot of the game.
IGNPC: The gameplay segments show some pretty exciting stuff. What were your overall goals to create gunplay that isn't like every other shooter out there?
Craig Hubbard: Any action movie has its share of shootouts and explosions, but the truly memorable ones make you feel the exhilaration and fear of being right there in the thick of it. That adrenaline rush is why we go see things like Die Hard and Saving Private Ryan--to taste the thrill without facing the peril.
It's also why we play action games, and why FPSs in particular are so much fun. Our goal was to try to capture the immediacy and visceral impact of the tea room sequence in John Woo's Hard-Boiled or the lobby fight in The Matrix. Part of it is having flexible, responsive AI. Part of it is visual effects and sound design. And part of it is the basic game mechanics of running around shooting things.
IGNPC: So when will we finally get to see F.E.A.R. hit store shelves?
Craig Hubbard: It's important for us to take the time to polish the game to a level consistent with the expectations of the FPS audience and the standards we've set for ourselves. We expect we'll be ready for release in Fall 2005.
Den nye traileren: http://media.pc.ign.com/media/681/681912/vids_1.html
Bilder: http://media.pc.ign.com/media/681/681912/imgs_1.html
Kilde: IGN
It's FEARday the 13th. Grab a clean pair of underwear and watch the show.
May 13, 2005 - Not to hype up a game or anything, but FEAR is one of our most anticipated shooters this year. It looks gorgeous, has some smart AI, and makes us curl up under thick blankies at night, sucking our thumbs and whimpering. When we tested SWAT 4 multiplayer, the first map had us tasked with taking down a serial killer, and we all thought to ourselves, "Man, wouldn't be great if you could really combine action and classical horror?" Because everyone's done slasher horror (Doom and Painkiller, for example), but few have attempted to tackle something more along the lines of The Sixth Sense or Ju-On. That looks like where FEAR is heading, and we're eager to climb in the back of this truck of doom and head into the depths of ghosty goodness.
Our anticipation is so great, in fact, that we managed to wrangle a brief but informative Q&A and a neat little trailer, so that no one else will be able to sleep, either. So read on to see what Chris Hubbard, Lead Designer and Creative Director, has to say about the game, and be sure to check out the trailer you won't find anywhere else, plus some exclusive screens!
IGNPC: How far are you guys along, and how exciting is it to start getting the word out there again?
Craig Hubbard: We are really excited. We're currently focused on tightening up loose ends and refining the pacing, visuals, and gameplay. We just did the last voice session, so everything is really coming together. Now it's mostly just a matter of finalizing, polishing, and bug-fixing.
IGNPC: What are we seeing here in the trailer? Who are these soldiers running around, and what is it that's mangling some of them? What other kinds of enemies can we expect, aside from regular soldiers?
Craig Hubbard: Our E3 demo should answer a lot of questions for you, or at least give you some clues from which to formulate your own theories. A game like FEAR relies on mystery, so the last thing we want to do is spell out anything that might undermine the experience.
IGNPC: Scare tactics are obviously a major point to the game. What sorts of mechanics will you be using to put the fear in the hearts of gamers?
Craig Hubbard: We're concentrating on creating a nice, creepy sense of atmosphere with occasional, subtle events and even rarer in-your-face moments. A big concern is not wanting players to get numb to the scarier elements, which requires a lot of discretion.
The challenge in a first person game is that you can't dictate where players will be looking at any given moment without taking control away from them, so you have to resign yourself to the fact that some percentage of your audience will miss some percentage of the events you lay out. For example, we've had players walk backwards into an area and not see something they were supposed to. The process really requires a lot of playtesting and bulletproofing.
IGNPC: There are some basic hints about the story in the trailer, but we haven't heard anything new in a long time. Are you guys planning on letting anymore details about the story out before the game ships, or are you hoping to keep things pretty tight lipped?
Craig Hubbard: Again, the E3 demo should give you some more insight into the premise, although nothing that would spoil the actual plot of the game.
IGNPC: The gameplay segments show some pretty exciting stuff. What were your overall goals to create gunplay that isn't like every other shooter out there?
Craig Hubbard: Any action movie has its share of shootouts and explosions, but the truly memorable ones make you feel the exhilaration and fear of being right there in the thick of it. That adrenaline rush is why we go see things like Die Hard and Saving Private Ryan--to taste the thrill without facing the peril.
It's also why we play action games, and why FPSs in particular are so much fun. Our goal was to try to capture the immediacy and visceral impact of the tea room sequence in John Woo's Hard-Boiled or the lobby fight in The Matrix. Part of it is having flexible, responsive AI. Part of it is visual effects and sound design. And part of it is the basic game mechanics of running around shooting things.
IGNPC: So when will we finally get to see F.E.A.R. hit store shelves?
Craig Hubbard: It's important for us to take the time to polish the game to a level consistent with the expectations of the FPS audience and the standards we've set for ourselves. We expect we'll be ready for release in Fall 2005.
Den nye traileren: http://media.pc.ign.com/media/681/681912/vids_1.html
Bilder: http://media.pc.ign.com/media/681/681912/imgs_1.html
Kilde: IGN
