Darkwatch features

FiringSquad: It's interesting that Sammy chose to develop the game as a first-person shooter. FPS games aren't as popular on consoles, though there have been some undeniably great ones like Goldeneye and Halo. Has this come up as a concern during design discussions?

Rory McGuire: The days of FPSes being a PC specific genre are coming to a close. FPSes are certainly different on consoles, but games like Halo, Goldeneye and others have proven that console FPSes are close to handling all the intricacies of an FPS on the PC. It’s certainly different, the controller and system resources are two of the biggest speed bumps console FPSes hit.

Action in the killpit

Point blank

If the dev team can hit the character controls there is very little which can hold a console FPS back. No matter how impressive the game, no matter how intelligent the AI, if the character doesn’t control well a console FPS is a failure. Unfortunately, the formula for developing a great character control system on a console FPS isn’t as obvious as it is on the PC (WASD and mouse for the win.) As a result there’s far more poor console FPSes than there are great ones. The one thing that the PC has on console FPSes is technological innovation, but even those days are drawing to a close. The latest Unreal engine incarnation, Doom 3 and Half-Life 2 will all be visiting the Xbox in the next year.

In Darkwatch we've already produced a pretty slick character control system which is intuitive and functional. We will continue to revise and analyze our controls, but we're confident we can pull it off. Pushing the edges of technology is always an issue, but our programming and engine departments have a spearhead of talent leading the way and we've already made several leaps in technology that most FPSes on the PC cannot claim.

I don't feel the FPS is doomed on the PC by any means, but in a few years I'm sure the FPS genre will look closer to the RPG genre with each platform cultivating its own styles and franchises.

Reaper

Snipertime!

FiringSquad: According to the news post on GameSpot, Darkwatch will feature non-linear missions. Could you elaborate how this will work, and how the player will progress through the game?

Rory McGuire: On Darkwatch we've controlled the open ended variables a bit by having the opening be more controlled. We realized that at the beginning of a game is when players are most likely to be overwhelmed by open ended elements, it also allows us to expound on story elements in ways that non-linear gameplay wouldn’t allow us to do. In the mid-part of the game, when the player is familiar with mechanics like the horse, weapons and systems of the game: then we open things up and offer non-linear gameplay. In the last act of the game, we rein it all in again for a rollercoaster ride of a climactic close.

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