Introduction

It's taken several years but the development team at GSC GameWorld can now see the light at the end of the tunnel for STALKER: Shadows of Chernobyl, their post-apocalyptic first person shooter. With the game now heading to a first quarter 2007 release, FiringSquad decided to get an update on the game's progress from GSC GameWorld PR head Oleg V. Yavorsky.


FiringSquad: First, STALKER has been in development for several years now. How does GSC feel about the lengthy time period it is taking to complete the game?

Oleg V. Yavorsky: It seems to be just about the time it takes to build projects of this scale. When you're having a big pressure and responsibility to the community waiting for the game, you have to ensure things work as proper and fine on every single point of the game. There has been lots of trial and error with the development, but it undeniably has been a very positive experience for us.

FiringSquad: Since STALKER was first announced, games like the Grand Theft Auto series and more recently Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion have made the "open world" way of game design popular. How does STALKER's gameplay differ from these games?

Oleg V. Yavorsky: Firstly, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.'s genre is different - it's a survival FPS. It's interesting to compare the game with Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (funny enough, the working title of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. was Oblivion Lost), as the games seemingly have much in common - huge world, freedom, A-life and more. In fact, though, the games are a lot different. What is a low-paced role-playing game in Oblivion, is a survival shooter with role-play elements, tense atmosphere and high events dynamics. On top of that, the games have different world scale and the ratio of story vs freeplay is different, so S.T.A.L.K.E.R. does provide a different experience.


FiringSquad: How much refinment has gone into making the game's mix of action with some role playing aspects work?

Oleg V. Yavorsky: Once we have accomplished all the game components and put them together, we understood that we need to carry out solid balancing for the sake of achieving the gameplay integrity. Because what matters for the player is how everything works in common, whether the game is captivating or not, other than how qualitative is each single feature. It all should contribute to keeping the player involved from the intro cut-scene until the very final credits. Having played the game from A to Z we also realized which game design ideas worked out well for us and which not. Generally speaking, for the last year or so we focused our efforts on reinforcing the game's storyline component. As our play-test sessions demonstrated, the heaps of A-life-based and random quests would frequently get the players lost. Now we have achieved a proper balance between storyline events leading you through the game and random quests and events filling out the game world and enabling you access to many rare items and cash.


FiringSquad: The game's setting of Chernobyl still resonates today. How much research did the team do to make the location realistic while still allowing for making it fun to play in?

Oleg V. Yavorsky: Several research trips ventured into the Chernobyl exclusion zone, thousands of photos taken, proprietary video filmed, area maps and documentaries studied, three extra arms grown (no, just kidding on that last one :) ) - we took the time to make it as authentic as possible. The authenticity, btw, was appraised by the Head of Chernobyl power plant who recently came down to our office to see the game. So we are confident on that side. Overall the area is going to be 60% authentic - with all the notorious sites easily recognizable - we had to adjust the landscape to the needs of the game a bit.


FiringSquad: What are some of your personal favorite monsters in the game?

Oleg V. Yavorsky: I like Bloodsucker very much - he's scares the hell out of me, eyes glowing devilish in the dark, and his ability to disappear makes him just unpredictable (and even scarier). I also like combating against Burer. This little dwarf is apt in raising anything movable from the ground and hurling that at you from far away. Getting hit by a wardrobe flying into your head can be fun!:)


FiringSquad: What can you tell us about the game's main storyline quests and what sort of side quests can the player take on?

Oleg V. Yavorsky: In S.T.A.L.K.E.R. the player will go along the storyline accomplishing the obligatory story missions, the non-obligatory secondary quests, so as will be free to research the Zone and accomplish random quests. The player's daily tasks, as a stalker, go to the extent of collecting artifacts to sell, fighting mutants, hostile stalkers, avoiding dangers, gathering information on the Zone and its inhabitants etc. The ultimate goal of the player is to unveil the mystery of the Zone: what's behind it, what's controlling it, where mutations come from, there are many questions raised, which boils down to accomplishing a number of storyline quests (targeted on important information collecting primarily). There are both simple and complex missions, where the solution will cause certain consequences in the future, such as attitude change of certain stalker groupings. Let me describe a mission on neglected military warehouses as an example. The events started developing as follows: On the level there are old military warehouses where the Freedom grouping set themselves. It is the core Freedom's base, which is well-guarded and protected. The Duty grouping - the key Freedom's enemy, located that base and prepare a raid on them. A Duty squad is hiding nearby the warehouses, getting ready to assault the base. The player shows up on the level with a rather simple task set - find RG-6 (gun). The search of RG-6 will lead the player to both the Duty squad, so as the base of Freedom. The player will stand a choice:

to accept the Duty proposal and assault the base of Freedom alongside them;

to report on the Duty assault in preparation to the Freedom grouping leader and participate in Freedom attacking the Duty grouping;

to pit Duty and Freedom and eliminate both of them