Aliens Vs. Predator Developer Interview

The upcoming Sci-Fi/Horror FPS Aliens Vs. Predator 3 for PS3, 360 and PC has gamers on all platforms intrigued as to how the game will turn out thanks to a recent review/smear campaign by Game Informer. In an attempt to get to the bottom of things and to find out some more details about the upcoming shooter Loadscreen.net went right to the source;

Alex Moore, lead designer at Rebellion, the UK developers behind AvP 3, kindly took some time out to answer our questions about the game.

LS.net – The original AVP and AVP 2 on PC are classics of the genre with metacritic ratings in the high 80’s. When developing your current AVP game what elements did you decide to take and build on from the previous games in the franchise and what did you approach from a fresh, new perspective?

AJM – “Both the Jaguar version from 1995 and the PC game from 1999 are so highly regarded due to their realization of iconic moments from the franchises – not just the individual films but also the comics and novels.  So making sure that we nailed each species to make it feel like the characters people expect was a big starting point.  We then looked at what we wanted to improve, and ways of pushing each species more than ever before to create three unique perspectives.”

LS.net – In dealing with two of the most well known franchises in Action/horror Sci-fi you must be aware that a core of gamers interested in these story worlds will be drawn to your game. What have you done to keep these franchise fans happy? Conversely, what have you done to draw in new gamers who have no previous experience of the AVP universe?

AJM – “Across all three campaigns we’ve made sure there are plenty of nods towards the films, not just in the characters you come up against from each perspective but also iconic moments like entering the hive or stalking prey from a tree.  This generation of consoles gives us the opportunity to perfect things like the Predator vision modes, which provides a great sense of immersion into the game and makes you feel like you are each character more than ever before.”

LS.net - Your “Focus Jumping” mechanic is clearly designed to streamline gameplay for a more immersive experience. In making the game suitable for consoles what other gameplay advancements will be included in the final release?

AJM – “A core philosophy behind the design of the mechanics has been to ensure that all players can perform all the actions in the game they want as easily as possible.  The focus jumping is a big part of ensuring that when playing as the Predator the player can get up into the trees as fast as possible without the danger of missing the branch.  The Alien player has a similar mechanic for getting into vents, but the key throughout development has been constant iteration to streamline the experience as much as possible.”

LS.net – With the Australian release controversy and the possibility of certain violent moves such as the predator’s “trophy kill” being removed from the game we are interested to know how you have approached the violence and gore aspects of the game.

AJM – “The Alien only has itself as a weapon, so we knew early on in development that we needed a strong close quarters combat mechanic.  The Predator has his huge wrist blades which are just perfect for ripping things apart, so again he fits with the close quarters combat.  The Marine has weapons and basic defense at his disposal so from the human perspective you never inflict the kind of violence that is reserved for the other species.”

LS.net – As a veteran of previous AVP titles I always enjoyed playing as a Marine the most, this was due to the intense periods of silent tension punctuated with explosive and frightening action. What can you tell us about your approach to the Marine portion of the game and how you will ramp up the immersion and tension and intensify the fear levels? What new techniques will you be using to scare us?

AJM – “The key to the scares in AvP Classic is that the Aliens can come from anywhere, at any time.  We’ve continued that in sections of Aliens vs Predator, and even after extensive playing in the office it’s nice to see members of the team still being caught unaware.”

LS.net - Having seen some of the multiplayer gameplay videos I for one am excited to get my hands on the multiplayer part of the game. How have you approached the aspect of balance and gameplay in the multiplayer portion? Do you plan on keeping it fresh with DLC and further support?

AJM – “The three species help balance each other out as they all have a key strength and weakness.  The Marine has great firepower, but only very basic melee.  The Alien has no firepower but is lethal close up, and the Predator fits between them with a blend of weaponry and gadgets.  DLC is planned and more details on it will be released closer to the time.”

LS.net – Finally, the end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010 is seeing a large amount of shooters. How do you plan on standing out from the crowd and winning over gamers’ wallets in the post Christmas season?

AJM – “There’s four games in one box – 3 very distinct single player campaigns and then multiplayer on top.  Oh, and survivor where up to 4 people have to stay alive for as long as possible.”

So there you have it, I’m sure many gamers will be interested to see what the finished product is like and more details on the DLC will be hotly anticipated. I for one am looking forward to the game and will be picking it up on its February 16th release date.

What are your opinions on the game and how its going to turn out? Comments appreciated.