Chaser Interview

Loosely based on the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie "Total recall," the game Chaser has the potential of becoming one of the better FPS titles around.

The game utilizes an engine that allows graphic features that surpass those we've seen in games like Quake III and Unreal. Also, you'll be treated to huge environments with implemented photo-realistic textures. Engross yourself in single-player missions with mysterious stories that have many unanticipated twists and turns.

Cauldron is the development team behind this particular title - thanks to their principal dude, David Durack, we get a nice and thorough look on how the game's advancing.

Action Trip: Could the one answering these questions please introduce himself (name, position.)

David Durcak: David Durcak, the head of development at Cauldron ever since it was established in 1996.

AT: So far are you and the team satisfied with the progress of development?

DD: I can say that I am very satisfied with the progress of Chaser, because we are quite ahead of our time plan. Many programming issues and graphic aspects still need adjusting and polishing, but otherwise everything is coming along nicely.

AT: Next to the presence of Mars, can you draw any other parallels between the Chaser story and Total Recall (the movie)?

DD: The only other parallel (except Mars) is the main character, who represents an agent, that partially lost his memory. The rest is different. Most of the story takes place on Earth - a great number of missions is on Earth, rather than on Mars. The basic plot was also altered, although it is analogous to the movie.

AT: In relation to the in-game sound, please give us a bit more info about some effects.

DD: You'll find that our game has a unique sound effect for every room, every device and every object. We have an extremely wide variety of sounds in Chaser - from ambient sounds (like wind, buzzing devices etc.), through sounds of vehicles' engines and speech of people on the streets, up to sounds of explosions and weapons. Except sounds we have areas which have specified characteristics, like the echo, on top of various environment effects (e.g. water), plus all player-attributed sounds will change once he enters the water. The most of sounds are traced so they will be heard only in places where they should be heard.

AT: Since I broached the subject of sound, we were especially thrilled to hear that your main music-dude was previously involved with a few movie-related projects. Can you reveal more about the type of music we'll hear in the game?

DD: That is quite hard to tell now because our musician will start to create music when we have the most of levels finished. He then starts to play them round and round and then he creates music that's set to go in accordance with a particular environment or atmosphere. Since there are several distinctive environments, Chaser will feature particular music for each of them. Generally, the music in Chaser will tinges the atmosphere throughout gameplay.

AT: Many forthcoming games have decided to incorporate gore and violence into gameplay. Instantly, games like Soldier of Fortune 2 come to mind. This approach was condemned by many, and yet it added a great boost to the game's realism. What is your opinion on this? Will you include similar features, or do you guys prefer a more subtle and less violent approach?

DD: No, we definitely won't have such violence as Soldier of Fortune has. And I don't see a reason for including violence up to such a level. Of course, you can expect a couple of brutal scenes because, after all, Chaser is an action game; but we can create action and effective situations without blowing heads and flying limbs. The environment is what's most important to us. We feel that a truthful atmosphere can be expressed without extreme violence and gore.