Project Eden Interview

AT: And what about the NPCs? How big is their role in the game?

There's quite a few scattered round the levels that have information for you.

AT: Can you tell us which commands we'll be able to issue to our teammates? Are there any other except "follow me," and are you all done in that department in terms of development?

GR: No, you just ask them to follow you or they stay where they are. You tell them which weapon to use, and leave them to it. In Eden, the emphasis is on player control, rather than issuing orders on map screens and then crossing your fingers that the character will do what you planned.

AT: Tell us a bit more about the ReGen points.

GR: We didn't want game over each time one team member died, and nor did we want to make it so you could complete the game with missing team members. So, we have ReGen points. Each time you find one, you can tag it. When you die, you get regenerated at the last point you visited.

AT: I'm curious about the AI. Will the human enemies be using any special tricks to appear more human?

GR: We can give them hints on the map so they can open doors or run for cover and stuff like that. They can also choose to go and do things like sit down on benches when they're bored and they have very primal emotions so they react when they get scared or aggressive.

AT: How many hours do you think would take an average gamer to finish Project Eden?

GR: 20 to 30 I should think

AT: Will we be able to play Project Eden from first person?

GR: Yes, either first or third. In first person, you can look down and see your body and legs too.

AT: Tell us a little bit about the 3D engine. What are some of the eye candy features you are particularly proud of?

GR: We've got some nice surface texturing effects, so things look shiny or bumpy or lit up or whatever. We have proper mirrored surfaces and volumetric fog. And there are lots of particle effects going off, so all in all it looks very pretty.

AT: How many polys per average will the models consist of?

GR: About 1500.

AT: What about the game's soundtrack? Have any plans there yet?

GR: It's all sound effects and no music (apart from a title track). So in game is all background sounds to give scale to the city.

AT: I gotta ask you this... Was it hard designing a model that doesn't look like Lara Croft? Did you have troubles finding your new (different) identity in terms of game design (visuals, maybe even gameplay), or were you just waiting for a chance to try your hand at something different?

GR: We all wanted to do something new at the end of TR2, and a squad based sci-fi game seemed a nice change. And Minoko (the female member of the team - Amber is a cyborg so doesn't count) was carefully designed not to look like Lara at all.