Brute Force Q&A with Erin Roberts:
It sounds promising but lets wait till we play it in Nov. :)
http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/ima...ute_header.jpg
Quote:
One of the most promising games on the horizon for the Xbox is Brute Force. The squad-based shooter is being developed by Austin-based Digital Anvil of Starlancer fame. The game will feature four characters who possess disparate abilities ranging from combat to stealth. The game's heavy emphasis on squad-based play mechanics will require you to make the most of the team's skills to succeed. We talked to producer Erin Roberts to find out just what Digital Anvil is cooking up on the Xbox.
GameSpot: Hi Erin. How long has the game been in development?
Erin Roberts: Brute Force began development on the Xbox in March 2000.
GS: How big is the development team?
ER: The core team is made up of 30 people not including testers and outside contractors. Altogether probably more than 100 people have contributed to the making of Brute Force.
GS: What have you guys worked on before?
ER: Wing Commander, Strike Commander, Privateer 1 and 2, Starlancer, Crusader, plus a bunch of other games.
GS: What games did you look to for inspiration? How much of an influence was Halo, especially on the game's multiplayer?
ER: I think we were very influenced by a number of different games. We played a lot of Rainbow Six and Counter-Strike in the early days and wanted to have an intensity of action somewhere in the middle of those two games. We also wanted to add a strategic element, influenced by games like X-Com, where you had to use a team of shock troopers to overcome the obstacles put in your way. Halo has had an influence on Brute Force, but not so much in story or gameplay mechanics, but through our interface. Rather than reinvent the wheel, we decided to stay as close to Halo's controller layout as possible, as well as pulling from some of the lessons they learned in balancing their combat so that Brute Force would be very accessible to Halo players.
GS: What were the key gameplay elements you wanted the game to have? How challenging were they to implement?
ER: The most important gameplay element was the use of the squad in missions. We wanted the player to really think about the strengths and weaknesses of each squad member and use them accordingly. Players can of course go in with guns blazing if they want, but a player who really uses the squad well will do better. This was very challenging, as it is extremely difficult to create an interface and supporting AI which allows players to control more than one person effectively. While controlling one of the characters, the others need to be acting properly and must play a support role to the player-controlled character. You don't want the squad to be useless when not controlled, but also you don't want them to be too good either, as the player must feel like the hero. After squad control, enemy AI was a close second. We wanted to make sure that the enemies you fight really feel intelligent. They take cover when being fired on. They jump out and ambush. They work together when in groups. A lot of this tied into work we did on the squad AI, so tactics your squad uses can also be used against you.
More info here. http://gamespot.com/gamespot/stories...8885-2,00.html
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images..._screen001.jpg
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images..._screen009.jpg
