Find out how you can explore new ways to destroy just about everything in Red Faction: Guerrilla, thanks to the game's Associate Producer, Sean Kennedy.
Can you introduce the basics of Red Faction: Guerrilla?
It's open world guerrilla warfare with the most realistic and intense destruction system ever built. The colonists of Mars are up against an overpowering military organization - the Earth Defense Force (EDF) - so head-on assaults are suicide. The complete destructibility and interactivity of the world enables guerrilla tactics: sledgehammer your way in through the back, jump a truck off a cliff and into the second storey of a building, blow a bridge to stop a convoy. It's not pre-scripted at all. You can play how you've always wanted to.
What were some the major influences on the game?
Honestly the greatest influence was Red Faction itself. The first game was the greatest influence given that Red Faction: Guerrilla is the direct sequel to that game and builds upon that story.
For guerrilla gameplay we looked at various books on guerrilla warfare, military manuals, the 1980s Soviet war in Afghanistan, and more. In regards to film, we did look at films like Total, the Aliens films, and others for reference in regards to building styles, clothing, machines, and so on.
For the construction of our world we were of course influenced by Mars itself. We used NASA D.E.M. (Digital Elevation Models) to give us a real look and feel for Mars so that we could create a world that we believe retains a Martian feel despite the terraforming. Even for the terraformed look we looked to actual research and studies done on Mars terra forming and the different ways we may one day terraform the planet. So needless to say a lot of time, effort, and research has gone into creating the world and gameplay of Red Faction: Guerrilla.
What made you go with a third person perspective?
We tried both, but with all the destruction and chaos, third person provides much better awareness of immediate danger. An explosion might take out part of the ceiling, and there's debris raining down around you. A third person view gives you a good picture of what's going on.
What sort of combat scenarios will the player encounter?
How combat situations play out is largely up to the player. There are high importance EDF targets scattered throughout the world, stuff the EDF considers valuable, like a power plant or a bridge. They're not parts of specific missions or special gameplay modes, they're just part of the world. You decide when and how you want to attack them. You can try to run and gun your way in - but make sure your personal affairs are in order before doing so - or you can put some more thought and planning into it. Once the EDF is on to you, they'll call in reinforcements, so you better have an exit strategy ready.
What sort of vehicles can you command and what sort of advantages do they give you?
Each side has its own vehicles. The colonists have industrial vehicles like dump trucks and vehicles for getting from place to place, like taxis. The EDF has military vehicles: tanks, APCs, supply trucks. But the most impressive are the mining mechs, which we call walkers. They're designed for heavy lifting and smashing, but if you commandeer one you can tear up entire buildings. You can also use walkers to throw other vehicles.
What sort of modes are there in the multiplayer part of RFG?
Destruction rejuvenates traditional multiplayer modes like Team Deathmatch - called Team Anarchy in RFG - and Capture the Flag. But there are also modes entirely based around destruction. In Siege, one side is defending a base and the other side is trying to get in and destroy it. The defenders can use a tool called a Reconstructor to repair damaged buildings.
In all multiplayer modes, the battlefield changes as you play. A wall or building that you previously used for cover may be torn up by explosions a few minutes later. By the end of the fight the world may not even be recognisable.
What have been the most challenging elements to convey so far in the game's creation?
When everything can be destroyed, the designers can't artificially hold players back. Every wall can be broken through, every building destroyed piece by piece. Pick any vehicle and go crashing through things with it. Controlling the player's movement is traditional in games, and we had to figure out how to build a game where we just can't do that.
What features and ideas did you have that had to be changed or removed in the end?
At one time we had a bulldozer, because that's such a natural vehicle for destruction. And then we eventually realised "What's the point?" You can crash through anything with any vehicle in the game, even doing extreme things like putting explosives on a vehicle, crashing through the outside wall of a building, and detonating the charges inside, doing major structural damage. With that kind of ability, who needs a bulldozer?
What is your favourite part of RFG so far?
The destruction enables completely unscripted moments that keep catching me by surprise, even after years of playing RFG. Here's a recent story from someone on the development team: "I was working on destroying the huge bridge that crosses that big canyon in the badlands. I got it destroyed down to like 6% and an EDF gunship was shooting at me and so I took it out with my rocket launcher. It caught on fire and spun out of control and crashed right into the middle of the bridge and BOOOOM! everything was destroyed. There's no way that could have happened in any other game."
That's the best illustration of Red Faction: Guerrilla experience I can give. If the people making the game are surprised by what's possible in it, then just imagine what you'll be able to do!
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