The second heart-stopping shooter by Monolith (after F.E.A.R.) continues the spine-tingling supernatural suspense story of an escalating paranormal crisis that threatens to destroy a major American city. At the center of the calamity is the mysterious Alma, whose rage against those who wronged her triggered a chain of events that has spiraled completely out of control. Now that she has been loosed upon the world, the consequences will be unimaginable. Check out our exclusive interview with the Art Lead on the game F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin below:
PX360: To begin with a little introduction, what’s your name and responsibilities in relation to the F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin video game?
Dave Matthews: Dave Matthews (not the singer), Art Lead for F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin
PX360: What is the biggest draw to F.E.A.R. 2 for gamers who have never played the original before?
Dave Matthews: What gamers are going to get regardless of whether or not they played the first game is an excellent first person shooter that weaves in themes from horror to create a psychological tension and fear that is seen in very few games.
PX360: In comparison to the original, how far has the game advanced in terms of its visuals and audio?
Dave Matthews: The fidelity of the graphics and sound has been expanded well beyond what was possible in F.E.A.R. The world is more dynamic and larger. The environments are far more varied, and the sound is used to even greater effect to enhance the themes and the world. There is no aspect of F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin that hasn’t been refined.
PX360: How relieved was the marketing team to be able to add the F.E.A.R. moniker back onto the game?
Dave Matthews: When we became a part of Warner Bros., we unfortunately couldn’t keep the title of the game. It was owned by Vivendi. However, that’s all they owned. Monolith retained the rights to all of the characters and story of the F.E.A.R. franchise. When we decided to do a sequel, the only thing needed was a new name. For that we turned to our extremely devoted and active community. You may remember a contest we had where we asked for submissions for a title of the new game, and Project Origin was what came out of that. It’s a great title that comes from the story and has a significant place in the mythology of Alma. When were able to bring the name F.E.A.R. 2 back to Monolith, we didn’t want to lose our excellent home grown title. So the final title for the sequel to F.E.A.R. is F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin.
PX360: For fans of the original, has the original main character (a.k.a. point man) appeared throughout the storyline of the sequel?
Dave Matthews: F.E.A.R. is the story of Alma, and for this next chapter of her life, Alma goes a different direction than the Point Man. Her interaction will be with Michael Becket and his team. Why Alma is so desperate to connect with Becket is the real mystery of the game, and we think gamers are going to be very creeped out when they find out the answer.
PX360: In what ways has the enemy AI evolved in the sequel?
Dave Matthews: One of our biggest successes in F.E.A.R. was our AI, and that’s not something that’s going to be overlooked. In F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, we’ve enhanced what was created for the original game and built upon the strengths of that system. You’re going to see enemies that are far more aware of their environment, and a lot more capable of adapting to the way you play. We’ve added awareness to environmental hazards such as fire and electrified areas. An AI that catches on fire doesn’t just continue fighting with complete disregard for being engulfed in flames. They will now drop their weapons, try to extinguish the flames by patting, the ever popular stop drop and roll, or if there is water nearby run to it. If they can douse the flames, they’ll either switch to their secondary sidearm or find a weapon nearby, pick it up and re-engage in combat. There willl be plenty of opportunities for the player to experiment with new and glorious ways to bring about the demise of their foes. As for combat, you can think about it like sandbox combat. The environment you fight in doesn’t change, but the way enemies attack you and react to your behavior changes every time you play. You control the battle fields, and enemies will adapt to your play style. If you are a run and gun kind of player, the enemies will see this and use opportunities to flank you and attack you from behind. Players that use cover more heavily will find enemies using various strategies, like throwing grenades to your location to flush you out into the open so they can attack you. The goal is to make players not notice that the enemies are controlled by the computer. We want our bad guys to feel as natural as possible, and for the underlying systems that control them to be completely transparent.
PX360: What horror techniques is F.E.A.R. 2 using to scare the “willies” out of gamers? Is it so scary that they should consider playing with a friend with the lights turned on?
Dave Matthews: We knew if we simply went the creepy girl route again with Alma, she wouldn’t have the same impact that she did in the first game. It was something we were very conscious of in deciding how she would manifest herself in F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin. The trend in horror has shifted somewhat, and we’ve taken influences from other areas like European and American filmmakers and created a healthy melting pot of options that will drive how Alma will interact with you. The story in the F.E.A.R. universe is maturing much like Alma, and with that maturation we needed to evolve the experience. That need caused us to look for other inspirations. The whole experience is far more intimate this time around. Alma is a more active antagonist now. She’s a lot more aggressive, and she’s going to touch you more. Alma was freed from her prison at the end of the first game, and as such her needs have changed. Her interactions with the player reflect these new needs, and we can’t wait for gamers to discover everything we’ve put into this new chapter in Alma’s story.
PX360: What online functions and game modes should gamers look forward to?
Dave Matthews: The Armored Front mode is something we are very excited for gamers to get their hands on. There is just something very visceral and exciting about seeing two Elite Powered Armor (EPA) mechs both controlled by players ripping each other apart while the rest of your team tries to do an offensive push toward the next control point.
PX360: Are all three versions be practically identical?
Dave Matthews: Yes, we wanted to ensure that regardless of the platform, you have the best experience possible with F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin.
PX360: What has the feedback been like for the demo that has recently released?
Dave Matthews: It has been received extremely well. We’re pleased that so many gamers have gotten their hands on it and enjoyed it.
PX360: What are the benchmarks for the PC iteration of the game?
Dave Matthews: Generally speaking if you have a competent machine you will have no problem running F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin. The first game was a beast, and we wanted to make sure that this game was accessible to a wider array of setups.
PX360: In terms of raw power, how far is F.E.A.R. 2 pushing the Xbox 360’s and PS3’s technology?
Dave Matthews: F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin is a very intensive game, both from the aspect of graphics and AI, but also because of the dynamic nature of the environments.
PX360: Did you have a chance to play any of the horror titles from 2008 such as Dead Space, Silent Hill: Homecoming or the new Alone in the Dark? If so, what did you learn from your experiences that could benefit the horror genre in the future?
Dave Matthews: I think the lesson that can be learned, or maybe I should say reinforced is that ambience is probably one of the key factors of making a horror game effective.
PX360: Where do you see the future of the video game industry?
Dave Matthews: I think as the industry matures, the level of immersion, the places game makers will take us, and the stories they have to tell us well get more refined and entertaining.
We appreciate the time Dave took to speak with us to provide such interesting answers to our questions, F.E.A.R. 2 is in stores now and stay tuned for our full review on the game very soon.
