Interviews

Interview with Jonathan
Chey, Project Manager & Lead Designer, Freedom Force, Irrational
Games Australia

1) How did you get involved
in the gaming industry, and why?

Actually, it was an accident.
After I finished grad school I was head-hunted by Looking Glass Studios
(makers of Thief & System Shock). I had never thought about the
gaming industry and was going to go do some boring consultancy work
but LG was very persuasive. In retrospect, it was one of the luckiest
things that has happened to me.

2) How did Freedom
Force evolve into what it is now, and what are future plans for
the game?

Freedom Force was
an idea that we came up with several years ago. Originally it was
thought of as very much like X-Com, that is, it had a complex strategic
layer in which you managed your team, built a base and responded to
events happening on a large scale strategic map. Also, it was turn-based
and set in a highly accurate representation of New York.

Since then, it has become
much more story and character oriented and much less focused around
micro-management. I’m very happy that we’ve managed to retain a lot
of the tactical interest of the game whilst also being able to open
it up and make it a lot more accessible than it would have been as
originally conceived.

In the future, we are planning
to expand the franchise in several directions. Obviously, we will
be adding new content to the existing game (expansion packs), also
we’ll be working on a sequel that adds new features and we’ll also
be looking at console versions. The sequel will be the product that
“moves the story forward”. We’ve always intended to advance
the characters in time but also to reinterpret the game in terms of
the way that comic books have progressed. So Freedom Force
was set in the Silver Age of comics, but Freedom Force 2 is
likely to be set in the 70s and so on.

3) What is your personal
favorite genre of games, and why?

I love tactical combat
games like Myth and X-Com but I’m also a big fan of strategy games
like Civilization. Oh, and then I love first-person games and role-playing
games and… I guess I like anything so long as it is well done.

4) How do you see the
industry changing in the future, i.e. with console games becoming
more prevalent, consumer demands, faster and more detailed technology
coming out, etc.

There was a lot of talk
a year ago about how the PC games industry was dead. This is a cyclical
topic that comes up whenever a new batch of consoles come out. I think
it’s pretty clear that the PC offers unique advantages that haven’t
been superseded by consoles yet so I think it’s going to be around
as a platform for many years to come.

As for new technology,
I don’t think I have any unique insights other than the usual new
graphics and input devices that people are always waiting for. I do
hope that the increased CPU power that we will have available is used
for something other than just better graphics. Better physics and
AI simulations are very high on my list of things I want to see.

5) In relation with
games and media transitions, (for example movies turned into games,
comic books turned into movies, then games, and vice versa) how do
you see this affecting the industry both positive and negative?

I think it can be a positive
thing if handled well. Everyone hates the cheap knock-off games that
are put out with a big movie and the crappy movie versions of games
are a waste of time too. Properly handling a transition from one medium
to another requires careful thought, in particular, games and film
are very different forms.

Freedom Force was
problematic because comics and games are perhaps even more different.
One is a static 2D narrative form and the other is 3D and interactive.
I don’t think I can claim that we did a perfect job in interpreting
our source material, but we worked hard to understand what core elements
of the source could be appropriated, what could be re-interpreted
and what were not reproducible.

Done right, I think this
kind of cross over is a valuable tool for getting mind-space for new
games products. Done wrong its just a waste of time.

6) What were some of
the challenges you faced in creating Freedom Force?

Technology is always a
challenge. Freedom Force was particularly tricky because it
was the first project done in our new Australian office so we had
a lot of teething problems. And because we are trialing some new gameplay
and UI ideas there was a lot of trial and error getting things right.

Overall though it was far
from the most problematic title we’ve worked on…

7) Are there plans for
Freedom Force to be released on console platforms such as playstation
2? Why? (either yes or no)

These plans are in discussion
right now. I expect there will be a console version, though which
platform or platforms it will be on is to be determined. Also, the
console version is likely to be substantially different in terms of
UI. We don’t believe in porting PC products straight to console without
figuring out how to adapt them.

8) In what ways do you
see Freedon Force differing from other games of its genre? Why do
you personally think it is unique?

I guess from a content
point of view, Freedom Force differs from other comic-book
based games in that its gameplay is based around the notion of managing
a team of superheroes, not just fighting your way through levels with
a single character. Also, we’ve introduced role-playing dynamics so
that you can manage and recruit new characters. And then there’s the
whole custom character thing which is a first for the genre I think.

From a game genre point
of view, Freedom Force obviously differs from other role-playing
games in its subject matter. And I think the custom character and
power creation system is a step forward in terms of user customization.

9) In relation to how
games are becoming more violent and graphic, why do you think Freedom
Force can hold its own?

More is not always better.
More blood, more gore and more gibs don’t necessarily make a better
game. Enough said.

10) What genre would
you classify Freedom Force under such as rpg, action adventure,
etc. Why?

It’s a tough question.
Irrational games usually cross boundaries. This creates some confusion
for marketing folks and those who want to classify our games. Freedom
Force is a tactical combat game with light RPG elements and a
strong story. Is that good enough?

And a few fun question
you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to:

1) What is the WORST
interview question asked of you?

“So tell me what this
game is about.” (asked by someone who doesn’t care)

2) What is the one question,
either through interviews or through gamers, that you wished you NEVER
had to hear again?

“When are you going
to do System Shock 3?”. Actually, I don’t mind the question,
I’m just getting sick of hearing it.

3) What do you think
was the funniest blooper to occur while creating Freedom Force?

It wasn’t a bug but it
was pretty cool when we had sounds speeding up or slowing down with
game time… Manbot marching across the map at double time was
pretty funny. We also had a cool feature where you could grow or shrink
characters with the +/- keys. Timemaster wasn’t nearly so intimidating
at 6 inches high…

3) Are there any easter
eggs in Freedom Force? Care to share?

There’s a basketball in
one of the levels. This has special meaning to those who have played
System Shock 2…

4) If you could create
a game without having to worry about time lines, economic restrictions,
etc., what would be the ultimate game for you?

Right now, I’d like the
time and money to do the ultimate superhero simulator. Every costume,
every power, every animation all totally customizable and configurable…

System Requirements:

Windows XP, Windows Me,
Windows 2000, or Windows 98 (Windows 95 and Windows NT not supported)
* 300 MHz Intel Pentium II or AMD K6-2 processor
* 96 MB RAM
* 4x CD-ROM/DVD-ROM drive
* 31 MB free hard disk space plus space for saved games (with additional
space required for Windows swap-file and DirectX 8.1 installation)
* 16 MB Direct3D capable video card using the NVIDIA GeForce3, NVIDIA
GeForce2, NVIDIA GeForce 256, NVIDIA Riva TNT2, NVIDIA Riva TNT, ATI
Radeon 8500, ATI Radeon, ATI Rage 128 Pro, ATI Rage 128, PowerVR3
Kyro II, PowerVR Kyro, Matrox MGA-G450, or Matrox MGA-G400 chipset
with DirectX 8.1 compatible driver
* DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card
* Keyboard
* Mouse