John Romero, the veteran developer and id Software founder who helped create FPS touchstones like Quake, Doom and Wolfenstein, is planning a return to the genre in which he made his name.
Romero, who's currently CEO of social game studio Loot Drop, Inc., told Eurogamer that although he hasn't formally started work on the project he has the design nailed down.
"Yes, I'm definitely going to be making another shooter and it will be on PC first," he explained.
"I don't want to talk about the details but I already know what it is. I've already kind of designed the thing and it's pretty cool - though of course, I am going to say that. I think it's a neat design, I haven't seen the design anywhere else."
Romero didn't go into much more detail but added that it'll be "MMO-ish" and will offer a new twist on genre traditions.
"It's a persistent game, it has persistent player data, the character grows and gets better over time. I think most gamers expect that now anyway, but this was a design I'd done a while ago. I think it's pretty valid.
"You will be playing the game as you would expect a shooter to feel, but the specifics of your situation, narrative wrapper and reward system are all unique. I wouldn't want to give out any specifics until I'm close to shipping it. I've learned my lesson about talking too soon about specific game features and release dates."
He couldn't confirm when work will begin or if it'll be a Loot Drop production.
It's been a long time since Romero last brought out a shooter - the 2003 N-Gage version of Red Faction. We asked him whether he thinks the skills necessary to make a successful modern shooter have changed since then.
"I don't think it's changed other than that the 3D graphics have to be good and there are a tonne of basics in the design that have to be there for players to feel that it's a current game.
"But I already have a lot of that stuff designed and none of what I've done has become invalid over time based on today's shooters. So I don't think there's an issue with it feeling dated or feeling old. It's not going to be an old-school shooter - it won't be pixelated. But it will probably have some faster movement than most games have right now."
Romero also offered his take on how the genre has evolved since his time at id Software. While he appreciates that Gears of War is a quality product, he's not a fan of the shift towards slower, cover-based gameplay.
"I'm not a fan of cover systems or the player being a bullet sponge. I'm not that interested in the tank-like player; I like feeling that I have skill in the game," he explained, before theorising that the rise of the console game pad has pushed developers in that direction out of necessity.
"I do realise that a lot of the movement in new shooters is directly attributable to the console controller because you can't play well and fast with them so they had to come up with some design to make it so the player can do something else if they can't skillfully move quickly. They have to do something different.
"But I'm a PC mouse and keyboard type player," he countered.
"I love twitch 180s, fast targeting, fast firing, fast movement. So anything that's not like that - like current shooters that are basically a track going through a level to the exit and everything is closed off - is not interesting to me.
"I like to explore my levels, y'know? So I'm not a fan of on-rail shooting or slow-moving cover systems. That's not to say that Gears isn't a great game but as a player I'm more interested in speed and fast movement."
Loot Drop's only current confirmed project is Ghost Recon Commander - a social spin-off from Ubisoft's tactical shooter series due out on Facebook and mobile platforms some time this Summer.
Quake, Doom und Wolfenstein - diese drei Titel dürften Shooter-Veteranen nostalgische Freudentränen in die Augen treiben. Verantwortlich für die genannten Shooter-Urgesteine zeichnete sich unter anderem Game-Designer-Legende John Romero - und der plant nun offenbar sein Comeback im Shooter-Genre.
Wie Romero, der aktuell als CEO für den Social-Game-Entwickler Loot Drop tätig ist, gegenüber der englischsprachigen Webseite eurogamer.net verlauten ließ, habe er formell bereits die Arbeiten an einem neuen Projekt begonnen, dessen grundlegendes Game-Design bereits konkrete Formen angenommen habe.
"Ja, ich werde definitiv einen weiteren Shooter machen, und der wird zuerst auf dem PC erscheinen. Ich möchte noch nicht über die Details sprechen, aber ich weiß schon, worum es gehen wird. Ich habe das Ding fast schon fertig designed und es ist echt cool. [...] Ich denke, er hat ein klasse Design, das ich so bisher noch nicht gesehen habe."
So wirklich ins Detail gehen wollte Romero zwar nicht, aber immerhin verriet er in welche grobe Richtung das Projekt geht: Ein MMO-artiger Shooter mit revolutionären Gameplay-Elementen soll es werden.
"Es ist ein persistentes Spiel. Es hat persistente Spieler-Daten, und der Charakter entwickelt sich mit der Zeit und wird besser. Ich denke, die meisten Spieler erwarten so etwas heutzutage sowieso, aber das hier ist ein Design, das ich bereits vor einer ganzen Weile entworfen habe. Ich denke es könnte funktionieren."
Man werde das Spiel so spielen können, wie man es von einem Shooter erwarte, so Romero weiter, aber die Eigenarten der jeweiligen Situation, in der man sich befinde, und die erzählerische Hülle sowie das Belohnungssystem würden allesamt einzigartig sein. Ein Old-School-Shooter solle das Ganze aber nicht werden.
Weitere Details werde er aber nicht verraten, denn er habe seine Lektion bezüglich der frühzeitigen Bekanntgabe von Features und Release-Terminen gelernt, so Romero abschließend. Wir werden uns also wohl noch eine Weile gedulden müssen, bis es handfeste Details zu vermelden gibt.
Quelle: dsk-gaming.de | onlinewelten.com | eurogamer.net
