How Halo 4 is Seeking to Win Multiplayer Wars

Multiplayer combat gaming is dominated by titles that enfold players in quasi-realistic modern war-zones. The action and the perks and the zombies-on-the-moon modes may be pure fantasy, but the settings are rooted in the real world of multi-terrain combat boots and SA-58 clips.

“

The first time you play it, it has to be fair, but also it has to be fair on the hundredth time and the thousandth time.

By contrast, Halo 4 is pure fantasy, a sci-fi dreamscape of weird colors, strange weapons, variable gravity as well as Ghosts, crazed AIs and abandoned deep-space mining vessels. Publisher Microsoft wants its key multi-billion-dollar franchise to sit at the heart of inter-human gaming.

Developer 343 has delivered what is arguably the best Halo ever made, and one key component to this is multiplayer, described by IGN reviewer Ryan McCaffrey as “golden” with “immaculate weapon balancing” and containing “an impressive collection of outstanding battlegrounds.”

343 hired Austin, Texas-based development house Certain Affinity to help out with modes, maps and map-creation tool Forge. Why? The company was founded by Max Hoberman, who spent a decade at Bungie, crafting the Halo series’ multiplayer experience.

“

I'm dying to see what crazy things people come up with.

Certain Affinity is also responsible for working on MP sections of recent Call of Duty games and on Left 4 Dead. In short, these guys really get multiplayer, and they have a long and intimate relationship with the Halo universe. 85 team-members spent 18 months working on Halo 4’s multiplayer, in close association with 343.

Hoberman says the starting point for refining and evolving Halo 4’s multiplayer modes has been making it available to as many people as possible.

He explains, “That was 343's approach across the board. How do we make this better by letting more people enjoy it? We started by smoothing off some of the rough edges on areas that could be great, but just weren't quite there for accessibility reasons. That can be really difficult, really challenging, especially when you're trying to develop something that has some inherent depth. How you balance depth and accessibility is always a challenge. But that has absolutely permeated all of our decision-making.”

Certain Affinity worked on some of the War Games modes, many based on old favorites that have now been tweaked. For example, Dominion is a team-based mode in which each side attempts to capture and defend a series of bases which, over time, sprout defensive upgrades, culminating in a ‘last stand’ slaughter of the team that’s failed to secure defensive positions.

Oddball is the classic game mode that wins players points for holding onto a ball, with an added twist of being able to throw the ball. When this one feature was first shown, at PAX, it drew enthusiastic whoops from the crowd.

“

When you're designing for multiplayer, you have to be selfless.

Part of the responsibility facing Certain Affinity, and all developers that specialize in multiplayer, is the intense relationship players have with the modes and maps they play. Unlike single-player games, which are experienced once or perhaps a few times, multiplayer games are experienced again and again. They are lived. They are also very public testing grounds for people who take their skills very, very seriously.

Not only, but also, through map-editors like Forge, players understand the fundamentals of multiplayer level design. Ten years ago, players might have enjoyed a multiplayer map, without stopping to think about the subtleties of sight blocks and cover positions. These days, they intuite sloppy design.

Hoberman says, “We’re very aware of the gravity of our responsibility. We're creating this content that people are going to play time and time again, sometimes thousands of times, for one map or one game mode. It feels like a massive responsibility. We mandate internally that we play this stuff over and over. We have to be fans of our own work and we have to put it to the test day in and day out.

“

We're creating this content that people are going to play time and time again, sometimes thousands of times.

“We insist that our developers participate in daily playtests. It can be tough. Our artists, for instance, they have a big to-do list, but we make them take an hour out of their day to playtest. We think that's invaluable. Fans are going to pick these things apart. They're passionate about every detail. It's critical that everyone working on these things is also passionate about every detail and understands how these things are going to be experienced by the players.”

He points out that in single-player modes, the story embraces the player as well as the characters in the game, but only the actual player is having a real emotional experience. But in multiplayer, it’s about everyone who is on screen.

“When you're designing campaign levels, you're inherently designing something asymmetrical. You're designing for the player. You don't need to care about how the enemies feel. You don't need to care about how the Covenant feel about their experience. When you're designing multiplayer, you have to care about everybody.

“What you're designing is inherently balanced and symmetric, even if it's physically asymmetric. It has to be balanced. It has to be a fair experience for everyone. The first time you play it, it has to be fair, but also it has to be fair on the hundredth time and the thousandth time. It takes a different mindset to design for multiplayer. I'd say it also takes a different personality sometimes. When you're designing for multiplayer, you have to be selfless. You have to be able to put yourself in someone else's shoes. If you're just concerned about designing a good experience for yourself, then you'll never be a great multiplayer designer.”

One of the massive projects undertaken by Certain Affinity was Forge, which allows players to make their own multiplayer maps. This tool has been around for some years but in Halo 4 has been drastically overhauled.

New features include better looks through dynamic lighting and gorgeous native environments; greater ease-of-use via neat gadgets like item-lock, duping and magnets; and local effects called player-trait zones which give designers all sorts of freedom to play around with their invented worlds.

Hoberman says, “Forge is interesting, any map editor is interesting, because so many people benefit from it whether they actually use it or not. Everyone benefits from the creations that come out of it. The accessibility improvements that we made and some of the feature additions are ultimately just going to mean that new users will find it easier, but because Forge is inherently a pretty sophisticated tool, the creations are going to be that much more inventive and novel.

He adds, “You always do something and you think maybe you’ll see a dozen interesting ways people use it. In reality, over time, you end up seeing hundreds of greats ideas. I'm dying to see what crazy things people come up with.”

Don't forget to make use of IGN's massive Halo 4 wiki.

For daily opinions, debates and interviews on games you can follow Colin Campbell on Twitter or at IGN. 

Source : ign[dot]com

How Halo 4 is Seeking to Win Multiplayer Wars

Multiplayer combat gaming is dominated by titles that enfold players in quasi-realistic modern war-zones. The action and the perks and the zombies-on-the-moon modes may be pure fantasy, but the settings are rooted in the real world of multi-terrain combat boots and SA-58 clips.

“

The first time you play it, it has to be fair, but also it has to be fair on the hundredth time and the thousandth time.

By contrast, Halo 4 is pure fantasy, a sci-fi dreamscape of weird colors, strange weapons, variable gravity as well as Ghosts, crazed AIs and abandoned deep-space mining vessels. Publisher Microsoft wants its key multi-billion-dollar franchise to sit at the heart of inter-human gaming.

Developer 343 has delivered what is arguably the best Halo ever made, and one key component to this is multiplayer, described by IGN reviewer Ryan McCaffrey as “golden” with “immaculate weapon balancing” and containing “an impressive collection of outstanding battlegrounds.”

343 hired Austin, Texas-based development house Certain Affinity to help out with modes, maps and map-creation tool Forge. Why? The company was founded by Max Hoberman, who spent a decade at Bungie, crafting the Halo series’ multiplayer experience.

“

I'm dying to see what crazy things people come up with.

Certain Affinity is also responsible for working on MP sections of recent Call of Duty games and on Left 4 Dead. In short, these guys really get multiplayer, and they have a long and intimate relationship with the Halo universe. 85 team-members spent 18 months working on Halo 4’s multiplayer, in close association with 343.

Hoberman says the starting point for refining and evolving Halo 4’s multiplayer modes has been making it available to as many people as possible.

He explains, “That was 343's approach across the board. How do we make this better by letting more people enjoy it? We started by smoothing off some of the rough edges on areas that could be great, but just weren't quite there for accessibility reasons. That can be really difficult, really challenging, especially when you're trying to develop something that has some inherent depth. How you balance depth and accessibility is always a challenge. But that has absolutely permeated all of our decision-making.”

Certain Affinity worked on some of the War Games modes, many based on old favorites that have now been tweaked. For example, Dominion is a team-based mode in which each side attempts to capture and defend a series of bases which, over time, sprout defensive upgrades, culminating in a ‘last stand’ slaughter of the team that’s failed to secure defensive positions.

Oddball is the classic game mode that wins players points for holding onto a ball, with an added twist of being able to throw the ball. When this one feature was first shown, at PAX, it drew enthusiastic whoops from the crowd.

“

When you're designing for multiplayer, you have to be selfless.

Part of the responsibility facing Certain Affinity, and all developers that specialize in multiplayer, is the intense relationship players have with the modes and maps they play. Unlike single-player games, which are experienced once or perhaps a few times, multiplayer games are experienced again and again. They are lived. They are also very public testing grounds for people who take their skills very, very seriously.

Not only, but also, through map-editors like Forge, players understand the fundamentals of multiplayer level design. Ten years ago, players might have enjoyed a multiplayer map, without stopping to think about the subtleties of sight blocks and cover positions. These days, they intuite sloppy design.

Hoberman says, “We’re very aware of the gravity of our responsibility. We're creating this content that people are going to play time and time again, sometimes thousands of times, for one map or one game mode. It feels like a massive responsibility. We mandate internally that we play this stuff over and over. We have to be fans of our own work and we have to put it to the test day in and day out.

“

We're creating this content that people are going to play time and time again, sometimes thousands of times.

“We insist that our developers participate in daily playtests. It can be tough. Our artists, for instance, they have a big to-do list, but we make them take an hour out of their day to playtest. We think that's invaluable. Fans are going to pick these things apart. They're passionate about every detail. It's critical that everyone working on these things is also passionate about every detail and understands how these things are going to be experienced by the players.”

He points out that in single-player modes, the story embraces the player as well as the characters in the game, but only the actual player is having a real emotional experience. But in multiplayer, it’s about everyone who is on screen.

“When you're designing campaign levels, you're inherently designing something asymmetrical. You're designing for the player. You don't need to care about how the enemies feel. You don't need to care about how the Covenant feel about their experience. When you're designing multiplayer, you have to care about everybody.

“What you're designing is inherently balanced and symmetric, even if it's physically asymmetric. It has to be balanced. It has to be a fair experience for everyone. The first time you play it, it has to be fair, but also it has to be fair on the hundredth time and the thousandth time. It takes a different mindset to design for multiplayer. I'd say it also takes a different personality sometimes. When you're designing for multiplayer, you have to be selfless. You have to be able to put yourself in someone else's shoes. If you're just concerned about designing a good experience for yourself, then you'll never be a great multiplayer designer.”

One of the massive projects undertaken by Certain Affinity was Forge, which allows players to make their own multiplayer maps. This tool has been around for some years but in Halo 4 has been drastically overhauled.

New features include better looks through dynamic lighting and gorgeous native environments; greater ease-of-use via neat gadgets like item-lock, duping and magnets; and local effects called player-trait zones which give designers all sorts of freedom to play around with their invented worlds.

Hoberman says, “Forge is interesting, any map editor is interesting, because so many people benefit from it whether they actually use it or not. Everyone benefits from the creations that come out of it. The accessibility improvements that we made and some of the feature additions are ultimately just going to mean that new users will find it easier, but because Forge is inherently a pretty sophisticated tool, the creations are going to be that much more inventive and novel.

He adds, “You always do something and you think maybe you’ll see a dozen interesting ways people use it. In reality, over time, you end up seeing hundreds of greats ideas. I'm dying to see what crazy things people come up with.”

Don't forget to make use of IGN's massive Halo 4 wiki.

For daily opinions, debates and interviews on games you can follow Colin Campbell on Twitter or at IGN. 

Source : ign[dot]com

First ZombiU Multiplayer Details Surface

A new multiplayer mode titled King of Zombies has been unveiled for upcoming survival horror game ZombiU.

In an interview with ONM, the game's story director Gabrielle Shrager explained that that the mode would have links to the St George's Yard mission that players will encounter in the single-player game, while also being based on a modified version of Capture the Flag.

“

St George's is our hell within hell. Our multiplayer arenas are a spin-off of this mission in the campaign.

"You’ve seen the Tower Of London gameplay footage by now, so you know we are going to have to breach the Traitor’s Gate and penetrate the depths of the Bloody Tower to find the Raven Of Dee’s Secret Bunker," she revealed. "But you’ve never heard of St George’s Yard.

"St George's is our hell within hell. Survivors here are unwilling participants in a twisted game in which they are thrown to the infected. Our multiplayer arenas are a spin-off of this mission in the campaign."

The King of Zombies mode is one such multiplayer arena that sees one player use the Wii U Pro Controller to try and guide their survivor towards the flag. Meanwhile, it's the job of the GamePad wielding player to spawn zombies around the flag using the touchscreen in a bid to keep the flag unclaimed.

ZombiU is planned as an exclusive launch title for the Wii U when it releases in America on November 18 and in Europe on November 30.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant and is slowly realising he'd be as useful as a chocolate teapot in a Zombie Apocalypse. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Amazon Outs Black Ops 2 Zombies Campaign

A product listing for Call of Duty: Black Ops II has revealed that Zombies will be included as an option in the game’s campaign. A rundown of key features on Amazon listed “The inclusion of Zombies in gameplay, both as an option in multiplayer, and as a campaign option.”

The section related to Zombies has since been removed, but was captured in a screenshot by Kotaku. While Activision has never detailed Black Ops II’s Zombie functionality, zombies were teased shortly after the game’s announcement, and later revealed to be involved with the game’s Nuketown map.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II hits stores on November 13th. We don’t know much else about Zombies yet, but Activision has already has already revealed the first details about Black Ops II multiplayer. We’ve reached out to Activision for comment about Zombies and will update with any additional info we receive. Until then, read about how Black Ops II reboots Call of Duty’s multiplayer as well as the game’s eSports initiative.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

The Walking Dead: The Game -- Episode 2: Starved for Help Review

Toss the idea of slaying zombies out of your head; The Walking Dead: The Game -- Episode 2: Starved for Help is a suspense thriller. Yes, the undead lumber around, but developer Telltale Games throws us a curveball here and focuses our concern on man's inhumanity to man. That's pretty awesome.

The second of five downloadable episodes, Starved for Help picks up three months after the zombie apocalypse broke out in the original episode of The Walking Dead: The Game. We're still playing as Lee Everett, protecting Clementine, and dealing with a motley group of survivors assembled at a makeshift fortress that used to be a motel.

“

It's a dilemma that had me debating whose side I was on and turning my back on established relationships, and that's pretty frickin' impressive.

This time, we get to see the fruits of our labor in the first game. See, The Walking Dead: The Game is all about choice and consequence. Rather than focus on action, the majority of the game is building relationships by talking to people. You don't get a second chance to say something in this adventure game; dialogue pops up, and you have a limited amount of time to make a choice that will influence your friends and make new enemies. (For nuts and bolts of how the game controls, please check out the review of Episode 1.)

Every one of those decisions is then carried on into future episodes, so Episode 2 is the first time to see what that exactly means, and what it means is a whole lot of reasons to replay the episode. What Lilly thinks of you, how much Clementine trusts you, which lies do you have to remember -- all of the decisions you made before set the stage for Lee’s continuing story. Based on which survivor you saved in Episode 1, you have different defenses and plenty of new information in Episode 2.

And then things go to a dark place. A really dark place.

Playing on an iPhone or iPad? 

The Walking Dead: The Game -- Episode 2: Starved for Help is out now for iOS and we've put it through its paces. The port is generally top-notch. Players will make all the same gruesome choices, experience the same dialogue and see the same visuals as the console & PC release. There are some frame rate drops and general hitching for the first few seconds of every new scene, but it quickly resolves itself. This issue is slightly more prevalent here than on consoles, but it is not serious enough to be more than a minor annoyance. 

The Walking Dead's more action-oriented gameplay works great with revised touch-screen controls. Rather than move an on-screen reticle with a joystick, players simply tap the screen when they need to stomp a zombie or perform another action. Other moments, like smashing a walker's head into the side of a pick-up, are done with a simple swipe left or right. Moving Lee is slightly more awkward - players slide their finger in the direction they want to walk. But it still works. 

The Walking Dead: The Game only supports iPhone 4 / iPad 2 and newer devices. The more modern your device, the less stuttering you're likely to experience. Episode 2 can be purchased from within the The Walking Dead: The Game for $4.99, or $14.99 for a season pass.

Anyone concerned with the quality of Telltale's iOS port can put their concerns to rest. The experience might be a hair inferior to playing on a console or PC, but playing on your mobile device is still a great way to see this intimate and intense story unfold.

-Justin Davis, IGN Wireless Editor

Starved for Help opens with the series' most grotesque moment so far (if you choose to play it that way, of course), but beyond that, it starts stretching your moral muscles. The group's nearly out of food, and when it's up to you to choose which few survivors get rations for the day, you have to figure out if you're playing favorites or focusing on the greater good.

It's all about the tough choices.

The greater good: that's key to the episode. While Episode 1 was a whirlwind of chaos, life's moving at a steady pace here, and it's time to decide if Lee's going to be an upstanding person or a cold-hearted survivor. It's a dilemma that had me debating whose side I was on and turning my back on established relationships, and that's pretty frickin' impressive.

“

For that moment, I really was Lee, and he wasn't the man I thought he was.

Choice in games is mostly black and white, but suddenly I was thinking "Why do I care what Clementine thinks of me? We need to think about surviving," when all I wanted to do was keep her happy last episode. I can't think of another game that had me establish a character I thought I knew and then be debating big decisions a few scenes later. I began wrestling with whether a Mass Effect-style Paragon or Renegade playthrough made sense here -- could I mix and match?

That tug of war over feelings comes into full view when a new group of survivors from the St. John's Dairy Farm show up and invite your group to come over and trade gas for food. The family asks Lee all sorts of probing questions about the group, but are they being creepy or protective? Do you turn your back on the strangers or hope the relationship brings salvation?

Have questions? Check out Telltale and IGN's Official The Walking Dead: The Game Wiki.

I'm not going to spoil the lynchpin moments that come later, but know that Telltale spends a lot of time setting the stage. The suspense builds like a slowly filling water balloon as you have conversations accented with just enough weirdness to unsettle you and then other characters. Then, there's the reveal, and the water balloon pops.

As the final events of Episode 2 rushed at me, there was no time for weighing decisions and pondering if I was trying to impress Clementine. I saw the response I'd personally give and picked it. For that moment, I really was Lee, and he wasn't the man I thought he was.

It's heavy stuff, but The Walking Dead is still just a game -- something some technical hiccups remind you of over and over again. Lip syncing seems to be a bit more lax this time around, music will drop out mid track, and animations (which were already a bit herky jerky) will freeze as scenes change. None of these are issues that should make you skip this title, but they pull you out of an otherwise engrossing experience. The same thing can be said for characters’ weird side comments that Lee doesn't investigate and Lee's observations that I doubt any of us would make -- just little gripes that remind you this is a game.

Source : ign[dot]com

Plants VS. Zombies Sequel out Late Spring 2013

The sequel to the phenomenally successful Plants VS. Zombies is expected to launch by late spring 2013.

Details are scarce but the game is said to have "a bevy of new features, settings, and situations". So expect lots of new plant types and zombies.

“Spring is crullest curlie ungood time, and plantz grow dull roots,” said an unidentified spokesperson. “So, we are meating you for brainz at yore house. No worry to skedule schedlue plan… we're freee anytime. We'll find you.”

Daniel is IGN's UK Staff Writer. You can be part of the world's worst cult by following him on IGN and Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Resident Evil 6: When Smarter Zombies Attack

Zombies aren’t exactly considered top-shelf video game adversaries. They’re the entry level guys. The Goombas. The grunts. The guys you fight before you get to the bigger creatures that inevitably lead to a giant boss encounter. That holds true about Capcom’s Resident Evil series as well. Sensing the legions of the undead had seen their best days, the development team in Osaka, Japan retired the brain-eating monsters almost ten years ago, opting for villagers co-opted by parasites and viral outbreaks.

Now, with Resident Evil 6, zombies have returned. But they’re not the zombies you remember.

While various films, novels and games have tried their hand at animated corpses in different ways – changing their weaknesses or movement speeds – Capcom is changing the capabilities of its bad guy staple, and making sure heroes like Leon, Jake, Chris and the recently-announced Ada Wong face them in large numbers.

Zombies leap at you. They spit acid or shriek, causing your characters to cringe in pain. They use the weapons and armor they wore when they died. If you’re smart enough to take out their legs, they’ll crawl after you. They’re relentless, the decay of their flesh and minds doing nothing to erode their savage intent. One on one, the undead are still not much of a threat, but in a narrow, confined hallway, a half dozen of them can lead to multiple deaths.

These remade, re-imagined creations are just one part of Capcom’s ambitious Resident Evil 6, which features not one but four full campaigns, each of which was developed by its own team, each of which is approximately two-thirds the size of Resident Evil 5. Put it all together, and this sixth installment could be triple the size of its predecessor.

The zombies themselves – based on what we’ve played so far – are limited to the campaigns of Leon and Ada. Perhaps not coincidentally, both of these storylines carry a very old school tone. Leon and Helena’s investigation into the C-Virus outbreak in the city of Twin Oaks takes place in the dead of night, lending a very dark, murky atmosphere that gains tension through its bursts of action. Solemn, ominous treks through Tall Oaks University erupt into all-out zombie onslaughts, forcing you to quickly determine whether it’s worth fighting or fleeing. These things aren’t homeless people asking for change – they want to eat your brains.

Ada’s journey, by contrast, has a little more of an exploration angle to it, forcing players to investigate tombs and graveyards searching for missing emblems, gems and switches to continue their quest. It’s the sort of absurd dungeon design featured in the best Resident Evil games, though being set in the dank depths of the Earth feels far more appropriate than a pristine, polished mansion. In a bit of a departure for the Resident Evil 6 norm, Ada operates without a partner, lurking in the shadows of the adventures of Leon, Chris and Jake, helping and interfering as she deems appropriate. All told, her segments of the game were impressive, featuring great puzzles, great combat and a general level of polish that seems reassuring for the production as a whole. Given that Ada’s campaign will only unlock upon the completion of the other three, a strong finish for Resident Evil 6 seems likely.

Offering the most extreme difference possible, Chris Redfield’s early campaign is set in the bright daylight, strongly calling up memories of Resident Evil 5. Much like that game, this portion of the game is action-packed, with almost non-stop gunplay. Tanks and squads of soldiers assist Chris’s incursion in Eastern Europe, as he attempts to discover the source of a C-Virus outbreak – and the deadly mutating J’avo soldiers that it can create.

Chris’s E3 demo left many wanting, featuring awkward level design and a camera that did more to hurt the experience than help. Capcom’s producers vow that feedback of this nature has made a difference, and that adjustments to a flawed camera and graphical issues like tearing will be the team’s focus in the final months of development.

This time around, with a wider environment and a camera not hell-bent on wandering aimlessly, the latest playable moments of Chris’s saga are far more impressive. The progression of events and pacing is more sensible. What’s most fascinating about Capcom’s designs here is that the controls, which are more modern, more suited for fast-paced third-person action, aren’t indicative of the best way to play the game. Attempting to ‘run and gun’ will quickly lead to a dead hero. Instead, despite being able to move while firing, Resident Evil 6 almost begs the player to play in a ‘stop and shoot’ manner, being cognizant of ammo needs while recognizing the enemy’s superior numbers.

A new segment featuring Jake and Sherry focused on the pair’s battle with a large number of J’avo, which can now not only mutate their limbs when damaged, but transform into fast-moving reptiles capable of spewing gas and needles at their foes. This demo was a far cry from what was shown at E3, which emphasized the Ustanak’s role in this campaign, a creature obsessed with capturing Jake at any cost.

Leon, Chris and Ada all seem to have found a tone and pacing that makes sense for their campaigns. Not only do their campaigns play well, but their general commitment to a particular type of horror is clear. All three of these storylines feel different, and in the best way possible. Jake does not benefit from that distinction. The pursuit with the Ustanak somehow feels less interesting than Chris’s battle with a two-story giant, and Jake’s battles with the J’avo are not nearly as well-executed as Chris’s, to say nothing of the Leon and Ada zombie encounters, which are excellent. With Capcom effectively developing four games in parallel, it seems as though one was destined to falter. Jake’s might be unfortunate enough to receive that distinction – but seeing these isolated, 15-minute slices of the game might change when they’re placed in the larger context of a campaign that might be a half-dozen (or more) hours long.

The scope of Resident Evil 6 exceeds any one preview. Despite discussing all four campaigns, we’ve said nothing about the newly announced Agent Hunt online feature, nor have we even had a chance to go hands-on with the game’s Crossover functionality – nevermind Mercenaries Mode, which Capcom has announced but hasn't detailed. It’s clear there is so much more to this adventure, which is quite literally the largest production in Capcom’s history. Fortunately we don’t have long to wait. Development is nearly finished, and we’re about two months from release. Who’s counting down the days with us?

Rich is an Executive Editor at IGN.com and the leader of the IGN Nintendo team. Follow his ridiculous adventures through IGN and Twitter. Keep it cool, Koopalings.

Source : ign[dot]com

The War Z -- A New Zombie Survival Experience

Zombies are everywhere, you’re low on supplies and you’re traveling with people even more destitute than you. You stumble upon another group of survivors who have tons of food but no weapons. Do you use your scarce pistol ammo to kill them and take what you need, or does your moral compass remain strong in a world where the dead now rule?

This is the world of the upcoming zombie survival MMO, The War Z. Developed by Hammerpoint Interactive and published by Arktos Entertainment Group, this is another take on hardcore survival for PC players. To get more information on it, how it differs itself from the already popular ArmA II mod DayZ, and when we can expect to play it, we conducted an email interview with Arktos Executive Producer Sergey Titov and Hammerpoint Interactive Senior Game Designer Eric Nordin.

IGN: OK, so let's just get this out of the way right off the bat: How much was this game a reaction to the success of DayZ? Was this in development before the Alpha's release in April?

Sergey Titov: We started thinking about doing a zombie game last year and began developing a quest-based MMO set in a large, zombie infested world. Players would be able to explore and “unlock” new areas on the map as they progress through quests assigned to them in-game. When DayZ was released to the public we were really excited to see another game that was akin to what we were working on – we were like “wow, that’s cool, we’re not the only ones making something like this." As we saw the popularity of DayZ grow, and how players and the community were reacting, we realized two things – first, there was validation that our idea of making a zombie MMO was actually right and that there is a market/player base for it, and second, we decided to abandon the idea of unlocking parts of the map as you progress – rather, the player will be able to freely roam the world and gather information and quests by exploring notes, diaries, etc left behind by both real players and NPCs.

So short answer – while we began developing our game before DayZ, we've been encouraged by fact that DayZ has become so popular. And yes, of course some of our latest design decisions were influenced by the DayZ community forums.

IGN: What do you guys like about DayZ, but feel like you want to do differnetly with The War Z? What do you want to capture that's similar?

Eric Nordin: Most of our team members are fans of DayZ. We love the way DayZ was able to capture the primal feel of being alone in a big hostile environment, where your biggest enemies are not necessarily zombies, but other players. And these other players are no different from you – they’re scared humans who are trying to survive - this is the same feel we want to capture in WarZ.

The major difference is that DayZ is a fantastic mod for a hardcore military simulation game, so it is all set in that type of environment. We are creating a standalone game, with the entire world designed around a zombie apocalypse, so that players feel completely immersed in that environment. We want players to see the signs of struggle and destruction from humans fighting with zombies and have that sense of fear and anxiety when they are exploring the world. Additionally, aside from having different characters to play and some other mechanics that we think will really set WarZ apart, the other key difference is that, being a standalone game, it will be much more accessible in terms of being able to buy, download, install, log into a server and play.

IGN: So will there be multiple maps for people to play on or only one world?

Sergey Titov: We’ll launch with one world we call “Colorado," but we have more worlds designed, all of which are based on real world locales such as New York, Los Angeles, Paris, etc. We’ll be releasing new worlds/maps as we go and they’ll be available for free to all of our players.

IGN: What sorts of things can players expect to encounter in the world?

Eric Nordin: The game is set five years after a “zombie apocalypse," so most of the human population is either dead or turned into zombies. Cities are decaying, resources are scarce and scattered around the world. About a year prior to when the game begins, a special, mutated type of zombie is discovered. These zombies have stem cells can be extracted and used to create a vaccine that cures humans of the zombie virus. People around the world are hunting these “special” zombies, however they can only be found at night, and they are rare, so players will need to go to places where zombies gather in masses – namely – big cities, larger towns, etc. If you hunt these special zombies and extract the stem cells, you’ll be able to sell them to merchants at “safe settlements” for Gold Coins – the most valuable currency in the game.

While exploring the world, scavenging for supplies, weapons, ammo and gear, players will be able to find “notes” and “diaries” – text pieces left by other players or NPCs. For example, you can find a diary that tells the story of a family escaping their home and running from zombies - and dying one by one. If you read carefully you can find clues that will point you to a place where you can find better equipment. Another scenario would be finding a note from another real player – this note could either help you or lure you into a trap – you never know what other players intentions are.

There are dozens of towns, villages, even large cities scattered across the world that players will explore looking for rare artifacts. You will be able to team up with other players to raid cities at night in order to find special zombie breeds or higher value gear. Players will also be able to form alliances against other clans.

IGN: Will you start with a gun?

Sergey Titov: If you’re playing in hardcore mode, you’ll get some kind of basic gun. In normal Mode you’ll have to find one, but it will be relatively easy to do close to your initial spawn point.

IGN: How does zombie combat work? Are they hard to lose, do they move fast? Will we have to fight hordes of them at a time, or are they a bit more scarce?

Eric Nordin: Our zombies are moving slightly slower than you - so with enough patience and enough stamina you can lose them, but it’s not easy to do. Still if you don’t have a gun or run out of ammo and there are zombies in pursuit, there’s a good chance you can lose them. Also, zombies can’t climb ladders or scale walls, open doors, etc – so you get inside a house and barricade the door and you should be safe.

Depending on location you’ll encounter between one and literally many dozens of zombies at a time. Choosing the right tactics, movement, camouflage (for example you can buy “zombie scent” spray that will save you from being detected in certain situations) or weapon type (silenced weapons are the way to go) you can either end up killing dozens of zombies without being detected or will end up being attacked by hordes attracted by loud sounds, smell, etc.

Source : ign[dot]com