F.E.A.R. Q&A - Updated Single-Player Info, AI, and Explosions Galore
We catch up with lead designer Craig Hubbard and try and get him to spill the beans about his highly anticipated action game.
It's been nearly a month since it was released, but gamers are still buzzing about the single-player demo of F.E.A.R.--and for good reason. This upcoming first-person shooter from VU Games and Monolith promises to deliver some intense gunfights, along with plenty of scary moments. That's because F.E.A.R. could best be described as a combination of Half-Life and the horror movie, The Ring. If you've played the demo, odds are you have many of the same questions that we do regarding this intriguing game. So we caught up with Craig Hubbard, the lead designer of F.E.A.R. himself, to get the latest details on the game, which is scheduled to ship this winter.
GameSpot: We know that you don't want to spoil the story, but what can you tell us about your character and his abilities and history? It's hinted at during the opening level that you're "new" to the F.E.A.R. team, but there seem to have been hints in the opening levels of the game we played that your character isn't a just a regular old highly trained special agent. Will your character have a "face" that you'll see in the game, or will you more or less be hidden behind a helmet and mask the entire time?
Craig Hubbard: It was a conscious decision not to give the player an identity. We wanted players to be able to become the protagonist without any reminders that they're supposed to be someone else. We hoped it would add to player immersion not to see somebody else's face in mirrors or be called someone else's name.
It probably sounds like an obvious and not especially daring thing to do, but it's been the biggest challenge I've faced as a writer. Trying to tell a story almost entirely in-game from the first-person perspective with a silent protagonist is, quite frankly, a hell of a thing. All the devices I've always relied on as a storyteller went right out the window, because there was no way to guarantee players would be looking in the right place at the right time to see what I needed them to see.
In a game like Half-Life, it works out because the premise justifies why the protagonist doesn't have much information about what's going on. For F.E.A.R. it was harder because players expected to know what was going on and why. It took a lot of play testing and refinement to strike a good balance.
GS: We meet at least three of our teammates during the briefing in the demo: Rowdy, Jankowski, and Jin. What can you tell us about them and their roles in the game, outside of the occasional cooperative support and appearances in cinematic scenes that we've already seen so far? Are there any other team members, or other crucial characters, that we haven't met yet?
CH: Jin, Jankowski, and Betters are the core team members, but F.E.A.R. is all about the player's experience, so they stick to supporting roles. We originally considered having your teammates participate more directly, but that wasn't really the focus of the game. The more time we spent on giving them cool things to do, the less time we would have had to spend giving the player cool things to do.
There are other major characters you haven't seen yet, but I'd rather let them speak for themselves.
GS: At least one of the enemies in the early going seems to have the same ability to slow time as you do. Will we encounter more such enemies or enemies with other additional powers? Are there any other "powers" for the player character that are yet to be revealed?
CH: The idea isn't that time is literally slowing down but rather that your perception of it is changing due to your reflexes and your skill as a soldier. Think of it as profound situational awareness paired with exceptional agility.
You don't have any other powers in the game.
GS: Seriously, what is with that freaky little girl? What can you tell us about her connection to your character and to Paxton Fettle (who seems to imply that he shares memories with her)? And what was that thing that dropped out of the ceiling at the very end of the demo?
CH: You're just going to have to play the game to find out!
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