GDC 10: Backbreaker Multiplayer Hands-on

Split-screen football is about to hit your local retailer and we’ve got all the details so you know what to expect come gameday. New multiplayer gameplay footage included.

March 12, 2010 – Backbreaker has been on the way for a very long time. It has taken baby steps over the last three years towards being released to the masses and in my most recent play session, Backbreaker finally started to look like it was ready for consumers. I’ve talked at length about the physics-based gameplay, the team creation mechanics, and much more over the last few years, but it was just recently at GDC that I got to try the game’s split-screen multiplayer.

I had a lot of doubts when I first heard that Natural Motion was going to try and pull off split-screen multiplayer for their first-ever football game. Was there going to be enough screen space to see everything that’s going on? How would things like kicking and passing the ball work, especially when you factor in Backbreaker’s already restrictive camera angle? The developers haven’t conquered all of these issues just yet, but they’ve got a decent foundation to build on. Just about everything I played translated perfectly from single-player to multiplayer. The only things that were lacking were the punting and kicking games as the viewing angle was just too close to properly aim.

Click above to watch an impressive 4th down touchdown.

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Medal of Honor Preview

EA’s long-running shooter franchise moves into modern times.

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March 11, 2010 – There has recently been put out the call for fans to ask questions for Eidos Montreal, the development studio behind the next Deus Ex game. In doing so, we promised something special upon the return of those questions. Well, here it is. Game Director Jean-Francois Dugas has answered a select number of questions, posed by IGN readers. The icing on the cake is the first CGI teaser trailer for Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

Once you’re done reading the answers to your questions, head on to the second page for an extra Q+A produced by Eidos Montreal to shed a bit more light on the trailer.

Can we be expecting a role-play game like the earlier Deus Ex games have been, or simple lineal first person shooter? – tyxor

Jean-Francois Dugas : Deus Ex: Human Revolution uses the first Deus Ex game, which perfectly married the first-person shooter and roleplaying game, as its reference point, so you can expect an experience similar to it. The goal is to deliver the perfect mix of both genres, giving players the option of choosing to play the game depending on their preferred play style. The game is built around a multi-path, multi-solution approach so you often have more than one way to pass an obstacle, and within that you have tonnes of options for character and weapon customization.

Watch the teaser trailer.

If your preferred play style revolves around combat, there are plenty of augmentations and weapon customizations to transform you into a killing machine. If you’re a strategist or a pacifist, there are several options as well to avoid confrontation through augmentations and other means. The choice is yours.

In the first two games, there was a great freedom in how you could approach each situation. With Deus Ex 3, how do you plan to expand upon that aspect of gameplay? – HeavyMetalChronus

Jean-Francois Dugas : Our initial goal was to identify the core values of Deus Ex and bring them back for a new generation of gamers. The core values were established by Warren Spector and company, so by building on top of it, I think his heritage is quite present. Of course, the first game was released several years ago; we needed to bring fresh ideas to the table but never without respecting the essence of what makes a Deus Ex game what it is. In the end, it’s going to be a mix of old and new.

Staying true to the original and making a real Deus Ex game is vital to this project. Although we are a new team working on the game, we have the benefit of time and perspective to look back at the first two games and really identify the core aspects of a Deus Ex game, as well as what went right and wrong. Of course, Deus Ex 1 and 2 varied a bit in what those core aspects were — ultimately, we decided to emulate the first game more; as mentioned, we no longer have unified ammunition and we are returning to an inventory system reminiscent of the first game. We also wanted to ensure that our levels are larger and more open than in Invisible War (i.e. Hong Kong in Deus Ex 1).

In terms of being a Deus Ex game, we keep the core gameplay essence alive: that being a hybrid of action-RPG in which the core gameplay mechanics revolve around combat, stealth, hacking, and social aspects. The gameplay is largely designed around giving the player choices which have consequences; the core values are centered on letting players play the game the way they want.

If I never played any other deus ex games before, will I be able to get into this game fully and understand what is going on? – CastorTroy89

Jean-Francois Dugas : Yes. Being a prequel to the original game, our story starts about 25 years before the start of the first game. Although Deus Ex: Human Revolution will end and segue nicely into the start of the first game, and you may meet some familiar characters along the way, the story is self-contained so players new to the franchise won’t have any problem getting into the game and understanding it.

My question is why does Deus Ex need a prequel? I know you don’t want to spoil things, but seriously, one of the great things about the original game was the multiple endings. I know game companies are out to make money, but is there any reason why this game tells a story that needs to be told, or are you just doing it because people will buy it? – swift_icarus

Jean-Francois Dugas : Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a prequel for several reasons. You do not need to be an old Deus Ex fan to appreciate the game – we have a new main character and supporting characters that you’ll encounter during the journey. At the same time, we felt Invisible War took the franchise too far into the future and became almost sci-fi, whereas the first game used the typical gritty Cyberpunk archetype we all loved, and we wanted to get back to that.

Second, in the original timeline of Deus Ex, there was an era where mechanically-augmented people started to flourish in society before the event of nano-augmented people. The distinction lies in the fact that nano-augmentations are invisible and the mechanical augmentations are not. We thought it would be an interesting thematic to explore from both a gameplay perspective (seeing how your character evolves) and from an ethical/moral perspective (the benefits & dangers of such a world where some can afford to get augmented while others can’t).

One of the major aspects of our story revolves around the social conflict between augmented and non-augmented people. In our story, there are people opposed to augmenting the body, since they see it as unnatural and don’t think scientists should play God. On the other side, some people think it is the natural evolution of the human race and there’s no reason we shouldn’t be trying things like this, if it can enhance the quality of life or extend it. The game world itself will definitely reflect these opposing views so you will see a contrast depending on where you are in the game.

Will there be multiplayer? – ponkonwon

Jean-Francois Dugas : No, Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a single-player game only. Being the first project out of the new Eidos Montréal studio, and staying true to the Deus Ex legacy, the development team wanted to focus purely on the single-player experience to ensure we delivered on that front.

I remember the first game being completely open ended, If I wanted to try and kill an important character, I could do so, even if the character would probably be too powerful and kill me first. It made me feel like I had choices even when in reality i didn’t. Is the game going to pursue these open ended decision making elements of the first game? If so does this mean it will be a game with multiple paths to follow such as a game like heavy rain? – TheB-Rad-G

Jean-Francois Dugas : I’m currently playing Heavy Rain and I must say this is a fantastic experience. Even though Deus Ex: Human Revolution shares similarities in terms of “choices & consequences”, we offer a totally different game experience. But, yes, we want players to make choices that will affect some outcomes (story-wise and gameplay-wise).

Like the first game, our game world is designed around a multi-path, multi-solution approach so any objective can be approached in different ways. Whether you like action, stealth, hacking, or interacting with characters, you can complete objectives in different ways.

The two primary gameplay styles are combat and stealth. You can basically play the entire game by going “frontal” or by going “sneaky” and/or back and forth as you please. For us, it’s really about letting players express themselves the way they want. You can decide to play the game without killing anyone (minus some critical encounters), for example.

The two supporting gameplay styles are hacking and social interactions. You can expand your possibilities through these means in order to open up new paths, find new solutions to problems, acquire useful goodies or information, etc.

Open-ended gameplay allows the player to take advantage of multipath/multi-solutions to accomplish their objectives and explore the game world for side quests, hidden treasures, etc. Some RPG dialogs will be mandatory but most will be available to players in an optional form. Obviously there are benefits from a story and gameplay standpoint to talk to other characters but it’s not forced. If your play style is more centered on shooting, then so be it.
This method also rewards multiple play-throughs since by choosing one method over another, you may miss some interesting things that are accessible only by attempting specific things!

Sony’s premier tactical shooter series is back in the hands of Zipper Interactive and ready to redeploy this fall with SOCOM 4. Featuring 32-player multiplayer, what does SOCOM 4 mean for the future of Zipper Interactive’s MAG?

A militant revolutionary has seized control of an important South Asian country, and it’s up to you, the Ops Com, to lead your five-man team through jungle and urban environments in order to put a stop to his plans before it’s too late. This is the setting for SOCOM 4, now under development at Zipper Interactive, the developer responsible for SOCOM 1, 2, 3, and Combined Assault on the PlayStation 2.

Zipper Interactive moved on to MAG for the PlayStation 3, while developer Slant Six Games took over the franchise for SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation, which didn’t turn out too well. It’s good to see the franchise coming home.

And the game is coming home big, with 32-player multiplayer on top of a 14 mission single player campaign that clocks in at around 12 hours. You can check out IGN’s exclusive preview for more details.

While there are many questions about the game that will be answered as the year progresses, Zipper Interactive’s senior community manager Jeremy Dunham addresses the most important one to MAG fans in a post on the PlayStation Blog, while expressing joy at once again working on the SOCOM franchise.

First, if you play MAG and wonder what this means for the game’s future, wonder no more – we’re still fully committed to supporting MAG for a long, long time and the addition of another game in our lineup doesn’t change that. Second, it’s been great to hear from SOCOM fanatics located in every corner of the globe as we led into today’s announcement. We’re extremely excited to be attached to this beloved franchise again and knowing that so many people wanted us to return to something that already meant so much to us has been both inspiring and touching – so thank you to all of you who wanted it to happen! We look forward to living up to your expectations.