Alma Returns in This Hit Sequel to F.E.A.R.

We have a hot interview for you. John Mulkey, Lead Designer of the pending Project Origin sits down to talk about all things associated with the hotly anticipated sequel to F.E.A.R. I want to thank John for taking the time to answer my questions and to Sarita for arranging the interview.

GVK: What is the background and setting for the game and how does it tie in with the previous titles in the series?

JM: The player will take on the persona of Michael Becket, a Delta operative sent with his team to secure Genevieve Aristide, an executive with Armacham Technology Corporation in connection to Project Origin and the events unfolding in downtown Auburn. This mission starts approximately thirty minutes or so before the explosion at the end of the original game that resulted in Alma's release upon the world.

GVK: Will the Operative in this game have enhanced powers and reflexes?

JM: Absolutely. I think that the slow-mo aspect of combat is core to the series and the "chaos of combat" experience.

GVK: What can you tell us about the A.I. in the game and how it has been enhanced from the original?

JM: We have expanded the variety of AI types and the types of combat challenges these different AI present to the player, but we have also added to the soldier type AI as well. We have given them a stronger understanding of their environment and how to use it to their advantage in combat and given them more ways to interact with the world.

GVK: What are some of the locales gamers will see in the game?

JM: I can't reveal them all but I think I can tell you about visiting the streets of the decimated city, a hospital under siege and posh skyscraper penthouse.

GVK: What are some of the new weapons we will see?

JM: I am really excited about our new laser rifle. It feels really good to shoot it...and it slices enemies into pieces to boot. J

GVK: Will the game support Direct X 10?

JM: Yes, the game will run great on DirectX10. Our renderer was built to support a wide range of DX9 hardware, and includes advanced rendering features such as soft particles, dynamic lighting and shadows, HDR, motion blur, parallax bump mapping, and depth of field.