Interview By: dapsycho | Posted: 10/10/2006
Thomas Grip, Programmer/Project Lead for Frictional Games' Horror Action Adventure Penumbra: Overture, answers some questions about the game:
1. The last great Point and Click game for me was Indiana Jones: The Fate of Atlantis. Some people are saying that the P&C genre is dead, personally I don't think so. What influenced you to make a P&C adventure game rather than a 3d action/adventure?
Well I wouldn’t call Penumbra: Overture a point and click adventure although it has been greatly influenced by that genre. In Penumbra we try to merge the 3D action adventure and the old school point and click by using new technologies such as advanced physics simulation. We hope that this will break the mold what people expect from adventure games and at the same time combine concepts from two great game types.
Penumbra: Overture has the environment exploration of the point and click genre, ie interacting and examining various objects. However, this concept is greatly expanded using the physics technology. Normally the player would just click on a drawer to open it, but in Penumbra you have to grab it and then move the mouse to open it. All this is done by the physics engine and gives a really immersive experience. It also allows us to make puzzles in new and exciting ways. Old simple tasks like turning a valve is also a lot more fun since you actually physically turn the valve yourself.
A large amount of the gameplay also have its roots in the action adventure genre. The player moves through the environments as he pleases and there are also some enemies running around that the has to dealt with, but unlike most action games violence is not the best choice in Penumbra: Overture. The player has to sneak and use his/her wits in order to survive.
2. Without spoiling anything can you elaborate some on the story itself?
TG:
As the game starts you learn that the protagonist gets a letter from his late father telling him to burn a book. Instead he studies the book, revealing information of a place on Greenland and the protagonist decides to go there. Arriving there he finds a strange metal hatch in the snow which leads down to some strange and disturbing environments.
The then story evolves around the player trying to find out how all things are connected to his late father. He also discovers other characters and gets to learn their background stories. As the story progresses all this information gets connected and the player slowly realizes what has happened.
It is hard for me to say anything more with out spoiling. We are working hard on creating an entertaining and detailed story and big part of the game will be to discover what is going on.
3. Can you elaborate some on the main character, what kind of personality would you say he has?
TG:
The main character Philip is not your typical action hero. He is a scientist for profession and not used to danger or using weapons. His main tool is his mind and he has to investigate carefully to progress. The characters intelligence and inventiveness is what gives him a chance to survive but only if he can hold himself together.
4. Is the control system traditional P&C ala Fate of Atlantis or have you incorporated elements of action, ala: Farenheit?
TG:
As said earlier the controls of Penumbra: Overture are very special. At first glance it plays like a first person shooter, but the environment interaction gives it a lot more depth. It is somewhat similar to Fahrenheit in that mouse movements are needed to do certain actions. The big difference is that it is all controlled by a physics engine which allows the player to be innovative and solve puzzle in various ways. We are trying to make the game very life like and the player should feel like they can interact with the world in any way they want to.
5. The GUI of any adventure game is important, how would you describe Penumbra's GUI in terms of 'ease of use'?
TG:
One of our main goals when it comes to GUI is to have as little as possible. Apart from an inventory screen there will be no GUI in Penumbra: Overture. Health is displayed using visual and auditory effects. We are also trying to limit the number of buttons used and the game is possible to play using only the mouse and arrow keys to move the character. We have added shortcuts for most actions though so that once the player starts to learn the controls things can be done in simpler and faster ways.
The GUI for the inventory has been made so that it should be very windows like. You can double-click items to use them and can drag and drop to combine.
6. I hear the game is going to be Episodic in nature, what does this mean for the gamers? Is it going to be supported with expansions or will we be buying a brand new game each time, ala many sequels?
TG:
This is not 100% determined yet but it will probably be that each episode is independent so that each is brand new game. We think that this will be simpler and also allows players to skip an episode if they would like that.
7. Can you tell us something about the game engine itself?
TG:
The game engine is internally developed and is built using the latest technologies. All the environments are fully dynamic with real-time lights and shadows. This was very important stuff since we wanted a highly interactive world and wanted as little as possible to be static. Another important feature is the physics which is powered by Newton Game Dynamics which is a free and a really great physics engine. The engine also contains next generation features such as depth of field and motion blur.
Although the game uses very high-end graphics we aim to support as old cards as possible. We want to ensure that both users with high-end machines as well as those with older hardware will be able to enjoy the game.
8. What would you define as the engine's best feature?
TG:
The physics is probably what’s make it stands out. Not only does it use a very nice low-level engine (the NGD) but we have built all sorts of stuff on top it. For example the sound is something we have spent a lot of time with. The sound is mixed depending on surfaces materials and also the speed and strength of impacts. All this creates a very real feel to the game and the player will never hear the same sounds repeated over and over. At the present time we know few engines that can compare to this.
9. What would you say is the weakest part of the engine? (If there is one)
TG:
The engine is built for the type of game we are making so it cannot handle large environments like Farcry and Just Cause. This is because we want to focus on making the game experience, in the types of environments Penumbra: Overture uses, to be as good as possible.
10. Lastly, if you have a favourite Point and Click game - what is it?
TG:
I would have to say Broken Sword, closely followed by Monkey Island.
Well I wouldn’t call Penumbra: Overture a point and click adventure although it has been greatly influenced by that genre. In Penumbra we try to merge the 3D action adventure and the old school point and click by using new technologies such as advanced physics simulation. We hope that this will break the mold what people expect from adventure games and at the same time combine concepts from two great game types.
Penumbra: Overture has the environment exploration of the point and click genre, ie interacting and examining various objects. However, this concept is greatly expanded using the physics technology. Normally the player would just click on a drawer to open it, but in Penumbra you have to grab it and then move the mouse to open it. All this is done by the physics engine and gives a really immersive experience. It also allows us to make puzzles in new and exciting ways. Old simple tasks like turning a valve is also a lot more fun since you actually physically turn the valve yourself.
A large amount of the gameplay also have its roots in the action adventure genre. The player moves through the environments as he pleases and there are also some enemies running around that the has to dealt with, but unlike most action games violence is not the best choice in Penumbra: Overture. The player has to sneak and use his/her wits in order to survive.
2. Without spoiling anything can you elaborate some on the story itself?
TG:
As the game starts you learn that the protagonist gets a letter from his late father telling him to burn a book. Instead he studies the book, revealing information of a place on Greenland and the protagonist decides to go there. Arriving there he finds a strange metal hatch in the snow which leads down to some strange and disturbing environments.
The then story evolves around the player trying to find out how all things are connected to his late father. He also discovers other characters and gets to learn their background stories. As the story progresses all this information gets connected and the player slowly realizes what has happened.
It is hard for me to say anything more with out spoiling. We are working hard on creating an entertaining and detailed story and big part of the game will be to discover what is going on.
TG:
The main character Philip is not your typical action hero. He is a scientist for profession and not used to danger or using weapons. His main tool is his mind and he has to investigate carefully to progress. The characters intelligence and inventiveness is what gives him a chance to survive but only if he can hold himself together.
4. Is the control system traditional P&C ala Fate of Atlantis or have you incorporated elements of action, ala: Farenheit?
TG:
As said earlier the controls of Penumbra: Overture are very special. At first glance it plays like a first person shooter, but the environment interaction gives it a lot more depth. It is somewhat similar to Fahrenheit in that mouse movements are needed to do certain actions. The big difference is that it is all controlled by a physics engine which allows the player to be innovative and solve puzzle in various ways. We are trying to make the game very life like and the player should feel like they can interact with the world in any way they want to.
5. The GUI of any adventure game is important, how would you describe Penumbra's GUI in terms of 'ease of use'?
TG:
One of our main goals when it comes to GUI is to have as little as possible. Apart from an inventory screen there will be no GUI in Penumbra: Overture. Health is displayed using visual and auditory effects. We are also trying to limit the number of buttons used and the game is possible to play using only the mouse and arrow keys to move the character. We have added shortcuts for most actions though so that once the player starts to learn the controls things can be done in simpler and faster ways.
The GUI for the inventory has been made so that it should be very windows like. You can double-click items to use them and can drag and drop to combine.
6. I hear the game is going to be Episodic in nature, what does this mean for the gamers? Is it going to be supported with expansions or will we be buying a brand new game each time, ala many sequels?
TG:
This is not 100% determined yet but it will probably be that each episode is independent so that each is brand new game. We think that this will be simpler and also allows players to skip an episode if they would like that.
TG:
The game engine is internally developed and is built using the latest technologies. All the environments are fully dynamic with real-time lights and shadows. This was very important stuff since we wanted a highly interactive world and wanted as little as possible to be static. Another important feature is the physics which is powered by Newton Game Dynamics which is a free and a really great physics engine. The engine also contains next generation features such as depth of field and motion blur.
Although the game uses very high-end graphics we aim to support as old cards as possible. We want to ensure that both users with high-end machines as well as those with older hardware will be able to enjoy the game.
8. What would you define as the engine's best feature?
TG:
The physics is probably what’s make it stands out. Not only does it use a very nice low-level engine (the NGD) but we have built all sorts of stuff on top it. For example the sound is something we have spent a lot of time with. The sound is mixed depending on surfaces materials and also the speed and strength of impacts. All this creates a very real feel to the game and the player will never hear the same sounds repeated over and over. At the present time we know few engines that can compare to this.
9. What would you say is the weakest part of the engine? (If there is one)
TG:
The engine is built for the type of game we are making so it cannot handle large environments like Farcry and Just Cause. This is because we want to focus on making the game experience, in the types of environments Penumbra: Overture uses, to be as good as possible.
10. Lastly, if you have a favourite Point and Click game - what is it?
TG:
I would have to say Broken Sword, closely followed by Monkey Island.
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