In an ongoing series of diaries TVG catches up with the guys at Midway Austin to follow the development of Area 51; this month a general look at what the game has to offer…

Although delayed from 2004 to early 2005, Area 51, which is being developed in-house by Midway Austin, is looking very tasty from the screenshots and information that has slowly been drip-fed to us.

Recent announcements that David Duchovny, star of the ultimate conspiracy-theory television show, The X-Files, will bring his instantly recognisable voice to Area 51's lead character Specialist, Ethan Cole, a special forces soldier specialising in hazardous materials investigations, add even more cache to this title along with Powers Boothe, who currently appears in the HBO mini-series Deadwood, who will provide the voice of Major Bridges, while infamous recording artist Marilyn Manson will deliver an unforgettable performance as Edgar, the gray alien.

Billed as an action, FPS/thriller it will be revealed that the conspiracy theories and alien autopsies the world has speculated about related to Area 51 are far worse than anyone could ever imagine. In Part One of the diary, we set the ball rolling as we spoke with Zach Wood – Producer and Devin Shatsky – Associate Producer about the development team, story and basic plot line for the game.

TVG: Area 51 has already been in development for a good period of time. Firstly, has the game changed in any way since its conception and what was the focus when the team decided to created such an interesting project?

The original concept of the game has remained from its early conception, however much of the gameplay and some of the character focus has evolved a great deal over the course of development. Quite naturally in a project’s life cycle, you have sort of a ‘mid-term’ review to see if some of the original ideas are working. For example, we found that our squad based combat worked really well, so we focused more attention in that area. We found that early on in the game, your team members were a valid conduit for story telling. So when the game starts off, you’re experiencing the oddities of the base as a group.

TVG: Can you tell us a little bit about the team’s set up and their interest with Paranormal and UFOs? How into the scene are they?

I think everybody has an innate fascination with the unknown. It’s human nature to be curious and to want answers to the riddles of the universe. The team makeup really runs the gamut of interest levels. We’ve got a few members that are really military oriented and some that are very sci-fi oriented, so we really have a broad spectrum of ideas covered. That’s one of the major reasons we feel Area 51 is going to be a huge success.

TVG: Can you explain briefly about Area 51, also known as Groom Lake, to our readers and what is so fascinating about it?

Area 51 is most believed to be a secret U.S. military base, located about 90 miles North of Las Vegas in a remote desert area called Groom Lake. The name Area 51 actually comes from the map grid number 51, where the base is located. It was said to have been built in 1954 to test the U-2 spy plane, but many believe the U.S. government has been testing weapons and aircraft based on alien technology. Part of the theory is that the government recovered aliens and an alien craft from a crash in Roswell, New Mexico, in the summer of 1947. Whatever is going on there is EXTREMELY top secret. The government denies its very existence. There have been many books, documentaries, news stories and feature films on Area 51 with theories as far reaching as you can imagine. The most fascinating part is that after all these years, no one has come forth to tell the real story. The base remains a mystery.

TVG: Are you using any records and information that has been written about Area 51 and although we are talking about a game, how close are you hoping to go to really offer some kind of authenticity, although we see you are adding your own take to it all?

During pre-production, the team soaked up as much information as possible. Speculative information is everywhere. Do a web search for ‘Area 51’ and you’ll get over a million hits. There are interviews with people who have claimed to work there. Strange stories of back engineered alien spacecraft, autopsies, etc. Since there are so many different theories, we decided to go with our own take, but one rooted in what COULD be reality. Because there are no photographs of the inside of the base, we were able to let our artists take some creative liberty and really go for it. For those players who have done some Area 51 research, there will be a few surprises.

TVG: Could you tell us the backdrop story for the game as the player begins and how important the story is throughout the game? Does it have a number of paths and does the story evolve in any interesting ways?

The story begins with the player character, Hazmat Specialist, Ethan Cole, entering Area 51 with a team of 3 sent in to investigate a bio-chemical breach. It doesn’t take long to realise there is a lot more going on than just a routine HazMat cleanup. Cole and his team are thrown into a very volatile situation, and it’s up to you as the player to make it out alive.

One of the beautiful things about making a game that's set in a top-secret facility, is that very few people really know what it looks like, or what goes on inside. So we really had an open book of ideas to play with. The whole mystique and urban lore that's tied to the real government facility really gave us a lot of ‘ammo’ to play with as far as the storyline and design went.

TVG: You have brought in Stan Winston who has created creatures for films such as Aliens, Predator, Terminator 3, etc. Do you believe his ability to create within the video gaming scene is far more extensive and impressive that someone within our own industry?

Working with Stan was quite a thrill, I mean the guy is a Hollywood legend in creating great creatures, so it was an honour to have him involved. Stan and his group helped our art team on alien concept design during our pre-production phase. We really utilised them as ‘a fresh set of eyes’, we sent them our original sketches and they provided feedback and direction. It was a great experience.

TVG: Area 51 is billed as a FPS and adventure. Can you expand on the style of game and what proportion of the game is about exploring, puzzle solving, possibly strategy and just outright shooting?

There is definitely an emphasis on sheer action, but we really wanted to take the opportunity to touch on some of the lore and mythology associated with Area 51. So there’s a good amount of story pulling the player along and drawing them into the world. There is just so much information out there to play with. We added a collection system, by which players can find old documents, photographs and video left behind by people that work at the base. It’s an added layer of lore that players can explore, in addition to the story that is told through NPCs and events that occur over the course of the experience. The strategy of the game evolves, as does the gameplay style. As you begin the game, you’re with your team members who interact with you and the enemies you face. They’ll assist you in battles, provide covering fire, point out enemy locations and reveal story elements as you experience the base as a group. As you progress deeper into the base, you’ll ultimately be left on your own and be faced with different challenges. The very alien virus that is killing the inhabitants of the base, eventually finds its way to you and you’ll struggle for survival, but also enjoy some of the benefits of being a mutant. Homing parasites are a wonderful tool.

TVG: What innovative qualities – pick one – does the team feel that Area 51 will offer?

Rather than point to one, I believe the innovation of Area 51 is the sum of its parts. It’s a solid blend of core FPS gameplay, story, exploration and the twist of player mutation, which really changes the experience for the player. Also, the technical and art teams have done an outstanding job in pushing the hardware. The sheer amount of geometry, texture detail, lighting and shadow techniques in Area 51 are a credit to a devoted team which is always trying to raise the bar. Nearly ¾ of the development cycle was dedicated to the art and technology behind the game. It was all built from scratch by the internal team at Midway Austin.

TVG: Can you tell us about Lt. Ethan Cole, some of his interesting features, along with the squad system/support for Ethan?

Ethan is a hazardous materials specialist in an elite division of the United States Army. We decided early on that he wasn't going to be positioned as some uber bad-ass superhero-type character. We wanted him to be more of a regular guy, caught in an extraordinary situation. That way the player can really identify with the role and get consumed into the storyline.

One of the big support mechanisms involved in the storyline is the interaction with your squad mates. We really wanted to give these guys a lot of personality so you could identify with them and become attached to them early on in the game. Part of that process involves good story and dialogue writing, the other part involves good AI programming.

Early on in the project, during the pre-production phase of development, we made a decision that we were going to make a concerted effort to ‘get the AI right’. We created a cover-node system, where the AI doesn't rely on scripted,’ "connect the dots’, logic for taking cover and attacking. The AI will actually assess and seek out objects within the environment to take cover during combat and it works very well. This applies to squad member teammates, as well as enemy NPCs.

TVG: Is Arena 51 the sequel to Area 51: Site 4. Can you expand?

No, Area 51 is not a sequel to anything. It is a beginning, the first chapter in an intricate story that is yet to be completely uncovered. We didn’t want to be tied to any pre-existing story lines in the creation of this game, so we really consider it the beginning of a new epic. We think people will be very pleased with the final outcome.

TVG: Final thoughts or comments of interest for our readers to entice and interest for next diary.

We have an exciting celebrity cast lending their voices to Area 51. David Duchovny (X-Files) is the voice of the player character, Hazmat Specialist Ethan Cole. Powers Boothe (Deadwood) voices Hazmat team Major Bridges and Marilyn Manson (Antichrist Superstar) is the voice of Edgar, a mysterious Gray alien with a distaste for humanity -Very fitting indeed.

Thank you

In Area 51 Diary Chapter 2 TotalVideoGames will find out about the technology and character designs, along with the intriguing mutation system as well as finding out exactly what Stan Winston will be creating!

Look out for Part 2 next month...