Bet on Soldier Interview Feature

Today we introduce another diary to the readers of TotalVideogames. Already you might have read a little about this game and seen some of the first screenshots. Bet on Soldiers (B.o.S) has some very interesting ideas behind it that we believe could make it one of those dark horse titles and, if things go to plan, have a big impact on its release.

Our resident PC man, Derek dela Fuente at TVG, spoke with Emmanuel Courosse (Lead Programmer) and Roman Vincent (CEO & Producer) at Kylotonn to fill readers in about the general direction and ideas behind the game, which we will expand on in subsequent diaries. Not only is the game looking pretty impressive, some of the ideas behind the game take a new direction for this genre of first person shooter with a new approach. As the title implies, you actually make bets to win more money and without money you will not get far.

The team responsible for creating B.o.S developed Iron Storm. They have strong in house experience in creating FPS and adventure game and personnel also worked on major titles such as Nomad Soul, Planet of the Apes, etcâ?¦ The strength of this team is that they are always willing to maximize the fun effect, creating the best content, to bring the best graphics.

The technology and the in-house created tools and engine are impressive â?“ equal to any of their competitors - and this will be detailed more in diary 3. Without cutting edge software and hardware, which the team has, no game can really compete in the FPS stakes but a sneak comment from the team spoke about how they have integrated a new physics engine and a very strong AI engine!

Some will say that any top ranked, best seller, FPS is all about presentation, along with gameplay and innovations, which the team was eager to expand on.

â??First, letâ??s talk about the game in order to understand its specific gameplay.â?

â??As for the backdrop story to the game, this war is different from the previous ones. It didnâ??t start because of religion, or because one country wanted to take the territory of another one. Nobody really knows what has created this conflict.â?

â??As soon as they reach the age of 16, men and women fight on battlefields to earn money. The concept of Nation is a utopia. Two federations are making war: the USWE (United States of Western Europe) and the RMC (Russo-Mongol-Coalition).â?

â??The Bet On Soldier has been created by the federations for 2 reasons: first, to entertain people and to generate profits from war. A B.o.S is a fight between 2 champions during a battle. Those champions are new gladiators of this age. Every soldier can become a B.o.S champion, but only the toughest of them can survive to these epic and dangerous fights.â?

â??The player is a war expert, but nothingâ??s freeâ?¦ You have to buy every piece of equipment, knives, guns, ammunition, armour, shields - even to hire mercenaries. The best way to finance your expenses is to become a B.o.S champion.â?

â??Champions have to bet on the issue of the fight. They have to bet on their own victory. Winning B.o.S fights allows the player to improve his ranking and move up to the higher leagues. Missions will be more dangerous but he will also earn more money.â?

â??Just imagine the B.o.S system in a multiplayer mode with a worldwide ranking!!!â?

â??We hope that the B.o.S system will create a kind of â??revolutionâ?? in the FPS genre. Our idea was not to completely reinvent FPS, but more to provide a better gaming experience, something more risky and challenging more the gamers.â?

â??In terms of gaming experience we will offer a game that â??rocksâ?? and we are focusing on controls, the physic of characters, weapons, an immersive avatarâ?¦ A mix of all these elements - which are important to this kind of game genre.â?

The Player

In B.o.S the player will have to face 40 champions and all the soldiers hired by the federationsâ?¦

All the champions that the player is going to face during the battles are different. They have their own specific skills, their own weapons, and their own weak points. Their skills are detailed to the player before every mission. They are very powerful, but they all have specific weak points. Champions can also have specific skills (they can be very fast, or very resistantâ?¦). Champions are generally equipped with a upgraded version of the weapons that the player can buy (for example, a heavy-gun that doesnâ??t heat up). Champions will be wearing very resistant armour and can buy new upgrades that increase their firing power or their defence (armour which protects them with a magnetic field.)

â??We are working on offering different types of regular soldiers to face with different classes of characters and behaviours. Be sure that they will be very intelligent.â?

The player will have a choice of more than 40 weapons for fighting.

The Challenge

â??The main objective for the player will be to discover who is managing this war and why this war has started. For that he will have to increase his ranking - moving from one league to the other.â?

Kylotonn will offer a very strong scenario, which will fascinate players.

â??More than that, for every mission, we will have a wide range of objectives and different a kind gameplay, in addition to the B.o.S.â?

Solo missions will make it different from other FPSs because the player will have to manage his money, his equipment, and the mercenaries that he will hire. There are some RPG elements in the game also.

In multiplayer the B.o.S system will renew the genre thanks to the bets, the mix between solo play and team play and the constant challenge with the worldwide ranking.

Plausibility and believability

â??We have a very coherent universe (no magic, no demons, no space opera). Even graphically we are trying to build a realistic world. The soundtrack fits perfectly to this universe.â?

â??As for the fights, we really want to have them longer which is what you usually have in a highly realistic world. It will be a mix between Quake and Counter Strike.â?

â??For creating those complex fights, we have integrated a very powerful AI engine. It allows us to create complex and various behaviours. As the player will have to manage mercenaries hired at the beginning of every mission, we are also working on realistic behaviours for giving them the possibility to use complex group tactics.â?

â??We want to develop â??behavioursâ?? in relation to military movements and strategies (troop movements, cover, hide and shoot, etc). Those behaviours are comprehensible and foreseeable by the player. The AI engine will finally allow us to create impressive combats (numerous enemies, numerous weapons). We donâ??t want to have confused battles. The confrontations must be clear. The player must have time to develop his own strategy of attack and must not feel harassed from all directions.â?

â??Imagine that the player is on the first floor of a building. Through the window he can observe a group of four enemies moving carefully in the street. If he pays attention to this group he will see that 2 of them are covering the group whilst the others are moving from one corner to the other. They are moving without any noise, communicating only with hands. Suddenly he is seen by an enemy. The enemy screams pointing at him and all the enemies run to the closest hidden place. One of them will go close to the window covered by its shield and will launch an incendiary grenade through the window.â?

Making a bet

â??This is not cosmetic at all. Itâ??s the only way to succeed in the gameâ?¦ Without money you donâ??t go far. Killing regular enemies will not be rewarded with a large amount of money. Only the B.o.S will be largely rewarded (depending how big the risk is taken by the player). The fact that you have to bet, that you have to move forward through the leagues is integrated into the scenario.â?

In B.o.S you will not find any free weapons, or free ammunitions on the battlefield, you have to pay for everything.

During a mission you cannot recover your lost life-points, the player will have to take care about armour and shield for repairing them. Of course you will have to pay for it.

B.o.S allows you to make money to make equipment evolve between the missions and to hire mercenaries.

As you can see it is not a cosmetic effect.

Looking good!

â??Like in Iron Storm, every material will have its own properties (wood, metal, water with specific sounds and effects). We will have gameplay based on fire, electricity and gas. A lot of elements will be destructible.â?

â??To add, itâ??s not going to be a quick hit and kill. Fights could be long thanks to armour and shields. We have also localised damage and injury. If you shoot at legs, you will create damage and the enemy will be slowed down, and may even fall. You shoot the body of your enemy and he will lose his accuracy. If you shoot the head, and you are good, you can have an artistic bonus. The player will feel and will react to fire and acid. All the animations have been done in mocap. Sound and physics will be felt by the player as immersive elements.â?