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Freedom Force vs The Third Reich - Developer Diary #1 Feature
Derek dela Fuente
12/11/2004
TVG invites you into the world of Irrational Games to check out the develoment of Freedom Force vs The Third Reich...
After Irrational Games inventive first offering - Freedom Force from EA, a RPG featuring 3D tactical battles where the player can lead a team of original comic book superheroes against some of the most fiendishly and dastardly villains around - the welcomed sequel Freedom Force Vs The Third Reich is well into development, this time published by the relatively new kid on the block - Digital Jesters. Freedom Force Vs The Third Reich continues with its stylized form as the squad based tactical affair gets bigger and bolder.
With so many channels and ideas to explore, it was the kind of ideal game that many had spoken about creating ā“ one being Bullfrogās, Peter Molyneux, Indestructables which never came to fruition. Freedom Force certainly hit the spot with gamers with marks in the high 90s and The Third Reich could be heading for even bigger acclaim.
TotalVideoGames starts off the first in the series of 4 diaries with the team, getting to know about the vision for the game and about the team themselves. We will follow up in the next diary with some interesting gameplay elements and answers to an assortment of āmust askā questions.
An introduction to the team...
Ken Levine ā“ Executive Producer, Writer, Creative Director ā“ Kenās starting to wonder if he bit off more than he could chew in taking on two different comic book eras.
Robb Waters ā“ Concept Artist - Robb has the amazing ability to capture the look and feel of the silver age comics in his character designs, models and origin stories.
Jonathan Chey ā“ Project Lead ā“ Self-publishing FFvTTR meant that Irrational would face considerably more work than usual in management. Jon has stepped up to keep everything rolling as smoothly as possible.
Eric Brosius ā“ Sound ā“ The sound in Freedom Force won numerous awards including āBest Actingā. For his encore, Eric takes on even greater challenges, including finding a voice for the Italian baritone known as Fortissimo.
Lorne Brooks ā“ Lead Artist ā“ Taking the world of the silver and golden age of comics out of the panels and into a 3-D world is no small task. Lorne has once again proven that heās up to the task.
Dorian Hart ā“ Lead Design ā“ With all these new characters and powers, who will make sure they fit into the carefully balanced Freedom Force universe? Dorian of course. After all, he managed to pull it off in Shock 2.
New team, new members or all originals?
We have nearly all the same members of the original Freedom Force team. Weāve also added a few more members including Dorian Hart of System Shock 2 fame. It was our primary goal to give Freedom Force fans the sequel they want. This meant creating more characters, an even more epic story with gameplay that found balance between more depth and a streamlined interface. In other words, something thatās easier to pick up, but at the same time, a game that you can run a lot further with.
EA to DJ ā“ why?
We are sure you have been asked before but why have you gone with DJ as many were surprised to find that EA were not your publishers?
Since weāre self-publishing FFvTTR, weāve been given the freedom to carefully choose our partners in distribution. Digital Jesters really got what we were trying to do. Weāve seen eye-to-eye on everything and in the end, itās going to mean a better game for Freedom Force fans.
We are correct in believing that the original game was a success!!?
A huge success in fact. Otherwise we wouldnāt be taking the route we are.
Freedom Force explained...
Freedom Force is a tactical RPG featuring a huge team of diverse heroes. It takes place during the sixties, at the peak of the silver age of comics. Freedom Force vs. The Third Reich looks to capitalize on the success of the original by focusing on vastly improving what made it such a hit. By further developing the characters, raising the stakes by threatening history itself, and finely tuning the genre-blending gameplay, weāre upping the ante and making FFvTTR a must play for comic book fans and gamers alike.
We had many goals when we set out to make Freedom Force. We wanted to capture the spirit and charm of the silver age of comics. We werenāt looking to make a spoof; rather, we wanted to make a game with everything done in the tone of that era of comics. In doing this, we managed to get some chuckles out of people because in retrospect, they were pretty silly. We wanted to take a similar look back at the golden age for the same reasons.
One of the reasons I think the characters work so well in an RPG is because comic book characters, by nature, are always going places. Theyāre always making tremendous strides both in emotional and physical growth. Read just about any comic line for a few months and see the changes they go through regularly. You can almost see the words ālevel upā above their head.
The story and the Third Reich tag.
Well, we really couldnāt see doing the golden age without at least some Nazi reference. In taking on the Third Reich, weāre able to really represent a huge part of what drove the golden age of comics. Also, with so many World War II games out there, we thought people would like to see such a familiar era in gaming shown in a different way. Itās very refreshing and almost cathartic to finally get a different take on it. In fact, most of the time, gamers will likely forget the setting is āhistoricalā and imagine itās completely original.
I donāt think we want to delve too deep into the RPG aspects for fear of scaring off the ānoobsā and ostracizing our current fanbase. Currently, weāre expanding the roster of heroes, creating new powers and abilities and adding more personality into the way the characters behave.
Influenced by great comics strip writers and artists!
Itās fair to say that weāve all been impacted by comics in some way. Some of the Freedom Force dev team in particular should probably be asked to stop wearing the spandex to work at some point. I just donāt have the heart to tell these guys that weāre introducing a strict āsecret identity onlyā policy.
As for influences, there are too many to list. The biggest ones are also the most obvious. Giants like Stan Lee, Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby paved the road for the future generations of comic fans and creators alike.
Comic books are a huge part of me and the team. Anyone who reads comics understands thereās something about them that seeps into every part of your being. Being able to pay homage to them and create the stories we always wanted to see is a dream come true.
Gameplay mechanics and lots of different kinds of challenging element on offer.
Now that we know what works (and what doesnāt work) with Freedom Force, weāre able to concentrate on creating the best scenarios possible. Weāre able to get more creative in the challenges we throw at the player. Fighting Fortissimo alone will feel like a completely new experience.
The structure (mission) to the game.
Missions are structured in the same fashion as the original title. Players select their squad of heroes, make a few upgrades, perhaps buy a few new skills or abilities and then head to the mission briefing, where theyāll often get an intro cutscene and then jump into the fray.
Current state of play?
The game is coming along quite nicely. Relatively speaking, at this stage of the dev cycle, weāre further along than we were with the original. Many of the missions are in a state where we can concentrate on polish and just making them more fun in general.
One teaser of superheroes on offer!?
Tombstone has the potential to turn Freedom Force on their collective ears. Heās just not what the team is used to in their heroes. Theyāre really not sure what to make of his dark powers from beyond the grave. You can count on some interesting team dynamics when heās around.
Last time we spoke you mentioned self funding the game. What is the state of play presently and do you believe publishers have too much say with regards to a game and should only do what their name suggests ā“ publish!?
Without putting my foot in my mouth, I do believe that in the business of games, often times the most important part of the process is lost or overlooked. Sometimes, the core goal of making a game thatās fun isnāt always the top priority. Other times that priority is too elusive. Thereās no guaranteed success when it comes to making a game thatās fun to play. As long as that remains the number one goal, your chance of succeeding improves exponentially.
TVG will have more from Irrational Games and Freedom Force vs The Third Reich next month in our ongoing set of Developer Diaries; superhero fans remember to keep checking backā¦
