04/20/05 >> Neuro

Genre: First-person Shooter

Developer: Revolt games

Publisher: Game Factory Interactive

Official site

 

 

Here is our Q&A session with Sergey Mironov, producer of Neuro and CEO of Revolt Games. Once again, our thanks goes to Svetlana Alexeeva for coordinating this.

 

 

 

What is Neuro all about, and why should gamers be excited about it?

 

Neuro is a story-driven sci-fi first-person shooter. It takes place in the fourth century of the Space Era, which will begin when humanity discovers hyperdrive engines. Our hero is a psi-soldier working for a powerful corporation, which controls all research carried out by all Terran colonies. During his first assignment, this young impulsive fighter infringes on interests of a corrupt politician, drawing himself and his partner into a world of trouble.

 

These events unfold in the threshold of a secret experiment conducted by Confederation authorities in cooperation with the Troiden clan, a paramilitary organization from planet Clouto. The Troidens are prominently featured in Homeplanet, our space simulator set in the same universe as Neuro. As for exciting features… Well, you'll be able to push things around, influence weak-minded individuals and kill people – all with a sheer power of thought! Playing with someone else's brains is always cool.

 

 

Neuro’s main feature is the psionic ability. Tell us how it affects gameplay and what are some examples of it?

 

Psi-abilities allowed us to move away from the standard shooter fare. In Neuro, your mind and firearms are equally useful at resolving problems.

 

There are two groups of psionic abilities. Some will aid you in combat, others are useful for avoiding direct confrontations. For example, Extrasensory Perception acts like radar, while Aggressive Suggestion is very effective against large groups of enemies. A person under the effects of aggressive suggestion goes berserk and attacks his companions, leaving fewer opponents for you to deal with. Psi-abilities become available as the story progresses.

 

What are some of the “spells” the player can use in the game?

 

In addition to Extrasensory Perception and Aggressive Suggestion, we have Telekinesis, Mental Healing and Mental Strike. I think their names are pretty self-explanatory. You'll be able to move throw objects, tend to your wounds or turn brains of your enemies into Jell-O.

 

 

Obviously, not every situation will be solved by pysonics. Tell about us the weapons of Neuro.

 

There are 8 firearms and 2 types of grenades in Neuro. All of them are fictional and, as far as we know, have no prototypes in real life. We did not want to go with the sci-fi look of weapons and opted for more natural approach to design.

 

We did about 15 drafts of possible weapons, 8 of which made it into the game. We also made operational schemes, so our artists and designers would see how these things work. Even if your weapons are imaginary, you still need to have a clear understanding of their principles of operation in order to simulate recoil, dispersion and other effects.

 

In addition to standard firearms (sub-machine guns, assault rifles, sniper rifles), we have a few original models, for example, a submolecular resonator, which can renders a person unconscious or cause internal hemorrhage depending on its settings. Another cool toy is O'Dwyer gun 61.3, which is an advanced scion of today's shotguns.

 

Not much has been shown of Neuro for a while (since April 2004). When will more of Neuro be shown ?

 

The first public showing of Neuro will take place at the upcoming E3, so the wait is nearly over.

 

 

Let’s talk about the engine powering Neuro. What can players expect from this engine?

 

The engine of Neuro was developed in-house, and it is packed with many modern technologies. Below there is just a glimpse of it can do:

 

 

We also have nice real-time physics system, thanks to Meqon technology we licensed from Meqon Research AB.

 

Will there be multiplayer modes in Neuro? If so, what types, and how will the pysonic abilities fit in?

 

There will be no multiplayer in Neuro. No, we did not have to cut it out in order to meet production deadlines, because this decision was taken a long time ago. The very first game of those who subsequently became the core of Revolt Games was a multiplayer-only shooter, and right now we do not want to go that route again. It takes a lot of time and efforts to make a game, where both single-player campaign and multiplayer are fresh and interesting. So, we took a hard look at our current capabilities and decided to focus on delivering great single-player experience.

 

What features are you most proud of?

 

I am really proud of how psi-abilities turned out, and I like the look of Neuro. Fans of sci-fi shooters are definitely in for a treat! I think we managed to create a really solid game where each feature is thought-out and polished.

 

 

European developers have had a tough time getting noticed in the North American market. While a typical gamer may know several American developers, they know little or nothing about European devs. Why do you think that is? What steps can be taken to help promote the talented developers in North America?

 

The gaming industry of Eastern Europe, including Russia, still has a lot of catching up with the leaders – North America and Western Europe. Developers and publishers in US and other Western countries have more experience and employ a more cautious approach when it comes to dealing with various risks. Everyone is staking on brands and time-proved gameplay instead of coming up with fresh ideas. It has become really hard to pitch an original concept to publishers, especially for young studios.

 

There are lots of talented development teams in Russia, but their chances of breaking into Western markets are even slimmer than those of their American colleagues. That is why we do not see Russian AAA titles like Quake, Unreal, Half-Life or Warcraft.

 

There are exceptions to this rule, for example, IL-2 Sturmovik. Alas, Western consumers tend to remember a publisher of a game they liked rather than a development house. So, in order to achieve a success, you need a killer idea, a polished gameplay and a ballsy publisher, which knows how to present your original concept to the general public.

 

When will a demo be released?

 

There are no plans for a downloadable demo of Neuro at this time, so your only chance to play the game is to visit E3.

 

Will the game ship with a map editor?

 

No. We always support fans who keep an eye on our projects, but in this case we never really contemplated releasing a map editor or other tools. I think it really depends on how many people like our game. If Neuro is successful (which I hope so), we will provide all necessary support for modding community.

 

When will the game ship?

 

Neuro will be released in Russia in Fall. We still do not have a publisher in Europe or North America, but I hope that E3 will bring us good news ;)

 

 

What are your plans for E3 this year?

 

Game Factory Interactive, which promotes Neuro in Europe and North America, will have a playable demo version at their E3 booth #6515 in Kentia Hall.

 

Is there anything else you would like to add?

 

In a few weeks, we will open an official website of the game, which will keep you posted on about all Neuro-related news.

 

 

 

Interview by Alex Hammond