Tripwire Interactive Vice President Alan Wilson, which is the entire PR department of the company, discusses with the "gamer" the subtleties of international amateur development, victory at competitions, impeccability of publishing taste … and, of course, bad zombies-games

[[Bullet]] Rising Storm (Rising Storm Game.COM): The US naval infantry against the Imperial Army of Japan, the battle for Ivodzima and Guadalkanal, recreated by two dozens of modders with creative and financial support for tripwire.

About repeating the creative path Tripwire Interactive Every team of modders dreams, gathered for the construction of a super -regional conversion Unreal Tournament 3 About the winter Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940.

A small group was organized in 2003 to work on Red Orchestra , mod about the second world to Unreal Tournament 2004 , a year later she won the arranged Epic Games And NVIDIA Competition for the best mod Make Someting Unreal and for the money won managed to organize a professional studio in Atlanta, Georgia.

But commercial edition Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45 In 2006, it turned out only the beginning. Today Tripwire is an active indie publishing person who releases games of various directions (from Survival Horror Killing Floor To the incident Dwarfs ). And this is during work on Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad , just released by sequel, who in the past seven years managed to develop into a full-size blockbuster game.

[[Bullet]] The most popular mod for RO, Darkest Hour (Darkest Hour Game.com) about the landing of allies in Normandy, appeared in June 2008 and was officially released in Steam a year later. On the first day, the game downloaded 10,000 times.

[Gambling:] Alan, you came to Tripwire before the Superb Bet sister sites competition – you joined the company on, as they say, the lower floor, yes?

[Alan:] Yes, John Gibson and I, the current president of Tripwire, came to the team in early 2003. John had been engaged in professional development before – programmed America’s Army , – And I worked in the banking sector, but I was very fond of the Second World War.

I was called to my first mod as a consultant historian: I wrote a script, verified historical details … When the project was self-destroyed, I went to the Red Orchestra team-I first advised, then I began to engage in models design because I knew all the technical details.

When the Make Someting Unreal 2004 ended, I, John and a couple of developers, were surprised to find themselves in the project leaders.

[Gambling:] Tell us a little about the development of the original mod.

[Alan:] Like most modders, we had a complete anarchy – just a group of artists and programmers who decided to work together. But then the competition suddenly began, and iron deadlines for different phases of the project appeared: I had to meet (via the Internet), discuss each thing in detail that we wanted to include in a game at a particular stage, and entrust it with specific people.

John and I had experience in serious offices, but our rest did not know the word "deadline" at all. The leading designer of the levels was 13 years old … We tried to entrust the key things with the most reliable guys, otherwise it often happened that the artist or programmer suddenly decided that they were too loaded in the college and stopped communicating with us. You have no idea how difficult it is to achieve productive work from the Mammary team of volunteers.

[Gambling:] You also had an international?

[Alan:] Yes, there were people from the USA, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, one guy from Hong Kong, another couple from Australia.

[[Bullet]] Mare Nostrum (Mare Nostrum Game.com), RO conversion about the war in North Africa, Italy and in Crete. Mod was released in March 2008 and again is available for free of free Ostfront 41-45 owners. Although they pump it significantly less than Darkest Hour.

[Gambling:] What will you advise the novice team of modders going to participate in a contest of the Make Someting Unreal competition?

[Alan:] Learn to manage the deadlines – and first of all, make sure that all team members are ready to devote themselves to the common cause.

Many relate to the creative process too easily – you rely on guys, and they lead you: not because bad people, but because they overestimate their own abilities.

Someone will definitely say: “Yes, dude, I will make you four units of equipment and seventeen weapons models, what problems!" – and then he will not find time for one tank and two machine guns. So we must immediately talk honestly and understand who is capable of what is capable of and is not capable.

[Gambling:] Competitions – good preparation for professional developmental activities?

[Alan:] In general, yes. Most of the fashion team is engaged in their projects leisurely, in his free time. But in this studio you can’t work like this – no one will give you unlimited money and time. You need to immediately study discipline, do everything on the budget and in a short time – unless, of course, you are a developer of the new series Call of Duty!

[Bullet]] System for the use of shelters (albeit in the first person) in Red Orchestra 2 – another step from the uncompromising team defmatcha to more calm mainstream shooters.

[Gambling:] As an international team of developers, has turned into a professional studio in Georgia?

[Alan:] When we won the competition at the end of 2004, we-four leading developers-lived in different parts of the world: I am in London, one of the programmers in Amsterdam, John in Atlanta, another employee in Maryland.

Life in London is fantastically expensive, in Amsterdam everything is also very expensive. So, when we decided to crucify, we began to study the US map: since John lives in Atlanta … And what, a good place for the office! Office rental is almost the cheapest in the States – most of the large gaming companies are located on the east coast, and everything is much more expensive there.

Generally rumors that we won almost a million dollars. In fact, the prize amounted to $ 50 thousand, and it had to be divided into more than twenty people.

[Gambling:] What are the goals of Tripwire Interactive on the day of foundation?

[Alan:] Well, we had a rather popular mod with our audience. We began to think how to extract from this commercial benefit. How to make a game, how to spread it ..

We did not have long -term goals – well, how many you heard stories about young studios, who ruined six months after the foundation? There was something foggy-to become a well-known independent developer, to develop calmly, to make new games ..

[Bullet]] Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45-awarded prize $ 50 thousand and a free license for the Unreal Engine 2 engine.5 (and then 3) allowed the winners not only to make a commercial game out of the harsh fashion, but also to establish a whole studio.

[Gambling:] And you did not think about publishing then?

[Alan:] No, when we launched Tripwire in 2005, in the area of ​​digital distribution of games, everything just started. Steam Then it was already, but completely some kind of newborn … As a result, our first commercial game-RO: Ostfront 41-45-we from afar through Steam, concluded the first contract with Valve… and releasing the second game, Killing Floor , We decided that we already know about the game business enough to publish it on your own. And we were surprisingly good.

In the era of digital distribution, it is much easier to become a publisher-you do not need to invest crazy money in development, do not worry about distributors … There is nothing to dream of pushing a 10-dollar game into real shops around the world to recoup the budget in $ 200 thousand: distributors are interested in blockbusters like Call of Duty , Battlefield 3 Or – now – in Red Orchestra 2. And in the number of little games they feel good.

Lead from Berlin

[Gambling:] “Red Capella” is the name of the semi -mythical group of Soviet spies operating in Germany during the Second World War … Is it true that the Red Orchestra prototype was a single -user spy game about Berlin – and that a strange name went from there?

[Alan:] Alas, no single -user spy version of Red Orchestra actually existed. Yes, some guys in our team were fond of stealth shutters … But when they realized what works the development of single-players with a full-fledged script would cost, they quickly abandoned this venture. Although for some reason the name was left.

[[Bullet]] in Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad (Heroes of Stalingrad.COM) there are already two training single -user campaigns (though on maps from multiplayer).

[Gambling:] Do you think to return to the spy topic – already being a commercial developer? Or the name Red Orchestra has grown too firmly to the online FPS genre?

[Alan:] Many in our team would love to take up a spy project, although not in the near future. In general, the topic is very interesting-and not only because of the "red chapel". We have an engine, mechanics, add stealth elements-and the game is ready! But there are no real plans, alas, yet.

[Gambling:] As former modders, what do you think about mods for Ostfront 41-45-about Darkest Hour about landing in Normandy or about Rising Storm about the war in the Pacific Ocean? Whether you are viewing new mods in search of material for official addons?

[Alan:] As former modders, we help RO modifications with everything we can. Darkest Hour and North African Mare Nostrum – two most famous examples. We released them through Steam-for free for everyone who has already bought Ostfront 41-45. We helped the guys from Rising Storm together and now we will sponsor the team. The main problem of large mods like Darkest Hour is the development time, two or more than a year. So we try to speed up the emergence of interesting mods. Ideally, Rising Storm should be released in 2012. If Rising Storm turns out to be as large -scale and high -quality as it is conceived, then – of course, we will publish it as a full -fledged official addon.

By the way, another curious mod – In Country: Vietnam ( In country mod.Com ) – It also comes out next year … By the way, it will be necessary to go check how the guys are doing.

[Bullet]] Features of OSTFRONT 41-45: the price of $ 25, the absence of indicators on the screen and instant death from every second bullet released in your direction.

[Gambling:] A special sign of the original Red Orchestra fashion was brutal realism: no indicators on the screen, they could kill with one bullet … Did you think about a decrease in the degree of realism in the commercial version of the game? Or, on the contrary, calculated the hardcoreness of your visiting digging card?

[Alan:] Thought. But to be honest, we simply did not have money for big changes, and therefore, there was no time. A pair of large publishers offered us solid budgets for processing Red Orchestra in the Call of Duty clone or at least in the Counter-Strike killer, but we decided that we already have a current audience of 500 thousand people (it was so many users who downloaded the original mod), ready Buy a commercial version.

Yes, we could make a less hardcore game, but then we would have to fight in a completely different market with completely different games ( Day of Defeat , For example). We had our own style, which we decided to save.

Making the second part, we again began to think about how to make a game more affordable. But in the end, RO is loved precisely for Harcdorism. This is not superrealism Arma 2 , Of course, but … Call of Duty and the rest are a beautiful movie about the war, and our user is still closer to severe reality.

[[Bullet]] Another feature of Red Orchestra-albeit not immediately, but still appearing in the original free fashion-these are tanks. This game is easiest to describe as a Counter-Strike on Battlefield 1942 cards.

[Gambling:] However, the Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad is more like a mainstream console shooter: even a singlePleier is ..

[Alan:] In Red Orchestra, a novice player had only one choice: go online and be killed on the spot. After all, some have been sitting on these servers for 5-6 years! And in RO2 you can practice in the single and only then go out online. And there our Honor System will turn on: if you are a casual player playing an hour on weekends, you can find rivals of your level. If you want, you can not train at all-there are special servers for casuals.

[Gambling:] RO2 is still PC exclusive. What do you think, is there a console future for games created in the PC modety?

[Alan:] It all depends on whether the position will change or not Microsoft And Sony in relation to the modders. Today there is no support on their part. If you have made a mod for PC, it can immediately be laid out on the network. But on the consoles you need to undergo certification along with commercial studios.

Sooner or later, we will make our first game for consoles – now we argue a lot about this … But for example, for example, a lot of user mods will certainly appear, and they will not be console equivalent.

Does the modders have a future on consoles? Honestly, I don't know. We have been engaged only in RO2 for a year and a half and do not particularly look around ..

[[Bullet]] Red Orchestra 2 is easiest to describe as a Counter-Strike on the Battlefield 1942 cards … on the Unreal Engine 3 engine!

[Gambling:] As a publisher you tried yourself in such genres as Survival Horror (Killing Floor), FPS-Fiting (Zeno Clash), Puzzle (The Ball) … Do you have a favorite genre just like the publisher?

[Alan:] We are best versed in first -person games – Zeno Clash was our first game from a third -party developer, Chilean Ace Team. Zeno Clash we published in a box, such a unique thing ..

At first we played Zeno through Steam – we really liked. We learned that the guys have problems with the US publication, and decided to help them. Then he was The Ball – Also from the first person and on the unreal engine ..

[Bullet]] Ostfront 41-45-the only online game in which most duels between experts lead to the simultaneous death of both rivals.

[Gambling:] From the Swedish Teotl Studios?

[Alan:] Yes, the team itself is in Sweden, but the main developer from Belgium, the guys received a bunch of awards … Each of our game has something of their own, unique. Of course, we could name a bunch of stupid shooters, but we are a small independent publisher, existing due to interesting material.

After The Ball, we from afar Dwarfs , terribly addictive casual from the Swedish duet Power of Two , recognized by the best game of the year on Swedish Game Awards 2010 … In a word, we are not looking for a genre, but entertaining games with maximum commercial potential.

[[Bullet]] shooting festively dressed up zombies in Killing Floor (Killing Floor The Game.com) for our interlocutor Alan Wilson is still the best way to relieve stress after work.

[Gambling:] That is, there is no beloved genre?

[Alan:] It turns out that this: if only we liked the game and was professionally executed. We are offered a lot of different genres, but most games are frankly unfinished.

Living and dead

[[Bullet]] Action Killing Floor unfolds in the London environment for Alan (as in "28 days later"). Although the zombie (that is, infected … that is, mutants!) more remind of the American film "Mad men".

[Gambling:] Killing Floor – not a third -party game? After all, you took an active part in the development of this zombie-shutter?

[Alan:] In the original it was a mod for UT 2004. The leading developer Alex Kvik saw that we had published two mods to RO via Steam, and came to us in 2008: “Guys, if we will port the game under Red Orchestra, you will publish it too?"

John took the mod home, made the full port on the weekend (everything turned out to be very simple there) and brought the game to the office on Monday morning. We chopped into it for six hours, laughed like crazy … and realized that this was not a mod, but an independent game – albeit at a very early stage. So we entered into a contract with Alex, bought all the rights – then he got good royalties ..

[Bullet]] In the Killing Floor, the zombies are armed with chainsaws, and the main means of reprisals with them is a flamethrower. Yes – and the price is only $ 20.

[Gambling:] In 2009, the zombie games were not yet such a hackneyed topic as in 2011?

[Alan:] Yes, Left 4 Dead I went out in November 2009. We talked with Valve in 2008-we found out whether it would be possible to publish Killing Floor earlier L4D, then we decided that the game would turn out too raw … As a result, they released it in May 2009.

L4D launched a whole avalanche of games about the living dead-we suddenly found ourselves on the advanced zombie-bezamiya. There is also a general post -apocalyptic atmosphere: crisis, a world banking system on the verge of collapse … They said that we would all eat potatoes and go to work on foot. But it seemed to cost.

We could polish Killing Floor for a couple of years, remake everything under Unreal Engine 3 … But why? This is not a plot shooter, this is a game in which a crowd of zombie is rushing to meet you, and in your hands a flamethrower or a machete. Technically, by the way, they are not a zombie, but mutants, but to whom what difference does? After a difficult day at work, I myself am happy to play Killing Floor.

[[Bullet]] The Ball (The Ball the Game.COM) The Swedish-Belgian company Teotl Studios began life as a mod for UT, and continued as an independent Portal-like puzzle in the Aztec-Mexican environment for $ 20.

[Gambling:] How often you are asked about the future of this franchise? That you answer them all?

[Alan:] We answer that plans for Killing Floor 2 We don't have. But given that sales of the first game are approaching a million, the sequel, of course, will sooner or later be.

[[Bullet]] Instead of a portal gun in The Ball, a giant ball is used, and mummies act as annoying turrets. There are puzzles too.

[[Bullet]] genre Zeno Clash (Zeno Clash.COM) Chilean Ace Team is one of the most unusual games ever published in Steam (not to mention the real store box). This is a surrealistic fighting game … from the first person!

[Gambling:] Does it not seem to you that in the DEAD Island era and the Modern Warfare zombie zombie 2 zombie game market is completely oversaturated?

[Alan:] Well, this is the problem of any industry – games, cinema … As soon as a good movie about the living dead comes out, after him, hundreds of nasty films about zombies are weaving with long moans.

That Dead Island? I really liked the video, but then I realized that he had nothing to do with the game. There are dozens of zombies for iPhone-they are very cheap, they collect some money, but they are unlikely to become bestsellers.

Killing Floor was sold well, the sequel also has potential – not only on PC, but also on Xbox 360, and on the PlayStation. There is a franchise, there is a name – this is a huge advantage over competitors.

But in general, if the developers were worried about the amadatuity of the market, games about the Second World War from a long time ago would have stopped going out.