Jason
chasing a bee
<strong>[ Interview ]</strong>
Alec "you can start believing" Meer has a few XCOM articles to be found at Rock Paper Shotgun and Eurogamer. Let's start with the first <a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/06/15/exclusive-2k-marin-talk-xcom/" target="_blank">XCOM interview</a> at RPS (conducted back in March).
<blockquote>RPS: What are you expecting the fan reaction will be? I realise a new audience is probably the main priority, but when this hits the internet people are going to have something to say – and a lot of them may be negative on principle.
I hope that it’s very positive. The series has been sort of fallow for a long time now, and I think what we want to do is pick up those key elements that defined the original X-COM as something that is remembered and we want to take those great things and present them in a new take. We want to push those elements into the first-person genre and get people excited about being on the ground during this invasion. I think, I hope the reaction is positive. I think it will be once people start to see the kinds of things that we’re doing. I look forward to hearing what the fans have to say.
RPS: They may just be glad that it’s not Enforcer 2.
That’s why we are really trying to capture the essence, returning to the source, because those were the things that were cool. Diverging off that path I think would be a mistake. And it was a mistake. Y’know. Arguably.
RPS: Have you worked at all with the Gollop brothers, the original creators of X-COM?
[Pelling shakes head. Serious looks all round.]
</blockquote>
On to Alec's <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/xcom-e3-2010-preview?page=1" target="_blank">preview</a> at Eurogamer.
<blockquote>Go flame grenade! Thanks to the evidence you collected on prior missions, your scientists have been able to research the Blobs and then come up with a counter-measure. With the blueprints passed to your engineers, you can now order up as many flame grenades as you need - and they scorch a Blob into so much flat tar in seconds. Use 'em sparingly, mind. You can only take so many with you on each mission, and they cost a ton to manufacture. Money doesn't grow on trees; money grows from government funding, and that's something you need to earn.
</blockquote>Now back to RPS for reasons why XCOM <a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/06/16/xgood/" target="_blank">might not suck</a> ...
<blockquote>There is a base. I don’t know how much control you have over it, but it’s appealing to think you somewhere to go back to plan your next move – and that that move is not mandated by the game.
</blockquote>... and why it <a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/06/16/xbad/" target="_blank">might suck</a>.<blockquote>There’s a base, but it looks to be fixed and static, and about having conversations with NPCs rather than orchestrating the human resistance via business, strategy, military might and floor-planning. If it’s just a glorified mission selector and exposition spouter, it’s going to be deeply unsatisfying.</blockquote>
Alec "you can start believing" Meer has a few XCOM articles to be found at Rock Paper Shotgun and Eurogamer. Let's start with the first <a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/06/15/exclusive-2k-marin-talk-xcom/" target="_blank">XCOM interview</a> at RPS (conducted back in March).
<blockquote>RPS: What are you expecting the fan reaction will be? I realise a new audience is probably the main priority, but when this hits the internet people are going to have something to say – and a lot of them may be negative on principle.
I hope that it’s very positive. The series has been sort of fallow for a long time now, and I think what we want to do is pick up those key elements that defined the original X-COM as something that is remembered and we want to take those great things and present them in a new take. We want to push those elements into the first-person genre and get people excited about being on the ground during this invasion. I think, I hope the reaction is positive. I think it will be once people start to see the kinds of things that we’re doing. I look forward to hearing what the fans have to say.
RPS: They may just be glad that it’s not Enforcer 2.
That’s why we are really trying to capture the essence, returning to the source, because those were the things that were cool. Diverging off that path I think would be a mistake. And it was a mistake. Y’know. Arguably.
RPS: Have you worked at all with the Gollop brothers, the original creators of X-COM?
[Pelling shakes head. Serious looks all round.]
</blockquote>
On to Alec's <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/xcom-e3-2010-preview?page=1" target="_blank">preview</a> at Eurogamer.
<blockquote>Go flame grenade! Thanks to the evidence you collected on prior missions, your scientists have been able to research the Blobs and then come up with a counter-measure. With the blueprints passed to your engineers, you can now order up as many flame grenades as you need - and they scorch a Blob into so much flat tar in seconds. Use 'em sparingly, mind. You can only take so many with you on each mission, and they cost a ton to manufacture. Money doesn't grow on trees; money grows from government funding, and that's something you need to earn.
</blockquote>Now back to RPS for reasons why XCOM <a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/06/16/xgood/" target="_blank">might not suck</a> ...
<blockquote>There is a base. I don’t know how much control you have over it, but it’s appealing to think you somewhere to go back to plan your next move – and that that move is not mandated by the game.
</blockquote>... and why it <a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/06/16/xbad/" target="_blank">might suck</a>.<blockquote>There’s a base, but it looks to be fixed and static, and about having conversations with NPCs rather than orchestrating the human resistance via business, strategy, military might and floor-planning. If it’s just a glorified mission selector and exposition spouter, it’s going to be deeply unsatisfying.</blockquote>
