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Online-only FPS/RPG, Purge, set to diminish all free time when it’s released this winter
Everyone loves a good FPS, and everyone loves a good RPG, so why not create a game that combines the best of both worlds? That’s what Freeform Interactive was thinking when they decided to work on Purge, an all-new, online-only first-person shooter with a promising premise, unique weapons and intriguing gameplay.
Purge tells the tale of the washed (the Chosen) and the unwashed (the Order). The Chosen ones are religious believers who reject all form of technology. This is bad news for the Order, a group of humans that have been genetically modified to scientific perfection. In order to eliminate the hideous technology that man has created, the Chosen is determined to exterminate all who belong to the Order. Likewise, the Order is prepared to defend themselves, and fully intends to rid this world of the evil that wants to destroy them.
The story stops developing there. From the start of the game’s development, Freeform’s goals were quite clear. “There is no specific beginning or end [to this game],” says Freeform Interactive’s Chief Operating Officer, Adam Fournier. “Purge is a never-ending war between the Order and Chosen.” Why bother creating a story that never ends? To give the players an introduction to the game, one that will lead them to many hours of multiplayer madness. Endings conclude stories, and Freeform didn’t want game players to feel like it was time to stop. But without a story to give the players a reason, a purpose, for fighting, gamers could have foolishly overlooked Purge.
Of course, when it comes down to multiplayer gaming, real gamers know that it’s not the story, the music or the graphics that count. Adrenaline-pumping action, strategic level design and a steady framerate are the things that really matter. Freeform devoted most of its development time concentrating on the gameplay, and the results look very promising.
With the game’s planned release moving closer everyday, GameZone thought it was about time to initiate a meeting with Freeform’s COO. To get to him, we had to battle to the depths of Purge’s world, sneak past the Chosen (who wanted to hunt us down after finding out that we’ve been eating genetically-enhanced food) and destroy a few monsters. Broken arms and burnt legs were small prices to pay for the top-secret information we received upon meeting Mr. Fournier.
Q: How are the first-person gameplay mechanics being merged with RPG
elements?
Adam Fournier: There are several ways to gain experience in Purge. When you
eliminate an enemy/objective you gain experience. As you gain experience you
gain levels. As you gain levels, you become more intelligent, stronger, faster,
more accurate, etc. Gaining levels raises your character's statistics one point
per stat per level. Advanced skills require higher character levels.
A good example is the
Wastelander: At level 1, the nuke is totally out of the question, but if you
have configured you basic character statistics to eventually utilize the "build
nuke" skill, you will be able to build one after you gain some levels. The
higher the level, the more powerful the nukes get and the better chance you have
of successfully building one.
Q: A lot of titles have been mixing multiple gameplay types, creating several
new sub-genres. What kind of a game would you classify Purge as?
AF: FPS/RPG
Purge is much darker than most first-person shooters.
Q: What is the ultimate goal that players have in this game?
AF: Work as a team to eliminate the enemy spawn portal.
Q: What was the main reason for making Purge an online-only game?
AF: There has never been a game quite like Purge on the market before. We wanted
to make it the ultimate online gaming experience and not having to worry about
the single player side of it allowed us to focus on what we thought was most
important.
Q: How many players can enter a game simultaneously?
AF: 64 max, but it might be a slaughter-fest with that many in the game at one
time *smile*. We have included maps for smaller games like 8-12 players AND
larger maps for 32+ players.
Watch out for that flame!
Q: Are there any computer-controlled enemies in the game?
AF: Not at this time.
Q: What is the setting for Purge? Does it take place in the past, present or
future?
AF: Far future in a highly advanced world.
Q: Where did the inspiration for the storyline come from?
AF: Richard, our programmer, has severe mental problems....
Q: How will it [the story] unfold in the game's online-only world?
AF: Story? KILL! *snicker* - The storyline pits the Order versus the Chosen. The Order wants to "purge" the Chosen and vice versa…thus the name of the game.
Sometimes the most dangerous weapon is your hands!
Q: Purge promises to have some innovative weapons. Can you tell us anything about them?
AF: There are 32 weapons. There really is too many things to list but I'll try:
Some of the more interesting weapons would include many of the Chosen's weapons
like the Defender Shield, Phoenix Axe, the heat seeking Energy Kinesis.....The
Order refuses to be outdone though when you consider the S.C.R.U.B. launcher and
Chemical Grenade. There are also 24 skills included
in the game that do anything from repairing/healing to building ion barriers or
a Nuke!.
Q: How will the weapons/abilities differ between the Order and the Chosen?
What strengths does the Order have over the Chosen, and vice versa?
AF: Order = Futuristic weapons, Chosen = Fantasy style weapons.
The Order and the Chosen are
diametrically opposed. Thus, an Order weapon has an exact opposite Chosen weapon
that directly cancels it out when considering the power of one team over
another. It is up to the players to choose a good mixture of characters to
effectively deal with the enemy.
Q: Give us some details about the character customization features.
AF: You can COMPLETELY customize virtually everything about your character's statistics. For example, pumping up your strength increases the amount of you can carry and increases melee damage while increasing your agility makes you faster.
As you can see, Purge is really nice to look at.
Q: Graphically, Purge looks to be one of the best-looking PC games released this winter. What is the engine being used to create such impressive visuals?
AF: Purge uses a tweaked Lithtech Talon engine.
Awesome! I can’t wait to see that in action.
Thank you for your time, Adam.
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