Change History; Manipulate Time in “TimeShift” – Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch Tells Us How

by Louis Bedigian

“You can blow a guy to bits and then reverse to reassemble.” 

Time traveling. Time-stopping. Time-freezing. We’ve heard it all before. No one has the power to really travel through time, so when it comes time to make a game based on that concept, the results are a little less satisfying than a game based on something we can really do (sports, racing, etc.).

TimeShift hopes to change that. Built on an intriguing concept and unusual ideas, TimeShift is a first-person shooter with more than just action-packed gameplay. Matthew Karch, CEO at Saber Interactive, recently took some time away from managing his great development studio to speak with gamers in a public Q&A hosted on EnterTheGame.com. He says that the primary difference between this FPS and other games is the way it employs the concept of time. “While some good games have used slo-mo (most recently FEAR), we have taken concepts of time control and allowed the player to use them as a weapon, a shield and as a problem-solving device.” 

”The one thing I can say for sure is that no one will play the game the same way (nor will the same person play it the same way twice).”—Matthew Karch 

“When HL2 came out – people saw what they did with physics and thought it was cool the way they used it to progress in the game,” he continues. “We have done the same thing with time…as you are not affected by use of the powers you can use them in some pretty creative ways.”

Of the original ideas, body assembly is one of the most exciting. In addition to being able to destroy vicious creatures, TimeShift also gives you the opportunity to bring them back to life. “You can turn off the blood in the game but we have spent a lot of time to get the blood looking really good. I remember how wowed I was by the blood effects in the old SOF games. We have done a next-gen version of blood and gore and when combined with the time powers (you can blow a guy to bits and then reverse to reassemble) you would really be missing out if you turned it off.”

Fatality reversals? I’ll bet Ed Boon is kicking himself for not thinking of it first.

Despite having a potentially mind-boggling single-player experience, Matthew assures us that the multiplayer features will not disappoint. “The game takes a pretty fresh approach to multiplayer. The time powers will be employed a little bit differently than in the single player campaign. Multiplayer is actually a very strong component of the game, on par in many respects with the single player game. There are lots of parameters for customization that add a lot of replayability.  We also will have time-themed maps and a host of other surprises.” 

“Our tools do allow for relatively easy creation of mods. We are in the process of discussing the schedule for the release of such tools. If there is demand for it, we will support the release.”— Matthew Karch on the possibility of making TimeShift moddable. 

What about the visuals?

“Graphically TimeShift is unique in several ways,” Matthew told us. We didn’t really need to hear him say it – one look at the screenshots and gamers will be convinced. “On the technology side, in addition to support of normal mapping and dynamic lighting effects, we are taking advantage of shaders 3.0 effects including advanced parallax mapping and advanced parallax scorch marks.  On the art side we are trying to forge a new style that takes advantage of this technology.”

Let’s not forget about the vehicles.

“There are a host of vehicles in the game, some you can control (such as the trike) and others you can ride on such as one of the zeppelins and the steam truck. There are also vehicle-based enemies such as a jet destroyer, a zeppelin warship, a bomber and a helicopter.”

Or the gruesome characters.

“We really just let our imaginations take over with these characters. We have an unbelievably talented concept artist and together we came up with some pretty unique designs. You may see some influences in the character design but they were likely subconscious and not intended…”

When asked what part of the game he was most proud of, Matthew responded, “We really wanted to do something that took a fresh approach to an FPS. So many games tout their story or their visuals as their primary selling points. We wanted to give the player something different to DO while playing an FPS – not to just experience passively. Without question the timeshifting feature of the game is what we all really feel is our major innovation and contribution to the genre.” 

“The game has over 30 levels that span 11 missions. On normal mode we think that it will take about 15 hours to complete the single-player campaign.”—Matthew Karch, talking about the game’s length. 

In addition to his other comments, Matthew was kind enough to answer a few of the questions I had regarding TimeShift.

Does TimeShift use a specific engine?

Matthew Karch: We are using our proprietary tech for the game. We felt this was superior to third-party solutions not only for performance but for customization for the demanding nature of TimeShift. Our engine programmers have been working on 3D technology for over a decade so we have got it nailed down pretty well.

What can you tell us about TimeShift’s sound – both the sound effects and the score?

MK: The score was composed by Ron Fish who just won an award for his music in God of War. Our sound effects are being created in-house by our sound engineers. Music and sound effects are processed in 5.1 and the sounds are capable of manipulation through timeshifting

Can you give us an idea of what a typical mission will be like in TimeShift?

MK: There is no typical mission in the game. One of the things we wanted to do was create a lot of variety in terms of gameplay and visuals. So, for example, in the first mission of the game you are racing through the streets of an altered version of Washington DC before battling it out on foot in front of a burning capitol building. In the next level you are infiltrating a building to rendezvous with your contact before escaping on a zeppelin, which you must defend in the next level. 

“We have been working on the game for about two years – our engine has been in development for 5 years.”—Matthew Karch regarding TimeShift’s development cycle.

Tell us about the experience of writing TimeShift’s story.

MK: The premise for TimeShift story was basically "what would it be like if you woke up in some alternate version history?"  We wanted to explore not only concepts of time control (the game mechanic) but also concepts of time travel and consequences of changes to the timeline. We hired a really good writer from (where else?) LA to help us with the story.

Do any of the weapons have a secondary function?

MK: All weapons have alt-fire and melee modes of attack.

Are there any destructible elements in this game, such as destructible vehicles or environments?

MK: There are quite a few elements in the game that can be destroyed, such as tanks (a vehicle I failed to mention before), cars, watch towers, and tons of smaller items. Every item in the game that looks like it is capable of physical manipulation will be. When you combine physics with time control you get some pretty cool results. If you blow a box up into the air and freeze time, for example, you can stand on it as if it were solid.

Sounds awesome. Thanks for answering our Qs.

MK: Thank you all for taking the time to chat and for your really insightful questions. I hope to speak with you all again soon. I do read the forums often and your comments are taken to heart.