It’s Angels Vs. Devils in the Dark World of “Diabolique”

by Louis Bedigian

“Mixing the real with supernatural brings us an ability of using the weapons in different ways.”

Wouldn’t it be great if we could use a pair of night vision goggles/binoculars to determine which people are angels and which are something less delightful?  Just look through the tiny holes to determine whether or not the new neighbor is worth befriending, or to look underneath a hitchhiker’s creepy exterior.

If life were that simple (or that complex, as the case may be), you’d probably be living in the world of Diabolique, a ruthless action game where angels roam the world.  Not all of them are true to their name – some angels could become your enemy.  That’s where the game’s gadgets come in, allowing players to look beneath the surface and see what’s really there.  Who knows, you might find yourself in the presence of a devil.

With years of development behind the team but still a solid six months (at least) to go, Diabolique is looking better with each new screenshot.  The graphics are some of the sharpest seen for a game so dark.  It’s likely to turn heads just as fast as it cuts them off!

Dying for more devilish Diabolique details, GameZone Online spoke with Przemyslaw Marszal (Lead Artist) and Grzegorz Miechowski (Project Supervisor).

It's been a year since we last spoke about Diabolique. How has the game been coming along?

Przemyslaw Marszal: Step by step the game is in progress. The major part of the game engine is done and works fine. It is important that the gameplay already works. Main hero has got most powers and skills implemented. Enemy AI is also done, though we're constantly going to improve it. What requires [the] most time at the moment is creating graphics to some levels and proper map planning to those levels.

Have any major changes been made to the game?

Grzegorz Miechowski: It is still a fine action game, though we implemented many ideas we came up during development. It is important that all concepts [are] kept coherent. For example – we got an idea that every single gadget and weapon can be used in two ways: regular and magical. So you can use night vision binoculars in "normal" way and then you see in the dark, but when you use this gadget with devilish magic, you are going to see who of your opponents is a human and who is an angel.

That’s a great concept.  Now that the game is further along, please tell us: how important is it to be sneaky? How much of a role does stealth play in this game?

PM: Diabolique is definitely set [more] on action [gameplay], than to sneak. Action takes most of game's space. Diabolique gameplay is constructed in a way that leaves no time for hanging around. Seriously – there are some stealth elements, though they are not as important as open combat. 

Nothing like a Sunday stroll…to extermination! 

Something we didn't go into before is the AI. Are these enemies being designed to do…what exactly? What are their forms of attack?

PM: Firstly – enemies can fight hand-to-hand. When they get close to Dark Eaville, turn into hand fight mode. They can punch, kick and duck too. When defending they can also jump and roll. Secondly – enemies use the environment, which means that they analyze the shape of the area; hide behind objects, find the best place for fire or cover fire when another enemy is attacking. Thirdly – their intelligence suits their abilities. So for instance, this means when an angel is your enemy, he will use his angelic teleport after analyzing the surroundings. He won't use teleport if he would gain nothing. And so it is with the enemies' other skills.

Is there a way of tracking enemies, such as a radar system?

PM: There is no radar in Diabolique, but you can track enemies by hearing their steps or talks. One of Dark's skills is some kind of flash memory letting him to see the future – for example what awaits him in the next room. He can also see in the dark by using night vision binoculars.

Are there different types of enemies? Multiple threats that must be dealt with?

GM: Yes, every level brings you new types of enemies. They differ from each other with their power and skills. Moreover, you fight different enemies in various ways – some can be defeated only in special way. There are human enemies – for example you encounter special trained monks in the monastery – and some enemies have got truly heavenly powers.

What about boss battles? Are there any of those?

GM: Every single level ends with a boss battle.

Please tell us about them.

PM: Diabolique bosses are strong, but not as strong as in other games, that you need to shoot million bullets to eliminate them, but they have their Achilles' heel which players will have to find. And bosses' weak point is not only a matter of physical point, but even the environment is something to deal with.

Would you lay still?  I can't pump your stomach if you don't stop whining about demons and angels. 

We've yet to hear much about the game's story. Can you fill us in on what the game is about?

PM: The story is in the present day. As the major conflict is between two intelligence agencies - Hell agency and Heaven agency - that both want to rule the world, the game takes place in many different areas around the entire planet – from Alpine villages and medieval castles to power plants and industrials in sunny California.

[The] story in Diabolique goes like that: from the creation of the human race, there was a conflict between good and evil. Through centuries both rivals Heaven and Hell had their agencies to fight each other for human souls... Each agency recruited the most intelligent and faithful people to work for them. Of course Heaven agency recruited good people, God believers. Hell agency had other men to work for it, some hmmm... misbehavers. Main character – Dark Eaville – is the best agent of Hell agency.

Meanwhile it comes to situation, that happens only once for a thousand years. A very rare planetary alignment makes Earth invisible to the Boss of the Bosses. Secret agencies of Heaven's and Hell's stop obeying any rules at all during that time. The Heaven agency eliminates all best Hell's agents, except Dark Eaville. The Boss of Hell knows that his rival is up to something big and sends his best agent to solve the problem. Players uncover the story facts as game moves along. I won't say anything more, 'cause it's confidential and I might be condemned for doing so.

Give an overview of the puzzles that players will encounter. Will we have to pick locks? Crack safes? Stop lasers from frying our skulls? Anything along those lines?

GM: There are some situations when brains are needed to be used. :)

PM: Actually sometimes you have to pick locks indeed by using extraordinary gadgets. In first level there is a stage when you have to get through a some kind of changing maze with variable ways to exit. Sometimes you have to discover secret passage or think out how to reach some point. And you will be able to deal with lasers.

Tell us more about the extremely unique settings that Metropolis's Web site speaks of.

GM: Combination of a real world and supernatural one. Main hero as an agent and a devil as well. And the environment influencing Dark. It makes totally various gameplay.

We know what to expect from the gadgets – what about the weapons? Please tell us all about them.

PM: Dark's first weapon is his hand – enemies know that when kicked in the ass ;-) The basic gun is a pistol. The most important thing is not the kind of weapons we got but how we use them. As Grzegorz mentioned – mixing the real with supernatural brings us an ability of using the weapons in different ways. So you can use pistol in normal way and shoot at enemies and you can use it in magical way... Every weapon can be used such ways and every has different magical power. Besides pistol, you've got a rifle and shurikens. Oh – and grenades! 

This wall is supposed to be my cover, yet my arm feels strangely vulnerable. 

Have any new gadgets been added to the game?

PM: There are spy gadgets like bombs and killing lasers in Diabolique. Extra unusual one is a cutting laser. With this gadget you will be able to cut walls and objects. It's a powerful tool for those who find interacting with the environment as a total destruction.

We'd love to hear all about Diabolique's interesting environments. How many are there?

PM: Diabolique is divided to six large levels and every level has got few stages. Definitely one of the prettiest locations is a castle in a first level. It was based on a model of a medieval fortress in Bedzin (Poland), though ours is much bigger than the real one. In a gothic atmosphere you can find dark corridors and dungeons.

Last time we talked about the game's use of RenderWare. In addition to what it allows you to do, what graphic/programming tools are making Diabolique a better game?

PM: Diabolique engine supports all latest technologies. The game has pixel shaders 3.0, you can see normal-mapping and other spectaculars. RenderWare is a tool we used for realistic physics - and I tell you it's a wonderful physics engine. All objects behave like in real, gravity is real and we've got totally cool explosions!

Regarding the graphics, it's not easy to impress gamers when a game has a long development cycle. A game that looks beautiful one year might appear to be stunning when it's finally released. How are you dealing with this? Are the graphics being enhanced with every additional month of development?

PM: Actually we are in cooperation with NVIDIA and work on super-modern graphics cards that are not on the market yet. Please note that developers work on soft – and hardware that is unobtainable for average users. And so we can develop the game for a hardware that will be available for players in the future and the graphics is totally impressing.

Do you have any idea when the game will be completed?

GM: At this moment of development, approximate date is first quarter of 2006.

Thank you for your time.