Migraine Headaches Getting You Down?  Don’t Take Aspirin – Play “Painkiller: Battle out of Hell” and Call Me in the Morning

By Louis Bedigian

“The next generation of games will have gameplay and storylines interwoven really closely.”

“I think the best thing [about] Battle out of Hell is  [the] new monsters. We went all the way and created some really, I mean REALLY weird enemies. I think people will have a lot of fun dismembering these. Of course we have new visual effects, new maps, new weapons etc., etc., but monsters own.

“Having said that, ‘Wow that's really innovative!’ is not something we necessarily aim for. I think we have bucket loads of innovative stuff in Painkiller, but our main goal was always to make sure the players have fun, not to make them admire our creativity.”—Adrian, Project Leader

This week the developers of Painkiller held an online chat to discuss their hotly anticipated expansion pack, Battle out of Hell.  Adrian, Project Leader from People Can Fly, was on hand to reveal much more than the basic features listed in the press release.  Brian Gladman, Product Manager, also joined in on the fun.

Let’s Get Physical

Adrian: Now that the physics becomes a normal expected thing in games, what's needed is creative use of such a tool. I do believe we did come up with a trick or two in Battle out of Hell, things that are not a rehash of Painkiller ideas.

Example: a zombie that falls down from the roof of a very tall building, SPLAT and it's gibbed – but because it's, you know, really evil magical zombie, all his body parts comes together after a while and he's back in business.

It's all based on real-time calculations, physical simulation – not pre-rendered animation.  So you can move his body parts around when he's in his "gibbed" form. Which is fun. Though a little disgusting.

Yes, we had to redesign the main menu because we've added a couple of new graphic effects options... Actually, *ALL* Battle out of Hell levels use new stuff – new water, reflective glass, specular maps, etc.

And, to clear up this issue, no patch has any of the new effects. Only that latest Military Base demo had some. But patch 1.35 has no new effects. These will be seen in full glory only in Battle out of Hell.

Spooky.

New Multiplayer

Adrian: The code is completely new now. It's not updated, it's not upgraded – it's a brand-new multiplayer code. It's so good, that I wanna run around naked screaming it owz0rz, but some more rational people keep down to the ground and ask not to get anyone's hopes too high ;) So, trying to play it casual, let me just say I expect good things only from the new MP code. I really hope it'll be *IT*.

I am not saying this new MP code is the second coming, but it is a completely new code and we all work hard to make sure all complaints are addressed and fixed.

What a beautiful, war-torn land this is.

Painful Emotions

Adrian: The hot topic of the day is "emotional engagement."  Visit any developer convention and you will see all they talk about is that. Because there *IS* a reason why games like Mario have stories. One may think they don't need that – being pure arcade and all – but it makes a difference whether you're jumping on mushrooms just because or because you need to rescue a princess.

We tried that with Painkiller. People who say PK has no story were apparently not really interested in it in the first place, because that game has a story and it's really not the worst one in the world. But – and this is a big "but" – in order to make the player immersed, playing a cut scene between the levels no longer cuts it.

Painkiller will never succeed in this field. It has great arcade-style gameplay and tons of stuff to make sure you have fun, but it's our good-bye to the world of "abstract" games. IMHO the next generation of games will have gameplay and storylines interwoven really closely (if that's correct English) to make sure you're REALLY engaged in the experience. And I think the best example of that is upcoming Half-Life 2 (my opinion is based on reviews only, though).

More ravaging, less rampaging.

Marketing Promo, Not Hyperbole

Brian: There’s no way we could match the hype of those monster games (Doom, Half-Life, etc.) with years of franchise experience.  We've done a lot of the traditional marketing stuff (online ads, magazine ads), and our partnership with the CPL is pretty key.

Adrian: I haven't played Half-Life 2 yet, of course, so I cannot compare the gameplay and general quality. And there's no power in this world that gets me involved in discussing Doom 3 ;)

But, the thing is, it's really hard to compare Painkiller to anything because basically there are no other arcade action shooters on the market. We have tactical FPS, stealth FPS etc. – but after Serious Sam there was only Painkiller, and after Painkiller it seems it'll be Serious Sam 2...

As for the fan base… After half a year after the game was released it's still very strong. Our forums are the best proof. I am still amazed by the fans' support. I think they are here to stay no matter what other games are out there. But, you know, it's not like you cannot worship two or three or dozen games at one.  If Half-Life 2 is all it seems to be, then I hope every Painkiller player will play it and have a great time.

Boo!

And That’s Not All

Brian Gladman added the following:

• Due to demand, there is going to be a CTF mode

• We are hoping to squeeze at least 2 new MP DM maps as well.

• The PCF guys are currently working on some voodoo to make latency even less of an issue. I mean, right now, it's totally a non-issue on LAN, and on regional servers it's not much of an issue either.  But I understand that for competitive play, we've got to be as tight as possible.

GameZone Online and People Can Fly: One-on-One

From where do you draw your inspiration?  You made comparisons to Doom and Half-Life regarding sales figures, but Painkiller is much different from those games.  Did any outside source (things other than video games) help to inspire the game at all?

Adrian: There's almost nothing that does not inspire us... Me and Michael (our lead animator) are fans of Asian horror, which is so different to Western horror that it really helps jumpstart our creativity engines. I could name thousand thing that inspire us, ...but in general I thing what really helps us make a better game is something I call Japanese school of design. To me it's simple: they make the best games, games we play to death for inspiration and fun. So...

Um, actually that's it :-) Otherwise I'll talk for hours, as this is my favorite topic.

Which games in particular served as inspiration for Painkiller?  Also, a lot of Asian horror flicks are being turned into Western horror flicks.  Ever thought about turning an Asian horror flick into a game...?

Adrian: Ok, in order you asked: (1) Silent Hill series, Devil May Cry, Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy and dozens of other Japanese video games that understand what it means and how to [sacrifice] reality for playability and fun.

(2) Yes. No idea how to do that. We need more enemies than one long-haired girl with black eyes. Seriously though, the thing is that there's not much action in Asian horror – that's one thing why they are so different. So it's hard to make the game out of that.

How does developing an expansion pack compare to developing an entire game?  Is it any less stressful or less time-consuming?

Brian: Good question.

Adrian: Very good one. One may think it's "less stressful or less time-consuming" but that's only if you are not as devoted to quality as we are. It's exactly as stressful (we set the bar high for ourselves) and time-consuming (hey, I am here at work at 3.30 am) as it gets.

Wow.

Adrian: We put A LOT of work in Battle out of Hell. Some levels are twice as big as the biggest Painkiller levels.

That's what I like to hear!  Bigger levels can equal more fun when in the hands of the right developer.  And you guys definitely are the right developer.

Adrian: And being experienced with the engine and its capabilities, we squeeze every last ounce of power out of it. Plus, we have added TONS of new stuff. One more example:  We had around 50 different monsters in 24 levels of PK. We have nearly 40 monsters in 10 levels of Battle out of Hell.  40 different kinds of monsters, of course, not just 40 monsters. ;)