Making strategy games loosely based on historical events has developed into a rather predictable clichA

Hellgate: London is a first-person action RPG for the PC from the mind of Bill Roper the talented folks at Flagship Studios. The game puts players in the midst of a demon-infested London cityscape where they must take up arms and do battle with the denizens of Hell. Among the many innovative aspects introduced by the game, Hellgate: London will feature a completely randomized world that offers a unique experience every time you play. Recently we had the opportunity to speak with Bill Roper regarding his newest creation.

Thank you for taking the time to speak with us regarding Hellgate: London. This is a title that has intrigued us since it was announced, and after going hands on with it at E3 I have to say I was left wanting more. How would you say the game is coming along? Any recent developments you’d like to talk about?

Hellgate: London is coming along great, and the past couple of months have seen a lot of things get into the game. We made a push right before Halloween for a party we were throwing where we let our friends play, so it was important that we have a host of new monsters, items and skills in. Between then and now we’ve added more of everything – monsters, skills, weapons, armor, monster AI, backgrounds – the works. We’re also working on completing the storyline and breaking down the key parts into a quest structure. There are basically a ton of ideas and content flowing into the game right now, so there is literally something new every day.

I know you probably don’t want to set expectations, only to have to disappoint fans, but has the team managed to nail down a delivery date for the game, or perhaps even a window when you expect it to ship?

We have an internal window we are working towards, and while it is looking good at this point, it is still too early to talk about when that is. You hit the nail on the head when you mentioned not wanting to disappoint fans. We know that there is a lot of excitement over the game and that expectations are high – and that goes for both our community and us here at Flagship Studios! We’re definitely playing it on the safe side in regards to the release date because we want to do everything we can to meet and exceed the expectations we set. We’re still far enough out where a release date, or even a window, would be educated guesswork. Trust me – as soon as we have a handle on a date we think we can honestly hit, we’ll announce it.

For those not up to speed on what you and your team are doing with Hellgate: London, can you give us some background as far as where the idea came from and what the game will entail?

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I remember the first time I read about Child’s Play. Like many of you, I frequent the writings and comics of Penny Arcade on an almost weekly basis. The comedy styling and gaming musings of Gabe and Tycho oftentimes echo what are on my mind, and even when I happen to disagree I find that I can have a chuckle at my own expense. When I saw that the two gamers were intent on using their influence to help those less fortunate I thought it was both an ambitious and wonderful idea. In the past three years this effort, an organization called Child’s Play, has grown by leaps and bounds, with this third year expanding into the frozen northland of Canada and the dragon-invested land overseas known only as the UK. This growth, coupled with an upcoming charity benefit on December 13, show just how far Child’s Play has come from being just an idea and a will to do something worthwhile to becoming what can only be described as a phenomenon. To find out more about the organization, we spoke with Penny Arcade’s Robert Khoo to hear his thoughts about Child’s Play, as well as his take on what has turned into a movement among the gaming community.

First off, I just have to say how much I and the rest of us at eToychest appreciate what you are doing with Child’s Play. Where did you first get the idea to turn your love for gaming into such a charitable organization?

We realized the 3 million Penny Arcade fans out there were a pretty powerful force in the gaming community and really felt there was a void out there as far as gamer-related charities go. Putting two and two together led to us contacting our local hospital and the establishment of the first Child’s Play Network hospital.

As a side benefit, we’ve been getting a lot of positive press regarding gamers in general, so if helping sick kids is going to help the public perception of our industry, hey, we’re okay with that too.

For those who might have been living under a rock, could you shed a bit of light on what Child’s Play is all about?

Child’s Play was started in 2003 as a way for gamers to give back. It was founded by Gabe and Tycho of Penny Arcade and has since grown worldwide to a network of over 20 Children’s Hospitals. The idea is that being in a hospital stinks and playing videogames can help make your stay a little bit easier. If you’ve ever stayed in a hospital as a kid, you know there’s only so much daytime television you can watch.

Looks like Child’s Play has become a real snowball – accumulating more and more contributors as the years go on – do you see this continuing indefinitely?

Absolutely. Child’s Play is our crowning achievement at Penny Arcade. If Penny Arcade ever ceases to exist or if we ever retire from the biz, you can be sure we’ll always make sure Child’s Play is alive and kicking.

The gaming community, especially recently, is prone to being vilified by a great many groups, yet as a whole your organization has proved that they are, among other things, extremely giving. Was there ever the expectation going into this that the response would be so overwhelmingly positive?

It’s not really our organization that’s giving. We don’t even handle 90% of the stuff (the toys get shipped directly to hospitals). It’s the gaming community that’s stepping up to the plate. [smile]

We had an inkling that if we kept doing good things for the community, people would take notice. However, our biggest surprise as far as response goes has been from the publishers. We started Child’s Play as a community-based effort, but the backing we’ve received from the mega corporations like Microsoft, Ubisoft, Valve, etc. has been amazing.

When did the feeling of accomplishing something with such a wide sweeping impact really sink in?

I think the accomplishment of such a large program is best felt when we get to look at the individuals affected. The stories and photos of these hospitalized kids opening packages and enjoying themselves is pretty incredible. They’re stuck in a hospital bed. They’re getting needles poked into them every few hours. They’re eating crappy food. But the look on their faces is the same as any kid when they dig into that new toy or videogame.

What has been the most rewarding aspect of having been doing this for the past three years?

Again, it’s getting to see the impact we make on individual children. It’s a pretty awesome feeling.

Were all of the hospitals open to being involved with Child’s Play in the beginning, or was there any hesitation on their part in being associated with an organization with its roots in videogaming?

Initially we ran into a few speed bumps with getting hospitals to join the network because of some of the Penny Arcade content. It’s a position we might not have agreed with, but we could certainly understand where they were coming from. We didn’t want to let that stop us from doing good things in the community, so this year we went ahead and spun off Child’s Play as a separate entity from Penny Arcade. It worked out for the best. We get to push it as hard as we want on Penny Arcade and hospitals don’t complain about content, etc.

What has been one of the more inspirational stories that you can recall with regards to your time spent with Child’s Play?

It’s hard to pick just one. More often than you’d think, we get mails from kids that say “Instead of asking for presents, this year I’m asking friends and family to take whatever money they were going to spend on me and instead use it to buy something for a sick kid through Child’s Play.” I get more than a few mails from parents explaining that their child made such a request, and they want information on how to contribute. But for me, the most inspirational story comes from all the men and women in the military who write in. These guys are overseas in a combat zone, separated from their families and in constant danger, and yet they take the time to write in to thank US for organizing Child’s Play. To tell us how their unit is taking a collection and making a big donation. It’s very humbling.

With the special charity auction just around the corner as well, what can you tell us about this event, and how it is coming together?

The response we’ve been getting has been amazing- by Thanksgiving we had more tickets sold than we did all of 2004. The donation items for auction have just been incredible as well. A giant statue of Master Chief, a lifetime subscription to Steam, PSPs, DS’, a trip to Iceland… some pretty crazy stuff if you ask me. But it’s all for a good cause so we’re very, very excited.

Now with Child’s Play going international with hospitals in both Canada and the UK, has this expansion posed any obstacles for the organization?

Given the toys are shipped directly to the hospitals, the obstacles with expanding the network has been pretty limited. For the future, when we expand into non-English speaking territories we’re certainly concerned about language barriers and such, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.

One again, thank you for taking the time to speak with us about this wonderful organization and event that you have put together. It really is inspiring, and a testament to the good that can come from not only gamers, but the human spirit as well. We wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and those you touch. Is there anything you would like to add?

The only thing I would add is to thank everyone out there. I know there are a ton of etoychest readers that also read Penny Arcade and in-turn contribute to Child’s Play. It’s been an amazing year and we should all be proud as a community for what we’ve done in three short years. Thanks again!

If you missed out on the IRC chat regarding Ubisoft’s upcoming Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, then I sure hope you took the time to at least read our blog of the thing. You can also read this interview with Mathieu Girard, the Producer for the PC version of the game. Not only that (see, we love to give), we have four new screenshots from the game that you can find below as well. This interview with Mathieu Girard gives details and info from the development process, as well as first hand info on everything from physics, to game engine to graphics.

Hello, first of all could you introduce yourself?

Hi, I am Mathieu Girard, Ubisoft Producer. My role is to ensure that the production of the game goes smoothly, and that we reach the highest possible quality. That means following closely the team at GRIN, and also the group here at Ubisoft.

What engine do you use for Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter?

GRIN has developed its own engine called Diesel. It is really a masterpiece of technology and a very convenient development tool. The advantage of having the dev team using its own engine is that they know it by heart and are really keen on taking the best out of its capabilities.

Diesel allows for all the latest technologies. It integrates physics and all the latest rendering technologies in huge and highly detailed maps. GRIN has strong experience in military applications (they started developing software for the armed forces). They also distinguished themselves in developing groundbreaking technology; in fact GRIN were among the first developers to feature vertex and pixel shaders in cooperation with Nvidia for the launch of the GeForce 3.

What features can we expect on the graphics side, how will that render into the game?

All the graphics features are used to create the heat of war in Mexico. You will see very realistic buildings, props, characters, and vehicles, combined with Next Gen effects that will immerse you in this feeling of urban war. These effects are also combined with the near-future equipments that you and your team will be using to create a cohesive tangibility between player, the environment and the action.

What about physics? How interesting is it in terms of gameplay?

The idea with using more and more physics in games is to immerse the player even further in the simulation of a realistic world. 10 years ago we did a first step in that direction with the explosion of 3D and the apparition of the first mass market 3D cards. Today with more realistic physics we are continuing in the same direction.

We are using two physics engines. One engine will be used for the simulations most connected to gameplay like dead body physics, explosions, environment destruction and/or alteration, while the other one will create never-seen-before visual effects.

Gameplay wise, the layout of the level will be modified, as dynamic objects are destroyed or moved around, thus changing the cover positions in the level. In older generations of shooters a car would be placed somewhere to give cover to the player at one particular place. In GRAW cars give cover, but some heavy calibre weapons will cut through them, destroying doors can reveal a hidden enemy and blowing it up may have it move into the middle of the street, thus creating a natural barricade.

The most amazing thing with physics – visually speaking – will be some of the explosions that you will see in the game. We are currently working with AGEIA to implement their NovodeX technology in the game. Hardware accelerated physics will allow us to create massive explosions including thousands of particles and objects. Some moments in the game promise to be really memorable for this sole reason…

Can you tell us more about the first-person view in Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter? Why did you choose this camera system?

We chose the first person view because it is the most consistent with the controls on PC. We still want to have the player A