The Suffering: Ties That Bind is an uniquely American action-horror experience that surpasses the original in every way. You are Torque, armed with a deadly arsenal and your last shred of sanity, condemned to wage war against horrific monstrosities in a bloody battle for revenge against a hidden mastermind who holds the keys to your past. Recently we had the unique opportunity to speak with the game’s producer, Noah Heller regarding the game. If we were excited about the game before sitting down for the interview, afterwards we were on near-literal pins and needles with anticipation.

First of all, thank you for taking the time to speak to us regarding The Suffering: Ties That Bind. Could you talk a bit about your role on this project, as well as what games have you worked on before into this game?

I’m the Producer on Suffering: Ties That Bind. Prior to my stint here at Surreal, I was with the Xbox Live team and rolled out the Live service. Back in the olden days I had a small company that was running an MMO.

Was a sequel planned from the onset of the original, or was it only after the fan community’s tremendous response to the game did the team begin to think a sequel was in the cards?

We always hoped (and feared) for a sequel, but it was definitely the fan response that cemented the deal. The original Suffering was a hell of a success even though it was a bit underground.

While The Suffering was a huge hit for Midway, sequels have the added task of not re-treading too much of what was done with the original while at the same time not completely diverging from the predecessor and thus alienating an existing fan base. How have the developers walked this razor’s edge?

We probably stepped over the edge one too many times. One of the common complaints internally is that we started from scratch on too many systems! From the graphics engine, to combat, to the creature AI. At the end of the day, however, it’s the best thing for the fans. The game has gone through a monstrous upgrade. People have said that the first game looks like a PS1 game comparatively. This is probably a bit over the top, but we are really proud of the improvements.

In one of the latest screenshots, we see Torque using a fixed turret on the back of a truck to take out some monsters on another truck. This seems to imply that Torque is going to be getting some help this time around. Who is Torque’s ally and why are they working together?

We thought this might be a fun mechanic to add to break up the tension of the prior scene and to give the player a bit of a breather. The truck is driven by Jordan, who is both a friend… and an enemy this time around. The original Suffering had companions that would help and hinder you – we tried to give them an expanded role this time around.

Does this game tell us the fates of the other potential survivors of the prison? (Clem, Dallas, the hispanic guard) If they survived, do they make an appearance in Ties That Bind?

It’s hard to talk about the first game in the context of the second without ruining too much – after all the second takes place the morning after the first! However I will tell you that some of your old buddies are back with good reason… such as Ranse. Remember, since the second game takes place where the first left off, we had to design a plot which could have the player playing the first game as blackest evil or as the good guy.

We’ve already seen that Dr. Kiljoy will be making a return in this game, but what about the other bosses? Will Hermes and Horace also make appearances to taunt/help Torque?

Horace and Hermes are ultimately elements of the first game, rather than The Suffering, proper. We’ve added two new voices in your head: The Creeper, and Copperfield. Which one you encounter will be based on your moral path.

The Creeper represents exploitation of women, violence against them, and other hideous things. He’s a giant guy in a trench coat with impaled women hiding beneath… and I’ve probably said too much.

Copperfield is a slave chaser and has a pack of dogs. He’s one of my favorite enemies.

In the last game it was possible for players to construct a powerful weapon by collecting items throughout the game, i.e. the flamethrower. Are we going to see a similar type of scavenger hunt in this title?

Elements like this unfortunately fell by the wayside – we spent a lot more time tweaking the combat and making the game tighter instead. You can now dual-wield single handed weapons for example, while some creatures look for pools of darkness to hide in and other creatures feed on the corpses of others. These are additions we decided to make at the expense of others.

You’ve stated before that this game will have 3 different openings, one for each of the potential endings in the original game. How does the game decide which opening to give the player? Does it, for example, check the memory card for a save from the previous game or are the players able to actively choose it?

Yes and yes. If you have a previous save game, a menu will pop up and you’ll get to choose a beginning (based on whether you accomplished the appropriate ending from the first game). Fear not if you don’t have a Suffering 1 save – if you play through the game entirely you’ll get to unlock both beginnings.

Can you talk a bit about the game’s new multi-level insanity mode? How does it work, and what impact do you see it having on the game gameplay?

When we talked to fans about the first game, insanity mode often came up as “cool but under-utilized” – we decided that we needed to make it much much better, or it wasn’t worth doing. To those ends, we added three different insanity creatures, based on your moral path (good, neutral, evil), we also gave those creatures three different special attacks based on how good or evil you were. Finally we hid a fourth “secret” attack for the truly good or truly evil. Between this, and some tightening to melee combat, we’ve made insanity mode basically the best weapon in the game. It’s great fun using it, or conserving it to pull out when you are really in trouble.

Finally, some creatures (four of them to be precise) can only be damaged by Torque in rage mode. They are the toughest creatures in the game.

Has the game’s morality system been changed in any way so as to better delve into Torque’s past?

Definitely. With three different beginnings and three different endings, there are basically nine story lines you can encounter. Some of them, like going from good to evil or evil to blackest evil are very intense story lines. You can also affect the story by allying with certain companions or killing them off, in ways which might not seem like they are traditionally “good” or “evil” choices. It’ll be interesting to see if the real fans can discover the “true” story.

It has been said that the inventory system has been refined for this sequel. Can you talk about what was changed, and why?

Ultimately, The Suffering: Ties That Bind is what we call an “action/horror” game. It needs to scare you but you also need to be able to kick ass and chew bubblegum.

It wasn’t doing our horror much good to have 14 different weapons in Torque’s hands, ready to be pulled out at any moment. So we decided to limit it to what’s in your hands, and what’s on your back. This made balancing combat much easier and added some real realism and tension – do you pick up the M60 which is hugely powerful but only has one clip of ammo, or do you keep your weaker revolvers which you can wield with both hands… it lends great strategic decisions to the game.

What other gameplay changes have been made in Ties That Bind, and how do these changes affect how the game is played?

Without giving away too much I’d say we’ve really amped up the creatures and the AI. Only 4 creatures have returned to Suffering: Ties That Bind. The other 10 are brand new. We’re really proud of that. Even the creatures which have returned from the first game have taken a massive graphical upgrade and AI tuning.

In a game like the Suffering, the creatures really make for the horror. And we wanted them to be as smart as you are in some situations.

From the onset of the first game, the creatures that were made to inhabit the game world were some of the most gruesome abominations yet seen in a game at that time. How have the designers outdone themselves this time around? Can you give us some examples of creatures players can expect to go toe-to-toe with in the sequel?

My favorite is “The Suppressor” who is definitely a “new” creature. Very different from the first Suffering. He’s a security guard who’s had his legs blown off and he crawls around on the ground, dragging his fat stumps behind him, leaking blood on the floor, leaving a trail. He has a flashlight jammed in his skull and four rifles sticking out of his chest. He’s deaf, but if he catches you in his sights, he’ll rip you to pieces. This is the sort of creature that it might be worthwhile to sneak around rather than take heads on – this is a major change from the sort of gameplay in the first Suffering.

Another great creature is the Gorger. He’ll eat corpses to regenerate health and will try and pin you down and eat you! It is so satisfying to take out their fat necks with a shotgun and watch the spine blow out the back.

All of our creatures are based on “urban horrors” which means, in this case, The Suppressor represents rent-a-cops, prison guards, and other people sick with their own authority. The Gorger represents starvation and the consumption of human flesh by desperate people.

There are 14 creatures in all. A lot of new stuff for both fans and newcomers.

What was the biggest obstacle you can recall from the first game’s development, and how was this circumvented in the development in Ties That Bind?

The biggest obstacle was finding that sweet minute of gameplay – the one you just want to keep repeating and repeating with a big grin on your face. The best games do this, they really understand how to make something polished and special.

Ultimately we didn’t have enough time on the first suffering to give it the polish it deserved. In this version, you’ll notice many things, especially the cinematics and the story, which give the game the love we’ve been dying to give it.

Besides The Suffering, what other horror titles are you a fan of playing? Has inspiration from these or other titles bled over into this project?

I’ve played Resident Evil 4, of course, which was well done, but not particularly scary to me. Doom 3 has some great moments, but they are “black cat” moments… they scare you because something moved, not because something is truly horrifying to perceive. The Silent Hill series is probably the best at capturing psychological horror right now, something we hope we do better.

My favorite horror title ever would probably be System Shock 2.

Thank you again for taking the time to speak with us this afternoon. Once this game is in the books, what’s next for you in terms of game projects?

My pleasure. We’re actually working on two or three next-gen projects at Surreal, and while I can’t talk about them, I will say that you’ll definitely see more of the Suffering if people really like this one.

Either way, you can look forward to both Surreal and Midway really pushing the envelope next-gen We have some great things in store for gamer’s who appreciate new and exciting ideas.

[author]Snowcone[/author][i]Editor’s Note[/i]: As games become more mainstream there will always be people asking how they can get into the industry. Most of the time these people are interested in creating games. Since that seems to be a constantly hot topic I would like to present you with an interview with a gentleman from Full Sail. Full Sail is the premier technical college that has an actual degree program in Game Design and Development. Hopefully this will steer many of you in the right direction and give you some insight to what it is like on the inside. I would also like to take this time to welcome Ben to the staff of Snackbar Games.

[i]- Starting off, please introduce yourself and describe your position at Full Sail.[/i]
My name is Liam E. Hislop, and I am the Senior Associate Course Director for Game Project. Game Project is the final class in the Game Design and Development Program, and the students are charged with making a game.

[i]- What is Full Sail?[/i]
Full Sail is a technical college focused on the entertainment industry. Full Sail has been in existence for over 25 years.

[i]- How many students are in your program?[/i]
There are roughly 600 active gaming students.

[i]- How long has the Game Design program at Full Sail been running?[/i]
The Game Design & Development Program has been running for around six years now.

[i]- How much convincing did it take to convince the higher-ups that video games are valid media? Or was it an initiative from the start?[/i]
Obviously, it wasn’t an initiative when Full Sail started 25 years ago. However, over the last 10 to 15 years, Full Sail has been focused on offering Digital Art programs, such as Computer Animation, and Game Development was and is an important part of the entertainment industry.

[i]- Your Web site touts much of your staff as people who have experience “in the industry.” What companies has your staff worked for and are there any popular games that they have been connected with?[/i]
Many of our staff have been involved in the industry and connected with games. We have staff members formerly from THQ and EA, to name a couple. We even have one of the co-creators of the original [i]Dungeons & Dragons[/i] game, Dave Arnesson.

[i]- There are many aspects to a video game, from the 2-D and 3-D art, to the graphics libraries, to compilers. What sort of tools do your students generally use?[/i]
Our students are focused mainly on the programming side of gaming. As such, they are usually programming in C++ using Visual Studio .NET as their interface. As for APIs, our students are exposed to a wide variety of C++ and 3-D APIs, such as OpenGL and DirectX.

[i]- How much of your program is dedicated to the Computer Science aspect of game design?[/i]
Percentage-wise, I would say around 85 to 90% is focused on the Computer Science aspectA

The prospect of taking one subject matter that is intrinsic to a certain medium, say comic books, and transplanting it into a decidedly different medium is both an exciting and trepidacious proposition. All of us have seen those things close to our heart taken and watered down for the sake of banking in on their popularity and making a few quick dollars. This shameful truth has never been the sole ownership of the videogame industry, but its presence has always seemed to be felt more acutely by gamers and followers of the medium. How many games since the age of sprites and sixteen colors have been suckered into dropping their hard-earned money in exchange for a box pushing their favorite moniker, only to find the game within the box to significantly lacking? Total Recall, Superman and even the infamous E.T. have all been positioned in such a way as to appeal to an existing fan base, despite sporting an underdeveloped end product.

So why do we still follow these games that try to ride upon the coattails of popular properties? Well, morbid curiosity has something to do with it, for sure, but recent years have shown that a talented team and a passion for creating a genuinely memorable experience can turn what should have been a train wreck into something special. Granted these successes are still more the exception than the rule, but it is encouraging to know that the simple prospect of having a game being made about a popular movie, comic book, or whatever else is far from a predestined death sentence.

This is why when we first heard that the team at TellTale Games, a company that has existed well below most gamers’ radars up until now, was working to bring Jeff Smith’s venerable Bone comic to the PC in the form of a new adventure game, we kept our chins up and our hopes high. On the one hand, a failure would mean lots of subsequent therapy and nights spent sleeping in the closet crying over the latest graphic novel. Then again, the property has such potential, and a success by TellTale could mean something substantial for both casual and devoted fans.

Those of us at eToychest felt it was our civic duty to get down to the truth of the matter, and find out just where the loyalties of these folks at TellTale Games lied. To that end, we struck out on an epic quest that led us to sitting down and speaking with programmer Randy Tudor at TellTale. Randy is currently hard at work on the Bone game, but he was gracious enough to turn away from his computer screen long enough to put our fears to rest regarding the game, and to tell us a bit about where the team is planning on taking players with the title.

First of all, before we begin, let me thank you for speaking to us regarding Bone. It’s a game we are very excited about. What has your role been on the project?

I’m the gameplay programmer. I get to take all the assets produced by the other members of the team, both programmers and artists, put it all together and make it go. There’s a lot of pressure, of course, but I think it’s the best job in the business.

What other games have you worked on prior to Bone?

The first game I ever worked on was Indiana Jones’ Desktop Adventures, the last LucasArts game to ship on a floppy disc. I also worked on Afterlife, Yoda Stories, Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine, ToeJam and Earl III, the ill-fated Full Throttle 2 and Sam and Max: Freelance Police, and some other Star Wars games.

Bone is a very long series that is essentially divided into smaller chunks. Will Bone follow the same storyline as the series? If so, at what point in the series does the game take place?

Essentially, yes. The first episode parallels Out From Boneville.

How is the story of the Bone game broken up? Is it told as one long story, or it broken up into smaller acts?

It’s a serial adventure, broken up into episodes. Out From Boneville is also the first book published by Scholastic as part of their new graphic novel imprint, Graphix. It happened to have great content for the first game. We will see if the next book, The Great Cow Race, works as well.

How many and which characters will be playable?

There are 3 player characters in the first episode. The first half of the game is mostly Fone Bone’s, and the second half more heavily Phoney’s. The third character? Well, I will tell you it’s not Smiley.

What kind of adventure game will Bone be? Is it point and click, more action oriented, or rather more focused on puzzle solving?

We tried to achieve a balance between narrative and puzzle solving, with a bit of action thrown in to spice things up. The first episode has dialog puzzles, traditional inventory puzzles, and a few actions sequences.

Outside of playable characters, what of non-playable personalities? What others from the comic can players expect to see?

Well, just about everybody. The Bone cousins, Thorn, Gran’ma Ben, Ted and his big brother, the dragon, Kingdok, and of course the rat creatures, all figure prominently in the first episode.

How stupid will the rat creatures be?

Stupid stupid. The Rat Creatures are just great villains, they have so much personality.

How much involvement and creative input does Jeff Smith have on the project?

Well, he hasn’t asked to look at any of my code yet, but we’ve consulted with Jeff on just about everything: the look of the characters and environments, character animation, voice casting and game design. Jeff is a great storyteller and has offered much to the team in terms of bringing out personality. He is also a trained animator, which explains the great sense of movement he achieves in the comic book.

As fans of the comic, you no doubt are aware that much of the comic’s humor is dependent on the panel-to-panel style inherent to the comic structure. How has this translated to an animated medium without panels?

I think we’ve done a good job of capturing the essence of the comic. We can use the camera to achieve much the same kind of panel-to-panel affect. I can’t say yet what the final result will be, but we’re definitely headed in the right direction.

Will the game feature voices, or is it pure text? If there are voices, have you begun looking for voice actors yet?

The voice actors have already been cast and recorded. Jeff was involved in the selection process which was cool, he pointed us in a general direction and we tracked down the actors. We are really excited with the performances!

When compared to other arguably more mainstream comics, Bone is not as well known. How are you planning on overcoming this niche nature of the comic in order to appeal of a more mainstream audience for the game?

Scholastic recently published the complete Bone series in a single volume, and is doing a great job of bringing Bone to a larger audience, so that will help. Bone has developed a strong following over the years because it is high quality, it is just now getting mainstream notice it may be on the cusp of being huge. As a developer, I want to make games that I would like to play myself; if we sell a million copies in the process, that’s great, but I’m happy just going to sleep at night (sometimes they let me go home) knowing that I’m working on a game I can be proud of.

How far along is the game currently, and what facet of the game is the team currently working on?

We’re quite far along when you consider we’ve only been in production about 5 months. At the moment I’m working on the Dragon’s Stair scene. I’m not sure what everyone else is doing because I’m working from home right now, but I know Kevin Bruner is working on a top secret action level in the desert because he keeps bothering me with email about locust, jumping Bones, and rampant subtitles. Graham McDermott is probably eating and working on our dialog tool. Heather Logas is likely working on dialog logic and monitoring the number of days since our last power failure. Graham Annable and Kim Lyons are no doubt making the game look even more beautiful. Jon Sgro is probably making up a more stringent file naming convention while rigging Smiley, light mapping 3 different environments, and worrying about being a new father very soon. I’ll bet Dave Grossman is thinking of something very witty. And Dan Connors is probably worrying.

What are you, as a single person on this project, most proud of thus far in the game’s development?

All of it, but especially the Bone lunch box Jeff gave us. It kicks ass. Dan got a Phoney t-shirt. I’m jealous.

Again, thank you for taking the time to talk to us about Bone. Is there anything else you would like to add that we have not yet touched on?

Just that they made me say all that about not wanting to make a lot of money. Buy Bone! I gotta put three kids through college!

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