Toward the end of the Activision booth, there was magic happening ... Heretic style. Heretic II continues the story of the lead character from Heretic, an Elf named Corvus. To get the most out of their lithe elven character, Raven has opted to modify the Quake II engine into a third-person game -- meaning you view the action from just behind Corvus, and can see him run, jump, climb, cast spells, and the like.

The visuals were stunning. Raven has always had a way with textures and architecture and Heretic II was no exception. The character animation was also extremely detailed, the motions realistic and the camera action smooth. From what I could tell in the twenty minutes or so I played the game, they seem to have worked out any camera-glitches that make many third-person games annoying ('Argh! My view is blocked by a wall!' or 'I can't see the bear because Lara's breasts are in the way!')

I spoke with Bob Love, one of the developers, about how they're planning on pushing the Quake II engine in new directions in order to make a place for themselves in the market.


Fargo: Hey there!

Bob Love: Hi!


Fargo: For the folks on the web, could you describe your role in the development of the game?

Bob Love: I'm a programmer. [Smiles]


Fargo: This is using the Quake II engine at heart, but you've made some pretty sweeping changes, right?

Bob Love: That's right, it was heavily modified so we could do the third-person view.


Fargo: Could you describe all that you've done to it?

Bob Love: We have a flexible model implemented, so if you notice, you can have this guy here look around ... [Bob moved the mouse and Corvus peered around the room, and you could see the player model flexing at the waist instead of rotating his whole body.] ... And as you can see, you can run and shoot. This is all keyframed, and we actually have a split animation. His upper body animates different from his lower body. [The character ran across the room, loading and shooting arrows while his feet maintained a steady rhythm. In the regular Quake II engine, a space marine's feet would stop moving whenever he fired a weapon, so that he would appear to "skate" during intense multiplayer games like Rocket Arena. Bob continued:] We also changed a lot of the effects to work on client-side, so that it's a lot more network friendly. You can still do all the explosions, but you won't have the network traffic problems.


Fargo: How do you see yourself in the market? Do you see this game competing against the other first person shooters, or will this be perceived as more of an adventure game? Will it be an exploration and puzzle game, ala Tomb Raider?

Bob Love: We look at it as a third person action game.


Fargo: Lots of combat, then. And what can people expect from single-player that's going to set this game apart?

Bob Love: The great Raven game design and our excellent artwork. The artists here are really doing a great job, and the level design is phenomenal. [Bob walked the character into a giant room with a vaulted ceiling, with chandeliers hanging from the heights.] I mean, look at that!


Fargo: Very nice. There's also multiplayer, correct?

Bob Love: Yes.


Fargo: Networkable just like Quake II?

Bob Love: Yes ... hold on ... [His character was suddenly attacked by lumbering zombies.]


Fargo: You're getting killed.

Bob Love: I'm dyin' here!!


Fargo: Is that blood on the floor?

Bob Love: Oh, back here? Those are scorch marks you can leave all over the place. [The elf started casting spells all over. Zombies exploded into giblets, and big black splotches appeared on the floors and walls where the fireballs hit.] We tried to bring back a lot of the weapons used in the original Heretic. We've got the red rain, and the Hellstaff ...


Fargo: This is all user-modifyable?

Bob Love: Yes.


Fargo: How will people be able to make maps? Will any Quake II map editor work?

Bob Love: No. [Pauses.] I'm not sure what our plans are to get the editor out to people --


Fargo: Will it be bundled with the game?

Bob Love: We've talked about it, but I'm not sure.


Fargo: People can code the nuts and bolts of the game with DLLs, as with Quake II, right?

Bob Love: Yes.


Fargo: And before I go, any word on the release date?

Bob Love: Fall of this year.


Fargo: Thanks for your time!

Bob Love: No problem!


Heretic II is going to have to overcome some major obstacles to succeed. It's coming into a crowded marketplace (Sin and Half-Life will probably beat it to the punch and are expected to release this Summer), and the third-person aspect might turn off many first-person die-hards (who will find their view of the monsters partially blocked at times.) Still, Raven has a track record of finding its own market with its own blend of action and roleplaying, and the change of pace might be welcome to a lot of people, including new gamers.

[Back to the top]