GAMES
Exclusive Interview with Deathloop Game Director Dinga Bakaba
Deathloop is now available on Xbox Series X|S, Windows 10/11 PC, and with Xbox Game Pass, PC Game Pass, and Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta). To celebrate its arrival on these platforms, we had the opportunity to speak with Game Director and Studio Director at Arkane Lyon Dinga Bakaba to tell us more about the game itself, its evolution since launch over a year ago, and about the importance of diversity in the video game industry.
Deathloop is now available on Xbox, one year after its first release. How has the game evolved since its initial launch?
Since the release of the game, we have added several things. Features such as the photo mode that we worked on with the virtual photographer community, accessibility options… many fixes. We’ve also integratedcrossplay for matchmaking, which allows you to find more players, but also a new weapon, a new type of enemy, original ability upgrades, some of which are designed for multiplayer, or a brand-new power. We’ve tried to make sure that these things fit into the core of the game, for example, to get the new power you’re going to have to do something specific. Finally, we added a sort of epilogue to one of the endings. This was important to us to bring things full circle and have a more compelling emotional resolution on that particular ending. Those who have already finished the game on another platform will have new reasons to do some more looping!
What has been the feedback from players since the release of the game?
Looking back, the reception of the game was beyond our expectations. Before it was released, we thought it was going to be a very polarizing title, that people would either love it or hate it, and that all it took was a handful of people loving our creation to make us happy. In reality, many more people loved it, and said good things about it. It’s the result of decisions made along the way, sometimes risky ones, and we’re proud of that.
According to you, what makes Deathloop unique? What aspect are you particularly proud of?
Overall, I’m extremely proud of the fact that we were able to create a structure for the game that is not linear, not similar to the open worlds that we see a lot. Our structure is unique, it fits our story, our world and it was a very risky bet. I’m not convinced that this structure can be applied to any other game, because it’s intrinsically linked to its purpose, its specificities. I can imagine someone taking inspiration from it, but I don’t think we’ll see anything similar anytime soon. I’m proud of it when I look back on it, but during development it was pretty scary, because there was no template to present to the team, we had to clear our own path, which is always more intense.
At the Pegases 2022 French ceremony, Deathloop received five awards and you were voted Personality of the Year. How did you feel?
Before the ceremony, we had already received awards abroad, but to receive all these awards from the French industry, it is certainly very rewarding. Even though we make games with an international scope, we remain a French studio, so it was important for us and we were delighted. As for the prize that was awarded to me personally, let’s just say that it’s easier to be in the spotlight to talk about what you’ve done as a team, the fruit of several years of work by hundreds of people. When you talk about a career, what you did individually for the industry, it’s more difficult. I was proud, I accepted this award because I worked hard in this industry. It wasn’t easy to get into it or stay in it, and I’m glad it’s being recognized, not just for me but for all the people who will never be in the spotlight who have a more admirable background than I have. It’s also an opportunity to inspire a new generation, to show them that it’s possible.
In your thank you speech, you stressed the importance of diversity in the video game industry…
Perhaps it is up to us, as industry players, to make more of an effort so that the next generation no longer asks this question. If we take the example of the place of women in the industry, we are not at the same point as 10, 15, or 20 years ago. Things are definitely moving forward. For Deathloop, all the choices we made, all the things that made it possible for this work to exist, stem from the personality of each and everyone. If we all looked the same, I’m not sure we could have achieved the same result. This sum of identities, cultures and human experiences allows us to create unique works. When you’re in a team and you have to deal with the sensitivities of each other, it helps not to find yourself in front of a uniform blob of opinions, with people watching the same series, listening to the same music. In these conditions, the game we would release would perhaps not be different from the one created by another studio composed in the same way. As far as I’m concerned, it’s more than just a theory, Dishonored was developed on two continents, with Americans, French and other people of various nationalities scattered throughout the two teams. And this dialogue between our different cultures has obviously allowed us to make some interesting choices on this series. I’ve been living with this richness for 12 years, so for me it’s very concrete.
What advice would you give to those wishing to work in this industry?
My father had a career in entertainment and even though it wasn’t easy for him, I had a concrete example of someone fighting for his passion against all odds and who managed to make a living from it. And yet, I still had a hard time getting into the video game industry. But things are changing, you have to know that if you don’t find a place here, you’ll find it somewhere else, whether you have to change jobs, studios or countries. You have to remember that this notion of not having a place is in your head. Every studio, every project, every person is unique, the hardest part is convincing yourself that somewhere in this industry you will find your creative family, that it exists and that you will eventually meet it. You also have to be convinced that you’re not just going to catch up, but that you have something to bring. We have to tell ourselves that our vision is useful, our voice is useful.
What do you think of Game Pass as a developer? How do you feel about Deathloop being available in Game Pass upon its release on Xbox?
As a developer, with the Cloud, the ability to be able to launch a game quickly, even on my phone, is very useful for me to go get a mechanic, take a screenshot or video and share it with the team. When it comes to Deathloop, my answer is going to be very simple. The reason we got into this industry was to get people to play our games. When I hear that overnight, so many players are going to be able to enjoy our game at the same time, I’m thrilled! More people means more opinions, more feedback… and it also allows us to reach certain territories where video games are less accessible because they’re very expensive; I’m thinking of Brazil, for example, where Arkane’s games have many fans. Making our game more accessible, we don’t think twice about it. It also increases the proportion of people who won’t stick to someone else’s opinion, whether it’s good or bad. I told the team many times during development that our enemy is apathy. If people try the game, whether they like it or not, that’s a win. Having one of our games in Game Pass means that we can get feedback from more and more people for a long time.
And as a gamer, what do you think of Game Pass? Have you made any amazing discoveries in the catalog recently?
I think it’s a diverse and qualitative offer, with big games as well as original proposals. For me, the main benefit is the invitation to try games that you wouldn’t necessarily have invested in. When I was younger, I didn’t always have enough money to buy games, so I used to lend them to friends, which allowed me to try out a lot of things, and with Game Pass I’m getting that feeling again. When I finally had enough money to buy my own games, I focused on the things I liked best, I stopped playing certain types of games altogether. With Game Pass, I’m rediscovering certain genres and I can also catch up on titles that I would have missed for one reason or another. As far as discoveries go, there are really plenty… I think the latest one is Power Wash Simulator. I don’t know what could have made me buy this game, even the advice of a friend, and yet it’s super fun, it’s relaxing… We have single player games, multiplayer games, very short titles that you can finish in 4 hours, others that you will finish in 150 hours… It’s really nice!
Thanks to Dinga Bakaba for taking the time to answer our questions. Deathloop is now available on Xbox Series X|S, Windows 10/11 PC, and with Xbox Game Pass, PC Game Pass, and Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta).
DEATHLOOP
Bethesda Softworks
$59.99
PC Game Pass
Xbox Game Pass
DEATHLOOP is a next-gen first person shooter from Arkane Lyon, the award-winning studio behind Dishonored. In DEATHLOOP, two rival assassins are trapped in a mysterious timeloop on the island of Blackreef, doomed to repeat the same day for eternity. As Colt, the only chance for escape is to end the cycle by assassinating eight key targets before the day resets. Learn from each cycle – try new paths, gather intel, and find new weapons and abilities. Do whatever it takes to break the loop.
IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED… DIE, DIE AGAIN
Every new loop is an opportunity to change things up. Use the knowledge you gain from each attempt to change up your playstyle, stealthily sneaking through levels or barreling into the fight, guns-blazing. In each loop you’ll discover new secrets, gather intel on your targets as well as the island of Blackreef, and expand your arsenal. Armed with a host of otherworldly abilities and savage weaponry, you’ll utilize every tool at your command to execute takedowns that are as striking as they are devastating. Customize your loadout wisely to survive this deadly game of hunter vs hunted.
SINGLE PLAYER GAMEPLAY INJECTED WITH DEADLY MULTIPLAYER
Are you the hero or the villain? You’ll experience DEATHLOOP’s main story as Colt, hunting down targets across the island of Blackreef to break the loop and earn your freedom. All the while, you’ll be hunted by your rival Julianna, who can be controlled by another player. So if you’re feeling devious, you, too, can step into Julianna’s stylish sneakers and invade another player’s campaign to kill Colt. The multiplayer experience is completely optional, and players can choose to have Julianna controlled by AI within their campaign.
THE ISLAND OF BLACKREEF – PARADISE OR PRISON
Arkane is renowned for magnificently artistic worlds with multiple pathways and emergent gameplay. DEATHLOOP will present a stunning, retro-future, 60s-inspired environment, that feels like a character within itself. While Blackreef may be a stylish wonderland, for Colt it is his prison, a world ruled by decadence where death has no meaning, and delinquents party forever while keeping him captive.
GAMES
This Week’s Deals with Gold and Spotlight Sale
GAMES
The German Empire Marches to Italy in a Free Expansion Today
We have a new expansion for our WW1 Italian Front FPS game Isonzo releasing today! It’s the first part of our Caporetto season of free expansions, and features a whole new faction with the arrival of the German Empire on the Italian Front, and brings a new map for the Offensive game mode. There will be two more releases in the Caporetto season, each one with a new map to ultimately link together into a three map Caporetto Offensive.
The German faction comes with more than ten new weapons, as well as historically accurate uniforms and equipment. This first Caporetto map sees you taking part in the early stages of the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo, with German troops assaulting Italian positions on the road to Caporetto. Historically it was a military disaster for Italy which brought down the government – but maybe things can go differently with you on the battlefield?
The update sees new uniforms and equipment from the German Empire for Isonzo’s six classes: Rifleman, Assault, Engineer, Officer, Marksman and Mountaineer. For those who aren’t familiar with the game, each class has different weapon, gear and perk options that allow you to specialize your play style within the overall focus of the class. For instance, Marksmen are always sharpshooters, but a lot depends on your loadout. You could be a long-range sniper and observer identifying and eliminating high value targets with a scoped rifle, or you could equip body armor to take and hold a front line position with deadly accurate mid-range fire. Every class has choices to make in this regard.
In Isonzo’s signature Offensive game mode, one side must attack and break through multiple defensive lines. Thick layers of barbed wire, trenches, and whatever extra defenses the enemy engineers put together will stand in the way of a successful attack. Objectives can be taking and holding key points, or planting dynamite to sabotage enemy supply stashes or heavy artillery guns.
The new Caporetto map – the first of three in the season – is a huge battlefield based on the strategically important Monte Kolovrat. There are five defensive lines, where each line has two objectives for the attackers before they can advance further. While in the historical Battle of Caporetto both German and Austro-Hungarian forces were involved, in Isonzo we’ve chosen to focus on the German contribution, so the map recreates the stunning German advance from the town of Tolmein all the way to Kolovrat Ridge. It’s a damp, overcast day when the attack begins, and the attackers must first cut their way through lines of wire to break into a devastated town – including capturing a church defended by multiple heavy machine gun positions. Fortunately, in Isonzo there are many tactical options available to deal with such strong points: artillery barrages, smokescreens, snipers, rifle grenades, even poison gas. From there, it becomes a literal uphill battle for the German attackers as they begin to climb towards the peak of Kolovrat Ridge. They’ll need to sabotage bunkers and capture command posts while navigating rocky trenches and steep forested slopes. At the penultimate fourth defensive line there is a huge siege mortar to sabotage and a cluster of houses providing cover to the Italian defenders – then it’s one last climb to reach the final objective: Hill 1114. If the Germans can take it, the Italians will finally be the ones fighting uphill as their reinforcements stream in to try and counterattack.
Of course, things are no walk in the park for the defenders either – although it’s easier to maneuver when going downhill, and it’s much simpler for officers to deploy flares to call in support, the extensive trench lines can become a liability once the Germans get a foothold, providing cover as they advance. Some of the Italian defensive positions can be exposed against the sky, making it easy for German marksmen to pick off targets. Italian engineers should make good use of their construction abilities to put down additional sandbags and lay out extra wire to prevent German assault troops sneaking through the trees to flank trenches with their grenades or light machine guns.
As we mentioned before, historically the Battle of Caporetto was a disaster for the Italians. Appalling leadership led to poorly motivated and unprepared troops falling apart in the face of the combined Austro-Hungarian and German armies using cutting edge infiltration tactics. The Italian soldiers were not allowed to retreat until too late, and in the end hundreds of thousands would surrender. After Caporetto the top Italian general was fired and replaced by someone far more competent, who managed to turn the war around for the Italians. In Isonzo, it’s a more fair fight where both sides have an equal chance of winning, if they can use all the tactical options available better than their opponents.
The release will also bring other improvements to the game, including a prestige mode and higher level cap. Additionally, for those who want more options for visual customization of their character, the Royal Units DLC is releasing alongside the free expansion and contains uniforms from the German Kingdoms of Bavaria and Württemberg. Though part of the German Empire, these states had their own distinctive uniforms which we’ve carefully recreated with the same accuracy and attention to detail as with the other uniforms in the game.
The Battle for Caporetto Begins…
Isonzo is available right now on the Microsoft Store for Xbox, and the free Caporetto expansion is out today! Plenty of time to master the art of mountain warfare before the German Empire joins the action on the Italian Front. Follow us to get the latest development news as we add the finishing touches!
We’ll see you in the trenches!
Isonzo
BlackMill Games
$29.99
World War One expands to the mountains of the Italian Front – beautiful but deadly in equal measure. Inspired by the two year struggle for control of the Isonzo river valley and the Alps during World War One, Isonzo elevates the WW1 Games Series, figuratively and literally.
From the makers of Verdun and Tannenberg…
Take part in historical offensives from the Sixth Battle of the Isonzo to the Strafexpedition. Reflecting the course of the actual battles, as the attackers advance the fighting will shift through vastly different landscapes within a single offensive: from hillside fortresses to mountain trenches and fierce urban combat on city streets. Everything is recreated based on research and field trips, from sound effects and uniforms down to the houses, vineyards and trenches you’ll be fighting over.
The new Offensive game mode puts you right in the middle of key historical offensives on the Italian Front. Lead the charge across stunning Italian landscapes as you choose your path to victory – cut paths through barbed wire, flank your enemies by following mountain trails, or man a mortar to blast a way through. Shape a dynamic battlefield by laying sandbags and wire, placing ammo crates, deploying trench periscopes or sniper shields, and more.
Call in support with a unique historically accurate flare system: flare guns can mark targets for artillery or biplane flybys, or different colored flares can be used to guide your team. Once the big guns have softened up the enemy, finish the job at close quarters with an Arditi dagger or mountaineer’s pickaxe. Man heavy machine guns, mortars and even mountain guns for more direct fire support.
Choose from six classes based on historical combat roles and build your loadout from a selection of weapons, equipment and perks linked to that class, giving flexibility and variety while staying grounded in what real soldiers might have carried. You’ll be operating wire cutters, bandaging yourself and wounded teammates, and blowing the whistle to start an assault. One shot can kill and even lighter injuries can lead to quickly bleeding out.
Being an effective soldier in Isonzo is not just about being a good marksman. Mastering the terrain is also key – the mountain can be a friend or foe. Learn how to navigate well to maintain cover and surprise your enemies or support your allies.
Finally… watch out for the dreaded poison gas. You’ve never experienced WW1 action quite like this!
Isonzo key features include:
• MOUNTAIN WARFARE: Assaulting mountain fortifications, battling through ruined towns, and fording rivers are just a few of the challenges you’ll face as you fight your way through numerous enemy positions
• TACTICAL MULTIPLAYER FPS: Choose your role and loadout carefully to survive this high altitude combat – play a sniper to pick off the enemy engineers before they can cut your wire, use rifle grenades to clear enemy machine guns, and much more
• WORLD WAR ONE GAMEPLAY: Historical Offensive game mode based on real battles and focused on the unique challenges of Alpine warfare. Fight with 30+ WW1 weapons, poisonous gas attacks, and intense artillery barrages
• BUILD FOR VICTORY: Place your own wire, sandbags, trench periscopes, and more! Whether you’re digging in or on the attack, shaping the battlefield to your advantage will be key to victory
• FACES OF WAR: Make every class your own by picking from a variety of historically class-appropriate uniforms, accessories and headgear. As a finishing touch, you can even pick your mustache from several famous period-accurate styles!
• AUTHENTIC WW1 ATMOSPHERE: Accuracy in everything from maps and weaponry to music and the uniforms – fight for the Kingdom of Italy, the German Empire or the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy
MORE GAMES IN THE AUTHENTIC WW1 GAME SERIES
Immerse yourself in more WW1 action with our other standalone titles Tannenberg and Verdun. Experience trench warfare on the Western Front in Verdun, or maneuver for control of key sectors in Tannenberg on the Eastern Front. These authentic WW1 shooters let players choose from a range of squads from across the war, as they fight for control of the ever-changing frontlines.
GAMES
Transport Fever 2: Console Edition is Bringing the Full Transport Tycoon Experience to Xbox
Today, we proudly share a sneak peek into the development of Transport Fever 2: Console Edition, and how we managed to bring the full transport tycoon experience to Xbox.
Transport Fever is a very popular and highly rated transportation tycoon franchise on PC. Its latest entry, Transport Fever 2, delivers a level of size and detail never before seen in the genre. The goal of the game is to build a successful transportation company by constructing railroads, streets, water and air lines. Starting in the 19th century, the player connects towns and industries to transport both passengers and cargo. In addition to a customizable free game mode, there is also a fully-fledged campaign mode with challenging missions set in real-world transportation history.
After the huge success of Transport Fever 2 on PC, it was only logical to bring the experience to consoles as well. Not only that, but no efforts were spared to give the console community the full experience that made the game great on PC. In order to achieve this, the engineers at Urban Games had to pull some rabbits out of their engineers’ hats.
Always providing the freshest layer of paint
One of the most cherished features of Transport Fever 2 are its highly detailed vehicles. The game comes with more than 200 lovingly hand-modeled trains, ships, and airplanes, each sporting multiple 4k textures and normal maps.
On PC, it is easily affordable to have all the models and textures in memory whenever needed, as a typical rig has 16 GB of RAM and a GPU with a dedicated extra memory. Consoles, however, are built differently. They have a unified architecture with an overall smaller amount but ultra-fast memory. The key to make it work on consoles is texture streaming, which allows to clear textures of models that are not in view anymore. Moreover, this technology is used in Transport Fever 2 to constantly load textures at the highest affordable resolution to present the stars of the show, like the classic Class A 3/5 steam locomotive, in their best coat of paint at all times.
Keeping the ground like a console pro
A trademark of Transport Fever 2 are its huge maps. During development of the game, it was always paramount to provide a real sense of scale. The engine should allow for maps where a high-speed train, such as the famous Japanese Shinkansen, can really make use of its superior speed. So, a lot of effort was put into designing a highly effective terrain rendering pipeline that can handle maps of more than 120 sq miles of size with a detail resolution of almost 1 yard. Central to this is a dynamic terrain tessellation algorithm on the CPU that, while costing a bit of extra memory, makes sure the engine can render these maps on a wide variety of PCs.
Now, enter the world of consoles with their incredibly well-designed GPUs and graphic APIs. Here, the hardware can be leveraged very well for terrain rendering by making use of the GPU tessellation feature. This feature generates the render mesh for the terrain fully on the graphics card, saving valuable processing time for the complex economy and city growth simulations. While generating more triangles, the hardware approach still costs less memory overall due to its efficiency. So vast maps can be viewed from a bird’s view high up in the sky and seamlessly zoomed in down to individual rocks on a riverbank.
Inspiring the inner architect
Finally, let’s talk about constructions, a central and defining part of the Transport Fever 2 experience. Constructions are large assemblies that consist of dozens of assets, street segments, ground decals and terrain modifications. Think of structures like airports, train stations, docks, highway crossings, and many more. Anything that is needed to build a vast transportation empire.
For a smooth construction experience, it is key that the player really feels that he has precise control over the building placement. On PC, constructions are typically built using the mouse. As the average PC user is very well adjusted to this method of input, it is sufficiently performant to calculate the entire construction each frame and place it under the cursor. However, on consoles, the best way of building constructions is to have them always kept in the center of the screen and move the camera along the map for placement. And moving the camera needs to be as smooth as silk.
So, for the console release of Transport Fever 2, the construction preview pipeline was overhauled. All dynamic calculations are now performed in the background while a static preview of the structure and its underlying ground plan are shown. Not only are constructions now completely stable in terms of FPS, but they also give feedback to the player on what environment features the construction would tear down when built.
Let’s get tycooning on console
We are very excited to bring the Transport Fever franchise to consoles for the first time ever with the release of Transport Fever 2: Console Edition on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One in February 2023, and we hope you will enjoy it as much as we did developing it.
Daily Search Forum Recap: September 27, 2024
How to Estimate It and Source Data
9 Successful PR Campaign Examples, According to the Data
6 Things You Can Do to Compete With Big Sites
Google’s 26th Birthday Doodle Is Missing
Yoast Co-Founder Suggests A WordPress Contributor Board
Google Volatility With Gains & Losses, Updated Web Spam Policies, Cache Gone & More Search News
Daily Search Forum Recap: September 30, 2024
WordPress biz Automattic details WP Engine deal demands • The Register
An In-Depth Guide For Businesses
-
SEARCHENGINES7 days ago
Daily Search Forum Recap: September 27, 2024
-
SEO6 days agoHow to Estimate It and Source Data
-
SEO6 days ago9 Successful PR Campaign Examples, According to the Data
-
SEO5 days ago6 Things You Can Do to Compete With Big Sites
-
SEARCHENGINES6 days agoGoogle’s 26th Birthday Doodle Is Missing
-
SEO5 days agoYoast Co-Founder Suggests A WordPress Contributor Board
-
SEARCHENGINES4 days agoGoogle Volatility With Gains & Losses, Updated Web Spam Policies, Cache Gone & More Search News
-
SEARCHENGINES3 days ago
Daily Search Forum Recap: September 30, 2024
You must be logged in to post a comment Login