The Order 1886 Interview: Telling A Strong Story With CG Quality Graphics

Ready At Dawn's Marc Turndorf on all things The Order: 1886.

Posted By | On 01st, Jul. 2014

The Order 1886 Interview: Telling A Strong Story With CG Quality Graphics

The Order: 1886 is PlayStation 4’s biggest game in 2015 and as expected there is a lot riding on Ready At Dawn to deliver with this new IP. The title has seen its fair share of ups and downs as players are confused about what to expect from the game. Is it going to be all about quick time events and gorgeous graphics or will Ready At Dawn actually mix up some great gameplay along with a strong narrative?

GamingBolt caught up with Ready At Dawn’s Marc Turndorf to clear the confusion surrounding the title. Check out his response below.

Leonid Melikhov: The Order 1886 was delayed to February 2015. What kind of benefit do you think this will bring to the game?

Marc Turndorf: It’s  going to give us the time we want to give the player the experience we dreamed of since day one. Just extra polish, extra duration time and extra love.

Leonid Melikhov: Sounds good. Is it safe to assume that The Order 1886 will be a benchmark for PlayStation 4 graphics? Are we going to see even better looking games than The Order 1886?

Marc Turndorf: Well, I can’t speak to that. But what I can tell you is that we are trying to make a game with artistic visual fidelity, combining film and games into a single entity and based on the response, so far so so good.

The Order 1886

"We want to tell a story that is worthy of other medias, films, literature, that sort of thing. And that was our starting point, we also wanted to make sure the characters in the game had shades of gray."

Leonid Melikhov: What can you tell us about the graphics technologies you have used in the game?

Marc Turndorf: I am not a programmer so I can’t get really under the hood but I can tell you that during the pre-production phase our talented programmer and artists who are amazing at their jobs looked at various films on how they deal with lighting models, different shading models, and figured out how they can use that in a game without affecting the fidelity of gameplay.

Leonid Melikhov: Do you have any details on how long the single player will last? How are you making sure that players will replay the game?

Marc Turndorf: Well, for the first part we’re not aiming for a specific length as we’re trying to tell a story. The story is very important to us, and however long that story takes to tell is how long the game will be. In terms of replaybility, this is a single-player experience, there are some things hidden in the world, some different ways to accomplish objectives, so there will be some replay value in that.

Leonid Melikhov: Tell us how The Order 1886 plans to tell an intriguing story?

Marc Turndorf: Sure. We took the approach in which the story is hugely important. We want to tell a story that is worthy of other medias, films, literature, that sort of thing. And that was our starting point, we also wanted to make sure the characters in the game had shades of gray. The good guys aren’t pure and good, the bad guys aren’t dire and pure evil, there are gray areas with each.

We want you to understand where the half-breeds are coming from, we want you to understand where the Knights are coming from, we want you to see some of the flaws that the Knights have and some of the integrity that the half-breeds have which makes for interesting character development and story. Plus, setting it in a world of Victorian London and a alternative history take on that, adds a lot of compelling elements.

The Order 1886

"There are many kinds of QTEs. There are really compelling ones at the end of a boss battle or just a melee encounter which makes it more gratifying and gives it some branches which are really fun."

Leonid Melikhov:  Can you talk us through the seamless transition from gameplay to cut scene?            

Marc Turndorf: A lot of games have done this. But in those games: you’re playing, you’re playing, you’re playing, you’re fighting, you’re killing, and then a cut scene starts. You put you’re controller down, you watch, you’re interested “oh! Cut-scene over” pick up the controller I am playing, I am playing, I am playing. We’re trying to blur the lines even more.

There are a few cut scenes that drive the narrative which essentially is an experience to watch, but more often than not, it’s part of the gameplay whether you’re just examining the weapon or someone giving you a boost up to go somewhere or when you go help the town and you’re actually shooting enemies while the cut scene is playing out. So, we tried to give the player a use in the cut scenes and give him an immersive experience that they’re not just watching, they’re interacting with it.

Leonid Melikhov: How often will players come across QTEs?

Marc Turndorf: I don’t have a specific answer to that, but once every 3-4 minutes?…No! As much as necessary. There are many kinds of QTEs. There are really compelling ones at the end of a boss battle or just a melee encounter which makes it more gratifying and gives it some branches which are really fun.

Then there are some little things like opening a door and things like that. There are plenty in the game, as many as necessary but we don’t go crazy like “Oh! It’s been 4 minutes, we don’t have a QTE, we need a QTE, ahh! What are we gonna do?!” It’s not like that. We tried to place them in compelling manners that users can really enjoy

Leonid Melikhov: Where it matters, and it’s a good spot to put it in.

Marc Turndorf: Right, exactly.

Leonid Melikhov: The game has different branching storylines based on what the player choses. Does this indicate that the game will have multiple endings?

Marc Turndorf: It’s a story driven linear experience. There are some branches here and there and different ways to do things, but we’re trying to tell one story with one compelling ending

The Order 1886

"There are a lot of different gun variants in the game. There are very exotic ones like the Thermite Rifle you see here, Railguns and things of that nature. Then there are pistols, automatic weapon types, shotgun types. But a-lot of typical weapons have an alternative fire."

Leonid Melikhov: Can you tell us about the different guns and the customization options that the players can expect in the game.

Marc Turndorf: There are a lot of different gun variants in the game. There are very exotic ones like the Thermite Rifle you see here, Railguns and things of that nature. Then there are pistols, automatic weapon types, shotgun types. But a-lot of typical weapons have an alternative fire.

Like that combat rifle you saw last night at the press conference, you’re shot-gunning the Lycan, then he dives at you and you shot a concussive blast. So, there will be unique alternative fire opportunities for that. In terms of customization, it’s not like RPG-type customization sort of a game, but you have many options as to “I am gonna go with this weapon as opposed to that weapon” as the game progresses.

Leonid Melikhov: When I played the demo earlier today, there  was one point in the game where I was able to explore a little bit. How much of the exploration in the game is there and with that being said are there any collectibles for trophies or maybe some hidden secrets or references to different games or developers?

Marc Turndorf: There is not going be something which will take you out of the world, but for the type of player who likes to collect 100% of things, there will be some elements for that player.

Leonid Melikhov: Is there anything else you want to add before we take off?

Marc Turndorf: You know, The Order 1886 is coming out February 20th, 2015. We think it’s gonna blow players away with the seamless integration of filmic and gameplay in one awesome package

Leonid Melikhov: I definitely think it’s probably the closest game I’ve seen to CGI quality.

Marc Turndorf: Thank you.

Leonid Melikhov: Thanks for your time.

Marc Turndorf: Alright, thanks!


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