Wolfenstein: The New Order was released last week to critical acclaim and largely positive review scores across the board. Now that the game is available, GamingBolt got in touch with MachineGames’ Andreas Öjerfors. Andreas is the Senior Gameplay Designer of Wolfenstein: The New Order and we were able to ask him a wide range of questions varying from gameplay to id Tech 5. Andreas’ response is below.
Pramath Parijat: Wolfenstein: The New Order has changed a lot since we first saw it a year ago. The game now takes a more entertaining approaching whilst maintaining a tone of seriousness. How are you making sure that you are balancing both of them in the right amount?
Andreas Öjerfors: The vision for the game is the same, so the reason you feel that the game has changed is probably because we’ve shown you different parts of it.The New Order is about action and destruction but it’s also about drama, history and mystery. One moment you’re getting coffee on a train to Berlin and the next you are blowing up Nazis from a mech. Our aspiration was to make a varied experience.It really is a game of dualities – there’s humor and darkness, over-the-top violence and low-key gentleness. Getting the tone right was indeed a balancing act all the way through development.
"Realizing the alternate history setting of The New Order was very important to us, and megatextures allowed us to bring a lot of detail to that world. We could make each place unique, distinct – making it look the way we envisioned it."
Pramath Parijat: The New Order gives the option to take multiple approaches. I know that many games do offer multiple ways to tackle a situation but the end result is not awarding. Will anything change if I decide to take tactical route compared to an all out run and gun way in The New Order?
Andreas Öjerfors: Going gung-ho, tactical or stealth changes how the game is played, and depending how you choose to play you’ll have access to different perks customized for your own play style. We want you to be able to play The New Order the way you want to.
Pramath Parijat: Wolfenstein: The New Order runs onid Tech 5. I remember when Rage launched back in 2011 there were a lot of issues regarding texture streaming. Are those issues resolved with the engine and what kind of benefits has id Tech 5 bought to Wolfenstein: The New Order?
Andreas Öjerfors: Realizing the alternate history setting of The New Order was very important to us, and megatextures allowed us to bring a lot of detail to that world. We could make each place unique, distinct – making it look the way we envisioned it.
Pramath Parijat: Roughly speaking, how many hours of gameplay are we looking at? Since Wolfenstein: The New Order does not have Multiplayer, how are you making sure that the game will have a high replay value?
Andreas Öjerfors: We think it’ll take about 15 hours to finish. If you’re an eager explorer you can add a few hours to that.We’ve worked hard on providing a wealth of options and possibilities. You’ll have meaningful choices to make, plenty of exploration and secrets, and there are game modes to unlock. And if you’ve played through the game using a tactical approach, you’ll get a very different experience if you replay it using stealth.
"Pick up a gun, you have it. We put no restrictions on the number of weapons you can carry, and most can be dual wielded. It’s up to you to decide which weapon you want to use in any given situation."
Pramath Parijat: What kind of weapon customization options does the game offer? And most importantly, does the game allow us to carry all the weapons we pick up?
Andreas Öjerfors: Pick up a gun, you have it. We put no restrictions on the number of weapons you can carry, and most can be dual wielded. It’s up to you to decide which weapon you want to use in any given situation. We don’t want to dictate your game experience. We want you to be creative and make up your own strategy. There are upgrades or alternate ammo types to most weapons. One of my favorites, the retro sci-fi Laserkraftwerk, is a weapon you can continue to upgrade throughout the game, changing and evolving it into an increasingly powerful and versatile device of laser doom!
Pramath Parijat: One thing that really caught my eye was the AI. Can you please explain with an example how AI works in different situations?
Andreas Öjerfors: Our AIs base their decisions on what their senses tells them and then act upon it in collaboration with their buddies. We place cover points, grenade throwing points, retreat points etc. to help the AI make decisions. This means that if a player ducks into a doorway each AI will act upon his own knowledge but also inform his buddies.
Pramath Parijat: Tell us about the PC version of the game. What kind of visual options and anti-aliasing options will the PC version have?
Andreas Öjerfors: There are sliders to pull and buttons to press to your heart’s content. We wanted to deliver a true 60 frames per second experience on PC, and much of the engine is geared towards delivering that performance.
"id Tech 5 scales really well over different platforms."
Pramath Parijat: You are one of the few studios that have been able to achieve parity on both the PS4 and Xbox One. Given that several studios are apparently facing troubles with achieving 1080p resolution, how do you overcame those challenges?
Andreas Öjerfors: id Tech 5 scales really well over different platforms.
Pramath Parijat: MachineGames, being one of the AAA developers out there, what are your thoughts on DirectX12 and Microsoft’s cloud technology?
Andreas Öjerfors: We use OpenGL, so we are probably the wrong people to ask.
Pramath Parijat: As a final question, can players expect story based DLC post launch?
Andreas Öjerfors: We haven’t made any announcements about DLC.