Interview with New World Interactive's Andrew Spearin

Valenka asked Andrew Spearin, Creative Director at New World Interactive, about the conception of Insurgency, the concept of realism, and platforms.

VALENKA: Insurgency was certainly something to capture my eye. I grew up suckling on the proverbial teat of first person shooters, so it will always hold a place in my heart. What inspired you to create Insurgency?

ANDREW: The current incarnation of Insurgency is to grow from where we started with the original mod for Half-Life 2 that was released in 2007. We wanted to strike a balance between action infantry gameplay with the sense of intensity and lethality that many shooters are missing. For me, when I joined the Canadian Army reserves as an infantry soldier, I began to see how games were getting that shooting and soldiering experience all wrong. Fortunately, Jeremy Blum - who is the founder of Red Orchestra - was also looking to work on a project with similar goals to my own and we combined forces in 2004 to form Insurgency. 

At the time, we were in high school, and since 2007 many of the original team members began working in the industry or pursued an education. A few years ago Jeremy decided to take a leap and form New World Interactive to continue building Insurgency.

VALENKA: I remember reading about that, your experience in the Canadian Army. With that being said, what elements of your experience did you incorporate into Insurgency that other games of the genre were lacking?

ANDREW: Although I was never deployed on operation, since my family convinced me to go to university instead, I still developed a good understanding of what it means to be a soldier and how to operate as a unit. I think that understanding allowed for us to design a gameplay experience that uniquely stands out from other shooters. The reliance upon your team to communicate enemy activity and coordinate tactics will usually lead to a victory.

VALENKA: So it essentially all boils down to common sense, caution and communication, then. This in essence, would make an experience all the more realistic. How important was realism to you when developing Insurgency? What elements and features did you incorporate to achieve the success you've garnered?

https://www.youtube.com/wat...
N4G Exclusive raw gameplay footage from the new map, Panj, currently in Beta

ANDREW: Realism is a very subjective term, so we've tried to stray away from using it ourselves, but many of our fans would describe the game as realistic. First and foremost, the weapons handling in a realistic manner: there is no cone of fire to randomize where shots land, so where you aim is where the shot lands. To compensate, there is recoil and sway affected by stamina and suppression. One of the main reasons why we don't want to claim 'realism' is that we are bound by the constraints of the game engine, so we can't create real world scale or locations like you might see in a simulation. The objectives and game modes are still designed around fun gameplay instead of real life scenarios. In essence though, the intense feeling from lethal gun shots, the emphasis on teamwork, and the sound and visual effects all add up to an adrenaline filled experience.

VALENKA: I'm certainly glad that the concept of realism didn't take away from the overall experience. I remember reading about Insurgency and it was said that players get a feel for what it's like to be shot. Could you elaborate on that detail?

ANDREW: Being shot at in real life is an overwhelmingly scary experience. We wanted to create the sense of fear of being shot in our game, because in many other shooters, you can absorb several bullets and it will have no effect on your performance. Since it takes one or two shots to drop a player, you have that lethality to being with. On top of that, the sound effects of bullets cracking as they pass your head, or smacking hard into the wall next to you, dust billowing out and obscuring your vision. These sorts of details make you physically jump when being shot at, and the adrenaline rush is second to none.

VALENKA: That was one thing that bugged me about some shooters; essentially imitating a sponge when I'd much rather experience a more on-point situation. With Insurgency's gameplay, is there a story or campaign behind it or does it play out in a similar fashion to say, Counter Strike where you pick a mode and get going?

ANDREW: There is not currently a story line. It's simply about the combat. So either Coop play against bots or multiplayer modes against other players that are highly competitive. We are however exploring the idea of doing a single player or cooperative campaign sometime in the future.

VALENKA: So with the idea of a single player or cooperative campaign, could players expect Insurgency to hit the Xbox Marketplace or Playstation store in the future?

ANDREW: Next-gen consoles are something we're looking into the feasibility of doing. We hear quite a bit of demand for the game on consoles. For now, we're focused on solidifying the game on PC.

IVALENKA: 'm glad that the possibility is at least there! Do you have any future plans for Insurgency, like add-ons or perhaps even a sequel?

ANDREW: It's still very much up in the air while we have many factors to consider. So, no solid plans yet!

Insurgency is available on Steam for $14.99. http://store.steampowered.c...

Day 24 | New World Interactive