F.E.A.R. 3 Interview

As developer Day 1 Studios readies F.E.A.R. 3 for release next month, we sit down with Jason Frederick, Associate Producer – Day 1 Studios who gives us the lowdown on all the new gameplaye elements you can expect with this game. Also we've been advised to stock up on a ton of clean underwear.
   
F.E.A.R. was scarier and more atmospheric than its sequel. Would F.E.A.R. 3 be more action oriented or go back to its roots of scaring the crap out of gamers?

We definitely wanted to make sure we nailed all the tenets that make the F.E.A.R. games stand out from the pack.  The series has been known to seamlessly blend great storytelling, frenetic combat, and horror – and F.E.A.R. 3 is no different. We’d be doing the fans a disservice if we didn’t get Monolith involved in the development of the game.  When we knew we would be getting the opportunity to develop F.E.A.R. 3, we immediately contacted Monolith for a series of meetings with key team members. These sessions helped us ensure we’d preserve the classic elements of F.E.A.R. so what we could make a game that fans of the series would expect to play.

Army of Two

What are some of the new gameplay and story elements players can expect in F.E.A.R. 3?

We have a brand new story that takes the series further, but focuses more on the family dynamics between Point Man, his now-ghostly brother Paxton Fettel, and their mother Alma – an incredibly powerful and twisted psychic. To help us accomplish this, we brought in Steve Niles and John Carpenter, and greatly benefited from their contributions.

Being a new developer to the series, we also wanted to bring in some new gameplay mechanics.  First off, we’ve added co-op, which is a first for the series.  We wanted people to be able to share their experiences with their friends either online or via split-screen. Simply adding co-op wasn’t enough, so we created what we call divergent Co-op, meaning the characters have very distinctly different styles of play.

Secondly, we added a new 360-degree active cover system.  This allows players to take cover behind nearly any object, lean out left or right, look over the top, and vault over cover objects.  In case you start to get flanked, players can perform a 180-degree spin when vaulting, and take cover on the other side with a simple button press.  Players can also quickly move from cover-to-cover, again all with a single press of the button.

Next, we added an all-new generative system, which monitors the way you are playing the game and determines which scare events to trigger next, ensuring that no two players have the same experience.

Finally, we’ve created four all-new multiplayer modes that are separate from the main campaign, and are unique to the F.E.A.R. universe.  We’ve deliberately avoided the standard Deathmatch and Capture the Flag gametypes in favor of more unique multiplayer modes such as F**king Run!, Contractions, Soul King and Soul Survivor that players cannot get anywhere else.

Get to the choppa nao

Why add co-operative play to a horror game? Don’t you think that would tone down the F.E.A.R. factor a notch?

When we began writing the story, it wasn’t long before we decided to focus on this incredibly compelling family consisting of Point Man, Fettel, and Alma. Adding co-op made perfect sense for us, and breathes new life into the series.

However, you can still play the game in Single Player, and get the classic, solo F.E.A.R. experience that fans of the franchise have come to expect, and you won’t have to worry about a buddy AI running around with you. But Fettel isn’t really gone when you play alone – he’s in your head, pestering you from time to time, taunting you.  When you play together in co-op, sure he might be your brother, but can you really trust him?  You’ve got to remember that Point Man killed Fettel at the end of the first game, and Fettel has returned to his brother’s side as a ghost.  Not to mention the fact that Fettel was driven to madness and cannibalism during the events of the first F.E.A.R.