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The game designer of upcoming Steam FPS "Merchants of Brooklyn" told us about the game and explained why it's not an FPS-MMO as originally planned.
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Ever since "Merchants of Brooklyn" was announced back in 2007, gamers have been intrigued; independent developer Paleo Entertainment touted that the new FPS would use Crytek's CryEngine 2. The game also has an unusual plotline: it takes place in a futuristic New York, where global warming has taken hold, the affluent rule society and Neathderthals are cloned to be laborers and gladiators who battle to the death for entertainment. Players take on the role of an elite Neanderthal fighter with a biomechanical arm; dismemberment and comic gore ensues.
Lead game designer John Stookey answered our questions about the game via e-mail. He explained how the one-time FPS-MMO became what it is today, how they were influenced by "Half-Life 2" and what we can expect from Paleo in the future.
MTV Multiplayer: First of all, why Brooklyn? Any specific reason?
Lead game designer John Stookey: A member of the design team wanted to explain the back story of who was sending Neanderthals in to a massive multiplayer war verses Cro-Magnon man on a different planet. We came up with a MOB Cartel that was over-cloning to fuel a pit fighting ring needing a bigger stage. He was dating a girl from Brooklyn at the time, and the MOB and Brooklyn fit well together. New York is a unique and diverse city that fits well with the uniqueness of our game.
MTV Multiplayer: Any resemblances to real-life places?
Stookey: The Eagle Warehouse in the Fulton Ferry Landing area of Brooklyn is where the M.O.B. built one of its under city casinos. This is where the game starts and you actually break out of the clock on top and start your battle in Brooklyn.
MTV Multiplayer: Post-apocalyptic New York has been done before. What did you look to
for inspiration and what did you do differently than what others have done?
Stookey: The way the M.O.B. used the clones to build the city literally straight up reminded us of "The Fifth Element" but we decided to flood the streets and divide it into three vertical classes of inhabitants. The lowly Neanderthal clones, middle intellectual Humans, and upper enlightened Utopian race (and the gangsters that can afford to live there).
MTV Multiplayer: Can you describe how the single and multiplayer modes will play out?
Stookey: Single-player will span across the different volumes of the story. In Volume One, you are getting a good introduction to the M.O.B. universe. With each volume, more of the story unfolds.
Multiplayer is an endless experience of new maps, weapons, game modes, upgrades and features. We want hear the players voice and incorporate their ideas into the game. Gamers are welcome to visit us at www.paleoent.com and sound off on our message board. We would really like the community to have a large role in the direction that this game goes. By purchasing the first issue, you are a part of the multiplayer world for the lifetime of this game.
MTV Multiplayer: I've read that some of the developers worked on "Half-Life 2" mods. Is that influence is felt in the game?
Stookey: The mod definitely had an influence on "Merchants of Brooklyn" -- it was the predecessor. The mod was entitled "The Paleolithic Revolution" and dealt with Neanderthals beating each other to a pulp with rocks, sticks and cavewomen. We started the feel of the game in the mod and took at to the next level with "Merchants of Brooklyn."
MTV Multiplayer: People seem to have mixed feelings on the art style. Why did you go with this cel-shaded look?
Stookey: Actually, we don't consider it a cel-shaded style. The game makes the player feel as though he is the lead character inside a graphic novel. Every texture in "Merchants of Brooklyn" is hand-painted with no photo manipulation. We wrote our own custom shader to give it that inked feel. In our comic world, over-the-top violence and dark humor are the norm. We don’t want the player to relate this with real life.
MTV Multiplayer: The game is comically gory. What made you go that route?
Stookey: Over-the-top is how we roll at Paleo. In a comic world where nobody actually gets hurt, why not go for gore and brutality done in a humorous fashion. There is a time and place for implied violence, peppering someone with spikes from your Shafter Weapon is not one of them. Games allow players to escape from reality and do things that they wouldn’t even imagine doing in real life. We are imagining it for them.
MTV Multiplayer: The first volume is coming out on Steam. Why the episodic format? Will this eventually be coming to XBLA or PSN also?
Stookey: We are big fans of the secure and easy way Steam delivers video games. Valve is well known as a great company who believes in and supports independent game developers. In these tough economic times, we feel that today’s gamer is looking for affordable, downloadable content that can be purchased and enjoyed from the comforts of home.
An episodic release supports the graphic novel theme of the game. Single player stories will play out in issues, such as a graphic novel would. Multiplayer, on the other hand, will be an ongoing world with new game modes, maps and other features being added frequently.
We are releasing PC only for our first volume, but would definitely like to bring it to as many platforms as possible in the future. I think we can safely rule out the Wii, however.
MTV Multiplayer: I've read that Paleo originally planned to release "Paleo: Rise of Man" as an FPS-MMO first. Why didn't that happen? And how is that coming along?
Stookey: An MMO is such a huge undertaking that we really didn’t have the money or staff to be able to pull off "Paleo: Rise of Man" the way it needs to be made. "Paleo: Rise of Man" is not canceled, but "Merchants of Brooklyn" is our focus.
We need a case study; we’ve been keeping an eye on [FPS-MMO] "Huxley." ... Basically, you need thousands of weapons to make this successful. Start with rocks and level up to nukes. A transforming arm that can change into any weapon is a good place to start.
MTV Multiplayer: We haven't really seen many FPS-MMOs before. Why do you think that is? What's your game plan for that?
Stookey: Balancing. ... Gamers are fickle, if it is not done correctly they will lose interest quickly. A lot of forethought and planning will need to be put in, if and when we start working on "Rise of Man." One thing is for sure though; the story and premise of "Merchants of Brooklyn" will be the underlying tone if we do the MMO. Wear a helmet.
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"Merchants of Brooklyn" will be released for PC via Steam on March 17.
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