Bakshra: Please introduce yourself and tell our readers a little bit about yourself and your position at Strategy First.

Dan: My name is Dan Hoecke and I’m the designer of Zero-G Marines and the director of Strategy First’s Ottawa Studio. I’ve been in the games business from the beginning as an artist. In 1989 I started Midnight Software Inc. with programmer Brian Hilchie and we produced our first 3D flight combat game for the pc. It was Heroes of the 357th for EA, which then lead to producing the space combat title Renegade, The Battle for Jacob’s Star for SSI. In 1998 we were retained by Strategy First and became the Ottawa Studio. Brian departed and Oliver Marsh took over the reins as the Technical Director and created our new graphics engine, which is capable of handling the ambitious challenges of Zero-G Marines.

Bakshra: Being able to take control of computer-controlled squad members in Zero-G Marines will add a new dimension to single-player gaming. What kind of system is being used to give players control over their fellow squad members?

Dan: The player will be able to select and give commands to several wingmen with different weapons load-outs from a roster of squad mates. Fatigue and experience etc. will affect their skill level. There will be a basic command menu with available sub-commands such as “attack my target”,” defend my target”,” wait here”, etc. You won’t lose the mission if one of them dies. If an order is not given, or after completion of one, they will do what they think is best in a given situation (engage the enemy or provide support for the player).

Bakshra: Low gravity environments sound like they will be a large part of the game, considering it takes place in outer space. Will low-gravity areas be similar to low-gravity levels in other games (such as Unreal Tournament), or will they be more extreme?

Dan: Actually, there will be no gravity but most surfaces will be magnetically charged to permit surface movement. When on the surface, the player will have more control but there will be more susceptibility to splash damage. The moment he/she steps off a surface, the thrusters will kick in. At any time the player can use thrusters and fly about both outside and inside the interiors. There will be inertial dampeners that can be toggled on or off for more controlled manoeuvres [sic].

Bakshra: Will there be any weapons specifically designed to take advantage of low-gravity situations?

Dan: Yes there will be. It’s too early for us to reveal too much in regards to weapons but certainly there will be specialized ones that take advantage of a zero-g environment. As well, there will be weapons that can incapacitate to allow for capturing an enemy in single player mode.

Bakshra: What will happen when players are traveling between space stations? Will they be in the control seat of the transport craft, or will it be less involved then that?

Dan: There will be space stations orbiting earth’s moon, Mars and each of the four largest moons of Jupiter. A large Transport ship is needed to travel these distances. Once the player enters the ship, a cut scene will show the departure and arrival. Each station can consist of several groupings or clusters in a synchronous orbit. To travel from one cluster to another, the player must capture and fly a station shuttle that has been equipped with heavy weapons. Travelling among a single station cluster can be done in the thruster powered combat suits, known as Exo-Shells. There will also be available, if captured; fast and manoeuvrable [sic] station security patrol craft called OutRiders. The player can also fly these in combat but must leave them behind when entering the interior of a dome.

Bakshra: Zero-G Marines will be one of the first FPS games in quite some time to include a true co-op mode. How exactly will it work? Will players be free to join and leave at any time, as is the case with DM games? Will there be any co-op specific levels included that will only be possible to pass with the use of teamwork?

Dan: Players will be able to join and leave at anytime as with most online games. The server will handle all game properties such as number of players on a team, balancing, etc. There will plenty of levels that will require teamwork to win, as well as team vs. team maps.

Bakshra: Will there be a soundtrack included with the game, and if so, will it be redbook audio, or something more dynamic? What style of music will it be?

Dan: Atmosphere is very important for this game, so a lot of the music/sounds will be ambient in nature. Some of it will surely be redbook audio, but we do have some ideas about adding dynamic elements to it. It’s still a little too early to say how ambitious we will get with it.

I’d like to thank Dan Hoecke and Christina Ginger at Strategy First for taking the time set up this interview.

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