Painkiller Interview

GGMania got a chance to talk with Simon Vivien, Brand Manager at DreamCatcher Games, as he answers a few questions regarding to Painkiller, the upcoming first-person horror shooter from People Can Fly (ex-members of Lemon Interactive). According to interview, the game international release date is April 12th!

GGMania: Could you introduce yourself to our readers and tell them a little bit about what you do on Painkiller
Simon Vivien: I'm Simon Vivien, Brand Manager at DreamCatcher Games and I'm in charge of Painkiller for Europe.

GGMania: To start off, can you give us a brief overview of Painkiller?
Simon Vivien: Painkiller is all about one thing : action. No levers. No enigmas. No scripting. Just plain mayhem. You are Daniel Garner, a seemingly regular guy killed in an horrific car crash. Trapped in a dark and unwelcoming world, you struggle to uncover the reasons why you've been denied entry into heaven. Awaiting your purification, you must fight through an endless number of demon warriors as you attempt to stop the imminent unholy war. The game uses a proprietary next-generation graphic engine (PAIN engine), which truly surpasses anything existing. On top of that, we added a serious physics layer, since we use what is probably the most advanced physics engine, Havok 2.0. And we have done things with it even the Havok representatives didn't think possible !

GGMania: Are you pleased with the reactions that the recent demo received?
Simon Vivien: We are not pleased : we are stunned ! The demo has now been downloaded over 1.5 million times, and the feedback we received from the community was terrific. Bugless (almost, this is videogames :o), a scalable engine and above all a tremendous single-player experience with kick-ass physics : I believe everyone who played the demo enjoyed it, so that's the greatest response we could get.

GGMania: Are you implementing any changes to the game based on this response?
Simon Vivien: Yes, but you will see that when the reviews will come out :o) Seriously, we have been using player feedback from the very beginning of the development - the community of Painkiller beta-testers has been limited in numbers, but their feedback makes them the most valuable people I ever had the chance to work with. We do take seriously all types of input we receive.

GGMania: Was there anything that you wanted to include in the demo that you couldn't because of time constraints?
Simon Vivien: Hmm, not quite. We put 3 levels in this demo, well tuned, to provide a valuable experience and look at how the game feels.

GGMania: Can you reveal more about what settings will be featured in the full version? How many levels can we expect?
Simon Vivien: Hehe, wait for the final game, the teasing will soon be over :o) Just notice that the game will feature 24 single-player levels, 7 multiplayer maps and 5 game modes - out of the box.

GGMania: The weapons in Painkiller demo seem limited at first glance. Can you be more specific now about what weapons will be in the final game?
Simon Vivien: The game will feature 5 weapons - we decided to focus on quality rather than quantity. Each of them features primary and secondary modes. The 5 weapons are : Painkiller, Stakegun/Grenade launcher, Shotgun/Freezer, Rocket Launcher/Chaingun, Electrodriver.
I'll leave it up to you to decide which is your favourite, but I believe the Painkiller and the Stakegun will remain in the history of videogames... Crap, even I cannot tell which is my favourite.

GGMania: Can you be more specific now about the game's multiplayer support? Will there be co-op mod?
Simon Vivien: Go to www.painkillergame.com , the official site. You can read everything about multiplayer there, participate in the forums and then stay tuned for
the latest news on Painkiller

GGMania: Is there going to be a Linux server for Painkiller, and if so when can we expect it?
Simon Vivien: The server platform will be Windows based at start, but we do plan to implement Linux support shortly.

GGMania: What are you currently focussing on in the game, in terms of development?
Simon Vivien: Getting it done :o) Working out the few remaining bugs, rendering the cinematics, tweaking and tweaking and tweaking the multiplayer settings and maps (speed, reload rates), burning it on 3 CDs AND GET SOME SLEEP !

GGMania: What do you wish you could have included but couldn't?
Simon Vivien: Honestly ? Nothing. Painkiller's birth has lasted over 2 years, so it gave us much time to integrate or even take out what we wanted.

GGMania: What, in your view, is the most exciting aspect of Painkiller?
Simon Vivien: From my point of view, and I believe many players feel the same, the most exciting aspect of Painkiller is : it's fast and it's fun. Back to the roots of FPS you know. Pin an enemy to a wall, break everything into pieces, battle 50 foot tall bosses, find secret areas and bonuses. Fast and fun.

GGMania: When can we expect to see the game hit store shelves and at what price?
Simon Vivien: The game international release date is April 12th. Given the territories it might be available a bit sooner or later, so stay tuned with your favourite reseller, he will probably know better ! The first run of Painkiller packaging will come in a very high-quality, thick, DVD-like 3 CD set. First time ever this format has been used in the videogame industry, so we hope the pack will truly represent the value of the game :o) This pack will be available at the same price as the standard version (plastic DVD box + slipcase) we will use for the second run of packagings (ie when the shelves will be empty). Don't wait until it runs out, this is collector !

GGMania: Will there be a community map editor and SDK?
Simon Vivien: More to come on this :o)

GGMania: Do you plan to release a multiplayer demo?
Simon Vivien: Hmm, I have an NDA on that but I can tell you one thing : the multiplayer demo is scheduled to be released a few days after the game release.

GGMania: Thank you very much for taking the time to do this interview, is there anything else you'd like to tell our readers?
Simon Vivien: My pleasure. Painkiller is a fantastic single-player experience, really. But the multiplayer is going to be even more insane : 3 innovative modes, fast-paced action in FFA spirit, official servers available on D1 hosted by the biggest European network. We already had some interesting contacts during the latest
CPL with top clans and event coordinators, and I can already tell you we are preparing something big, European-wide, on Painkiller. When I mean big, I mean BIG.

Note: Special thanks to Tiscali Games.