Interview: Valve on Counter-Strike: Condition Zero

Counter-Strike: Condition Zero's unveiling was met with some considerable excitement when Valve Software opened the curtain on the game back in 2001. Half-Life multiplayer mod Counter-Strike had turned online phenomenon becoming the darling of millions of action-addicted sharpshooters, and news that the magic formula was to be injected into a deliciously hot single-player experience had man, woman, dog, cat and goldfish spellbound.

Condition Zero was originally expected in the second quarter of 2002, but what is surely a seeking of perfection on Valve Software's part has seen the title pass through the hands of a number of development studios, resulting in heavy delays. Now, two and a half years on from the announcement, a concrete release date of March 26, 2004 - for Europe - has finally been given.

In the wake of the confirmed date, we tracked down Valve's Jess Cliffe, co-creator of Counter-Strike, for a chat about the game.

We find it hard to believe that anyone wouldn't have heard of Condition Zero by now, but jut in case, could you introduce us to, give us an overview of, the game?

Cliffe: Counter-Strike: Condition Zero is a massive offering of new single- and multiplayer content. First, there is the single-player Tour of Duty in which the player progresses through 18 tiered maps, playing against and with our official CS bots.

This mode of gameplay is friendly to those brand new to the CS world as well as seasoned veterans, offering the ability to play on one of four difficulty levels with objectives in the game scaling according to how well you're doing.

Next you have the story-driven single player episodes contained in the Deleted Scenes section. These are more traditional single-player experiences. Finally, the online experience is greatly expanded by the introduction of the official CS bot - which is available for solo, LAN and Internet play. Several other enhancements, such as brand new multiplayer and graphically versions of classic CS maps, are also included.

Condition Zero has passed through the hands of a number of development studios, suggesting that game is made up of the best ideas from each - is this a fair assumption to make?

Cliffe: When developing a new game, we tend to iterate until we have something interesting and a lot of fun. For Condition Zero, we had the luxury of working with a lot of talented people (Turtle Rock Studios, Ritual, etc.). The most important part is that, at the end of the development cycle, we have a product we're proud to offer to gamers.

Has Valve simply overseen the project, or has it got its hands dirty with programming and design? If so, in what ways?

Cliffe: We have always had a more involved relationship with the companies we work with rather than a top-down hierarchical structure.

Our sister publication PC Zone magazine was issued with final/review code in the middle of last year (the review appeared in PC Zone's September 2003 issue), and then development time was extended. Precisely which parts of the game were you unhappy with at such a late stage?

No response given.

We've now been waiting for Condition Zero for some considerable time. Do you think people are still as excited about the game as they were when it was unveiled back in 2001?

Cliffe: Fun is fun, regardless of whether it happens in 2001 or 2004. I think our fans have been waiting for a twist on the Counter-Strike gameplay for a while and now they can fire it up.

Personally, I'm very excited to see the reaction from the CS community. I'm also looking forward to seeing some brand new players in the community.

Presumably Condition Zero is the last we'll see of Counter-Strike in its current form, on its current engine? Or are you still planning to release updates?

Cliffe: We have always supported every game we release with constant attention, updates, new content, etc. This isn't something that will change with this or any game we make.

Stuart Bishop