Interview: We get infected by Possession

While it might not be attached to a big name publisher and didn't enjoy the same high profile as some of Sony and Microsoft's games at E3, Possession was one of the first true next-gen games to cause a media ruck.

A few months back the first details and images of this intriguing title popped up as if from nowhere, and proudly proclaimed their next-gen status. But it wasn't just the fact that Blitz Games' latest project (the UK-based developer also worked on Bad Boys II and Xbox multiplayer game Fuzion Frenzy, and is currently developing "an all action shoot 'em up and driving title based on a cult 90s movie'... hmm) could be appearing on PS3 and Xbox 360 that excited. It was also the premise.

Shredder

Casting you as a demonic zombie enslaver who can create and command slavering hordes of zombies, Possession doesn't just turn the survival horror genre on its head - it snaps its neck, pulls its limbs out of their sockets, and chucks the torso out the window. As Nick Dixon, design manager on Possession, told us, "This is not survival horror. You are the horror and the city has to survive you."

Set in a city that, according to Blitz, measures 8 kilometers long and 6 kilometers wide, Possession finally gives you the chance to live out those twisted zombie dreams. How? Well, we sat down with Nick over a nice bowl of brains to dissect exactly why Possession is a new dawn of the dead...

And once you're done, head here for our full hands-on playtest with the game.

Before we get into the game mechanics, let's talk about Possession's storyline. We love how you're flipping the survival horror thing on its head, but what's the plot background?

Nick Dixon: The story begins with our lead character, a human male, discovering that a US corporation has been experimenting on dead soldiers from overseas conflicts. They've been shipped back to the States, but never laid to rest in the cemetery. He himself is an ex-soldier so he takes this quite personally and decides to blow the whistle and take the Corporation down.

But he doesn't make it out of the building. He's captured, and during the intro sequence we see him being mutated through a process of horrific experimentation into this character called The Enslaver. Embued with terrifying new powers, he then escapes the Corporation's labs and gets out into the city. His aim is to reach the Corporation's HQ right at the north end of the city and destroy it, but to do that he'll have to use the power he has been granted - the ability to raise and command the dead.

Monster

Tell us more about The Enslaver and how Possession messes with the player's expectations of the survival horror genre.

Nick Dixon: Well, we wanted The Enslaver to be very brutal, but we've shied away from giving him ranged weapons because we didn't think that was in keeping with the character. We explain at the very beginning that he's against firearms, but that doesn't mean he's a pacifist! You see, when he gets out into the city his whole belief system has been twisted. Where before he wanted to free the citizens of the city from the shackles of the corporation, he still wants to do that - only now he's liberating them by killing them and turning them into zombies!

So would you pin down Possession as an action game where you take out your enemies with The Enslaver, or an RTS where you overcome the opoosition using your zombie army?

Nick Dixon: Both. The Enslaver will be commanding huge hordes of the undead throughout the game, but he's more than capable of getting among the front lines and mixing it up, breaking arms and snapping necks. In addition, he can target other Corporation facilities to get genetic upgrades that will make him more powerful. So at the beginning of the game he's snapping arms, but by the end of the game he's ripping arms right out of their sockets, jumping much greater distances, pushing over cars and so on.

Being King of the Dead and all, presumably The Enslaver is a pretty tough bloke?

Nick Dixon: He can regenerate health, so if he steps out of battle he'll regain strength. But having said that, he can already soak up lots of bullets, a couple of good rockets and maybe even a tank blast before he goes down. We wanted him to be very powerful. That's a very important part of Possession, we wanted to empower the player and give them this sense of evil omnipotence.

The Enslaver

How do you enslave zombies?

Nick Dixon: Every person that you kill will rise from the dead, and every person that your horde kills thereafter will likewise become a zombie. Everyone starts off as a Shambler. These are the Romero-inspired zombies. They're slow, but they're relentless and they're great in a horde. They're only vulnerable to headshots so they make great human - sorry, inhuman shields - and they can also carry human weapons like handguns, machetes and rocket launchers that you can use from a first-person perspective.

You can then upgrade Shamblers to Runners. These are the 28 Days Later and Dawn of the Dead zombies: Fast and unimpeded by anything in their path unless it's too high for them to climb. They're great for ripping into enemy defences but unfortunately they get taken down by any shot to the body, as long as there's enough stopping power behind it. They also drop any weapons they were carrying, so it's good to keep a balance between Shamblers and Runners.

Tell us about the other zombies you've included...

Nick Dixon: Sure! Every zombie game has to have its wall climber, and the Shredder is ours. He's very fast and very vicious in combat, and he's perfect as a forward observer for your horde. He also has a unique vision mode that lets you pick out the biggest threats among enemies. But he's weak. If he takes damage he'll go down very quickly.

The next zombie is my real favourite. When the human body dies it begins to fill with gas as the internals decompose. This is called the putrefaction phase. So we've got a zombie called the Bloater that instantly becomes putrefied and swells up with gas. When you use him to attack he explodes, showering the area with foul gas and liquid. Anyone not wearing breathing apparatus is instantly turned into a zombie. He's also a man mountain and he can pick up other zombies and throw them as weapons!

Monster

Finally, we've got our 'Lord of the Rings' zombie - the Monster. This guy is ten feet tall and can soak up loads of punishment. He really is a zombie tank. But he can't infect, so he won't contribute to your horde with his kills.

How does the player control and command his zombie horde?

Nick Dixon: We've worked very hard on the controls to make sure the player can split, organise and command his horde while still remaining in control of his character. If I hold down the left trigger I create an insta-group [an expanding circle forms on the ground, highlighting all the zombies it touches]. The longer I hold it down, the bigger the group. That lets me select just one or two guys, or the whole level. Then my right trigger is my command trigger. If I tap it once, one zombie does what I've told him. If I tap it twice a few more follow him. And if I hold the trigger down the whole selected horde goes for it.

What kind of commands can you give your horde?

Nick Dixon: To keep things flowing we really only have three commands: Follow, attack and guard. But each zombie reacts to the commands differently. If, for example, you tell a Shambler to guard an alleyway he'll wander up there and mill about aimlessly. But if you tell a couple of Shredders to guard that alleyway, they'll hide in the shadows and ambush anything that comes close.

Can you use individual zombies to your advantage?

Nick Dixon: You're always in control of your zombie horde as a whole, but if you really want to get into the action you can possess any single zombie under your command and see the world from their first-person viewpoint. For that we use a Evil Dead-inspired 'Angry Cam' that you can detach from yourself and fly around, possessing whatever zombie you want. This also opens up strategic opportunities, because each zombie has different abilities. Shamblers, for instance, can carry human weapons that you can then control and fire. Shredders on the other hand can climb walls, so that's useful for reconnaissance and identifying a particular threat. That opens up a whole range of tactical options for the player.

Bloater

Speaking of tactics, what freedom will players have to tackle encounters however they want?

Nick Dixon: Lots. We've taken a lot of inspiration from Hitman. In Hitman you've got an objective, but your options for carrying it out are almost limitless. That's the kind of approach we're aiming for and it seems to be working. Everyone who plays Possessed solves problems in a different way, and takes on the role of The Enslaver with a slightly different attitude.

What other cool things can the player do to defeat his enemies?

Nick Dixon: We've built in lots of different things for the player to do. For instance, certain enemies are fitted with an explosive charge that detonates when they die. So when you kill one, you can pick his body up and throw him at your enemies like a human grenade. Basically, we wanted to let the player do anything that he would think would be cool to do.

Okay, let's talk about the zombie fodder now. Who are your enemies?

Nick Dixon: Your enemies by and large will be based on real-life groups. You'll have to deal with unarmed civilians, the police, the national guard, and the army. Then later in the game you'll come up against the Survivors. These guys are the human rebellion. They're armed with cricket bats, Molotov cocktails and vans modded to run over your horde, and they won't be infected without a fight.

Then there's the Black Ops. These guys are the Corporation's own troops. They're very mysterious -you can't see their faces, you don't know who they are, but you do know that they're devastating. They can cut through zombies like a hot knife through butter, and they're smart. They'll specifically target The Enslaver, because they know he's the guy they need to take out. So you'll have to work out how they're tracking you and how to deal with them when they find you.

The Enslaver

How will your enemies react to you and your horde?

Nick Dixon: We've got a very complex AI scale. At one end is terror. At the other is over confidence. Everything you do in the game is constantly being tracked by your enemies, and they're constantly evaluating the situation from a safety perspective. So, for instance, if they're behind a barrier they'll feel much more comfortable and are thus more likely to do what they're told. But if you destroy that barrier their fear will spike. Then, depending on the quality and experience of the enemy, they'll react differently. A highly-trained soldier won't bail out until their fear is at its peak, but a lazy National Guardsman is likely to climb over his buddies - or run them over if he's in a car - at the first sign of trouble. We really want to capture that atmosphere of fear.

At the other end of the spectrum is confidence. If you're getting beaten in a battle then your opponents may lose that healthy sense of fear and, for instance, begin to waste ammo as they cut through your hordes. Or you can send out a small zombie squad to attack an emplacement, dragging the enemy out of its defences as it gets over-confident and starts chasing you down. Of course, you're waiting around the corner with a huge horde...

Finally, there's been some confusion about Possession's intended next-gen destination. Is it a PS3 or Xbox 360 game?

Nick Dixon: At the moment it's both PS3 and Xbox 360. Our strategy covers both consoles, and also high-end PCs.

Possession is currently under development at Blitz Games for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC, and should be ready for release in 2006. A publisher is yet to be announced

Graeme Boyd