Interview: Mirage talks Mortyr 2

First-person shooters based on the events of World War II are almost embarrassingly numerous, but with Mortyr, Polish developer Mirage pleasingly stretched its imagination to create an intriguing first-person shooter set in a parallel universe where time-travelling Nazis have conquered the world. Step away from the mushrooms, one would be inclined to suggest.

For the sequel, currently without publisher, Mirage has rebuilt the game from scratch hoping to improve upon every aspect of the original while retaining the experience that fans of the game loved.

With a release pencilled in for the end of 2003, work is proceeding steadily and with focus, but product manager Andrej Wilewski was kind enough to allow himself to be captured behind enemy lines, where we game subjected him to the strictest interrogation:

What's the story behind Mortyr 2?

Wilewski: Sven (the hero) is ordered to travel to a distant village in Sweden, where he is to meet with two resistance soldiers who have discovered something very unusual. The main plot is about the Wunderwaffe - a Nazi super weapon they hope to use against the free world. Sven reveals the plans, but it's generally too late to ask for any help and Sven has to save the day all by himself. Sven will travel through Eastern Europe to reach Greece and on the way will visit other countries - Poland and Slovakia, for example.

Can you outline the main improvements you've made over the original?

Wilewski: It's basically everything - the engine is made from scratch to cover the latest in hardware and software and avoid carrying tons of useless code. The graphics approach is different, since the engine allows a lot more complicated geometry to be displayed with real-time shadows. The scenario is complex - although this is mainly an action game. We mean to preserve the good feeling of the original only.

What stage are you currently at in development?

Wilewski: We plan to release the game in time for next Christmas. We currently have two levels up and running and we hope a playable demo will be released in June/July.

Can you take us through what you consider to be one of the most exciting sections of the game currently, to give players an idea of the sort of action they can expect?

Wilewski: The game starts in a quiet part of Norway, in a snow cowered, sleepy village among the fiords. It starts with an unexpected ambush, adds plans of a Nazi super weapon to seek for and destroy, and then the action speeds up even more.

The environments in Mortyr 2 are all different: after Norway there's a small city with a castle somewhere in Poland, near the front line - lots of regular WWII locales here, with both the trenches and the city itself.

The castle experience is a little like Quake at first, then we travel further south to the forests of Yugoslavia to support local resistance (some commandos missions here, featuring alongside the great bridge destruction) to finish even further south, at the Wunderwaffe main facility.

Are you going to offer multiplayer support?

Wilewski: Yes, but not in the release version. The game concentrates on the single-player mode but we will release a multiplayer add-on shortly after the game hits the shelves.

What do you believe will make Mortyr 2 stand out from the crowd?

Wilewski: The complexity of the environments is huge. Add lots of enemies supporting and covering each other, lots of warfare equipment to shoot at (tanks, planes, cars) and use (static cannons and guns), real-time lighting and realistic shadows, mix that with realistic outdoor environments or dark castles and cathedrals, and you should be getting what we have in mind!

Should I also mention surface effects, reflective surfaces, lens-flare, rays of light, fog, birds in flight and more? Apart from all this, we want Mortyr 2 to be a good shooter with lots of smart enemies and huge weaponry to use. That's a lot.

Can you give us some examples of new weapons you plan to include in the game?

Wilewski: First of all there will be three sorts of weapons. Primarily the first-person weapons - knife, pistol, sniper rifle, machine pistols, grenades and Panzerfaust. Then there are static guns in levels - heavier machine guns and cannons the player can use. Then there are some missions when player rides some vehicles, using their cannons (like the Tiger tank).

Which single aspect of the game are you most excited about?

Wilewski: I don't want to sound silly, but all of them. We want the game to exceed expectations and we're working hard to ensure that no part of the game is lame!

Johnny Minkley