Alien isolation

Alien isolation Aug 17, 2016 18:34:57 GMT -5

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Post by Jonathan on Aug 17, 2016 18:34:57 GMT -5

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The player can use the motion tracker to track the alien's location. When motion was detected in front of the tracker, a circle would appear on its screen, indicating where the motion was detected.
Alien: Isolation is a single-player action-adventure game with stealth and survival horror features, in which the player controls the protagonist, Amanda Ripley, from a first-person perspective to interact with the environment.[1][2] To advance through the game, the player must explore a space station and complete numerous objectives while avoiding, outsmarting and defeating enemies like human occupants or hostile androids.[3] Objectives range from activating computers to collecting certain items or reaching a specific area in the game. The player has the ability to run, climb ladders, and sneak into vents. The player can also crouch and hide behind objects to break the line of sight with enemies, and covertly peek over or lean around to gain view.[3] The player has also the ability to go under nearby tables or inside lockers to hide from enemies.[3]

Unlike previous video game adaptations of the Alien franchise, Alien: Isolation features a single alien creature that pursues the player over the course of the game. The alien creature cannot be defeated, requiring the player to use stealth tactics in order to survive.[2] Instead of following a predetermined path, the alien has the ability to actively investigate disturbances and hunt the player by sight or sound.[3] Along the way, the player can use both a flashlight and a motion tracker to detect the alien's movements. However, using any of these increases the chance of the alien finding the player. For example, if the alien is moving and close enough, the tracker's sound will attract the alien, forcing the player to wisely use the tracker and remove it as soon as it detects motion.[3] The motion tracker cannot detect enemies when they are not moving and cannot determine whether the alien creature is up in the ducts or on the ground level.[3][4]

Although the player can use certain weapons to defeat enemies, Alien: Isolation emphasizes evasion over direct combat by providing the player with limited ammunition.[2] The game features four weapons that become available as the player progresses throughout the game: a revolver, a shotgun, a bolt gun, and a flamethrower.[5] The player can also craft several items by collecting schematics and different kind of materials throughout the game. Items range from EMP mines to noisemakers, molotov cocktails and pipe bombs, among others. These items help the player deal with enemies and the alien.[5] For example, the noisemaker can be used to attract enemies in one particular direction. The alien is afraid of fire, so using the flamethrower or a molotov cocktail will force it to retreat into the station's ventilation system. The player has a limited amount of health which decreases when attacked by enemies. Nevertheless, the player can restore lost health using medkits, which can be crafted with materials in Amanda's inventory.[3]

The space station is divided into multiple sections connected by trams and elevators. Each section is composed of a set of rooms and corridors separated by doors. Some doors require certain actions to be performed first before entry is allowed. For example, some doors require a keycard or a numbered entry code, while others need to be cut with a variety of welding torches or hacked using an electronic device.[4] The player may also encounter computer terminals that can be used to access information or trigger in-game actions like disabling security cameras or manipulating the space station's air-purification mechanism.[4] The game features an automap to help players navigate the different areas of the game.[6] To save their progress, players need to locate a terminal in the game and manually insert Amanda's access card in it. If Amanda dies, the player will need to start the game again from the last saved point.[7] In addition to the campaign mode, Alien: Isolation features a separate game mode, called Survivor Mode, that focuses on short, player-versus-alien scenarios. In each scenario, the player needs to complete a set of objectives while avoiding the alien under a time limit.[8]

Like the original Alien film, Alien: Isolation features a lo-fi, '70s vision of what the future would look like. These concept arts show both the exterior and interior of the game's main setting, Sevastopol.
Alien: Isolation was developed by the Creative Assembly, which is best known for their work on the Total War real-time strategy video game series.[9] The idea of developing a game based on the Alien film series from 20th Century Fox was conceived when the company finished Viking: Battle for Asgard in 2008, after publisher Sega acquired the rights to develop Alien games in December 2006.[9][10] A six-person team developed a small multiplayer game to pitch the idea to Sega, a "hide and seek" prototype where one of the players had to control the alien while the others would need to conceal themselves in the environment. The game captured the attention of Sega and the project was eventually approved.[9] Since the Creative Assembly had no experience with survival horror games, the company had to hire several people from other studios like Bizarre Creations, Black Rock, Crytek, Ubisoft, and Realtime Worlds for the project.[9] According to director Alistair Hope, the development team grew from "a couple of guys crammed in with the Total War team" to a group of 100 people by 2014.[9]

The Creative Assembly decided to design the game more in line with Ridley Scott's 1979 film Alien as opposed to James Cameron's more action-oriented 1986 sequel Aliens.[11] To help the designers authentically recreate the atmosphere of the film, Fox provided them with three terabytes of original production material, including costume photography, concept art, set design, behind the scenes photos, videos, and the film's original sound effect recordings.[11][12] As artist John Mckellan recalls, "It was a proper gold mine. We saw angles of things we'd never seen before."[11] During the first stage of development, the developers deconstructed the film to find out what made its setting unique. This would allow them to build new environments that were faithful to it.[11] Similarly, the film's original soundtrack was deconstructed so that composers could identify the main cues, which would then be used as templates to extend the soundtrack and fill out the length of the game.[13] The developers also had the chance to meet Alien and Blade Runner editor Terry Rawlings, who would give them additional insight.[11]

Rather than go for a shiny, high-tech science fiction look, the designers opted to recreate the setting and feel of the original Alien film using the work of concept artists Ron Cobb and Mœbius.[12] As a result, the game features a lo-fi, 1970s vision of what the future would look like.[12] For example, the game features clunky machinery like phone receivers, monochrome displays, and distorted CRT monitors.[2][12] To create period authentic distortion on in-game monitors, the developers recorded their in game animations onto VHS and Betamax video recorders, then filmed those sequences playing on an "old curvy portable TV" while adjusting the tracking settings.[12] As digital hacking was not conceived in the 1970s, the game's hacking device was built the way it would have been built on the set of the movie, and requires players to tune into a computer's signal while selecting icons on its screen.[12] Artist Jon McKellan noted, "We had this rule: If a prop couldn't have been made in '79 with the things that they had around, then we wouldn't make it either."[14]

The Creative Assembly wanted Alien: Isolation to have a story that was closely related to the film. As a result, the team decided to explore a story set 15 years after the events of the film which would involve Ellen Ripley's daughter and the Nostromo's flight recorder.[11] Writer Will Porter explained that the process of creating a backstory for Amanda was "refreshing" as he felt that she was an overlooked character of the Alien universe.[15] The derelict ship the Nostromo crew previously found in the film was also included in the game since the developers felt it was a central point in the Alien canon.[16] Actress Sigourney Weaver agreed to reprise her role as Ellen Ripley to voice small sections throughout the game because she felt that the story was interesting and true to the film.[17] Along with Weaver, the original Alien cast, which includes Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, and Yaphet Kotto, reprised their roles for the game's separate downloadable content missions, marking the first time they were brought back together since the release of the film.[18] All the characters were created with 3D face scans.[19]

Alien: Isolation runs on an entirely new engine that was built from scratch by the Creative Assembly.[12] The new engine allowed the development team to accommodate technical aspects like the game's atmospheric and lighting effects as well as the alien's behavioural design.[12] The alien itself was designed to look similar to H. R. Giger's original design for the creature from the film, including the skull underneath its semitransparent head. However, the designers did alter its humanoid legs with recurved ones to provide the alien a walk cycle that would hold up to scrutiny during longer encounters with the player.[20] Between 70 and 80 different sets of animation for the alien were created.[12] The alien's artificial intelligence was programmed with a complex set of behavioural designs that evolve as it encounters the player, creating the illusion that the alien learns from each encounter and appropriately adjusts its hunting strategy.[12] As gameplay designer Gary Napper explains, "We needed something that would be different every time you played it. You’re going to die a lot, which means restarting a lot, and if the alien was scripted, you’d see the same behaviour. That makes the alien become predictable, and a lot less scary."[12] The save system was inspired by a scene in the film where Captain Dallas uses a key-card to access Nostromo's computer, Mother.[7]

The developers originally planned to add a feature that would allow players to craft weapons, but the idea was ultimately discarded. According to Hope, "We thought about what people would want to do in order to survive. We explored different ideas, and one of them was fashioning weapons to defend yourself. That was quite early on, but then we realised that this game isn't really about pulling the trigger."[11] Another cancelled feature was the alien's iconic acid blood as a game mechanic, which could melt through metal like in the film. Although the feature was implemented at one point, it was eventually removed from the game because the developers felt it would change the course of the game in a "weird" direction.[11][12] In addition, the developers considered the possibility for the game to be played from a third-person perspective, but then realized that it would significantly change the experience. Hope explained that it would become "a game about jockeying the camera and looking after your avatar. But in first-person it's you that's being hunted. If you're hiding behind an object and you want to get a better view of your surroundings, you have to move."[11] The actual development of the game took overall four years to complete after the Creative Assembly first pitched the idea to Sega.[11] The game went gold on 9 September 2014 and is dedicated to Simon Franco, a programmer of the game, who died during its development.[21][22]

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Post by Jonathan on Aug 17, 2016 18:31:35 GMT -5

Post by Jonathan on Aug 17, 2016 18:34:57 GMT -5

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