Interview: Outrage's Matt Toshlog by Tuncer Deniz TD: Can you tell us about Outrage and your role within the company? MT: Outrage was started in 1996 as spin-off of Parallax Software, which developed Descent and Descent II. At that time Parallax had offices in Ann Arbor, Michigan and Champaign, Illinois, and we spun each off into autonomous companies. I'm the president of Outrage. TD: What's the biggest differences in Descent 3 versus its predecessors? MT: The most obvious different in Descent 3 is the addition of outside areas. Our new Fusion (tm) engine lets us seamlessly integrate indoor and outdoor environments, enabling us to create much more complex and realistic scenarios. TD: Two of my favorite features in Descent II were the Guidebot and Thief. What can we expect in terms of cool AI in Descent 3? MT: Our goal in D3 has been to give each robot in the game as much personality as the Thief and GuideBot had in Descent II. I think it's really important that the enemies in an action game are smart enough to maintain player interest. It's easy to make an enemy hard by having it fire or move faster, but it's so much better when an enemy is difficult because of the *way* it does those things. Both the Thief and GuideBot return in D3. We've beefed them up a bit, too, making Thief a little craftier and the GB more useful. For example, the GuideBot in D3 can find his own powerups and use them to fight robots, put out fires, and so on. TD: It looks like Descent 3 has a more fleshed out story than the previous two games. Can you talk a bit about the Descent 3 story? MT: The D3 story takes off where Descent II left off. At the end of D2 the player was left floating aimlessly, lost in space. As the start of D3 the player is rescued by a scientific research vessel that had intercepted his radio transmissions. The scientists have also discovered some disturbing information about the cause of the robot revolts in the first two games, and the player agrees to help them set things right. The story has a few good twists in it, but rest assured that by the end those responsible get what's coming to them. TD: Another thing that stood out in Descent II was its multiplayer. What's in store for Descent 3 multiplayer? MT: When Descent came out it set the standard for ease of use of a networked game. We've made Descent 3 as easy to use over the Internet as Descent was on a LAN. We support several ways to set up a game, including our own on-line service Parallax Online (PXO), as well as GameSpy and HEAT.NET. PXO will even keep rankings and other stats so you can see how you stack up against the other D3 players out there. On the gameplay side, we've provided a wide range of game types, including old standards -- like Anarchy (a combat free-for-all) and Capture the Flag -- and new games such as Entropy, a team-based strategy game. We've also put a lot of effort into making sure the game is well-balanced for multiplayer. We want each player to be able to use the weapons and player ships in the way that's best for her, so we've been careful to make sure that there isn't one all-powerful craft or weapon. TD: Are there any new weapons in Descent 3? MT: We've kept ten of the weapons from Descent II and added ten more. Examples of the new weapons are the microwave cannon, the EMD gun, and the Black Shark missile. Plus we've added several countermeasures and bombs, including the GunBoy, and auto-turret you can place anywhere in the mine. TD: Descent 3 will have less of the "twisting tunnels" that were part of the previous games. How has the level design changed for Descent 3? MT: One of the main goals in Descent 3 was to create levels that felt like real places. D3 has more of a story than the previous versions, and our levels are closely tied to what's happening in the story. So our levels include a space station, a Mars base, military complexes, factories, and a city on Earth. Each level has its own art and architecture, allowing us to create a real "sense of place" in our levels. This also means the gameplay varies from level to level. Some levels have a lot of exploration, while others involve more fighting. On one level the player has to infiltrate a military base through stealth; on another, the player has to hold off an attack at a research base long enough to evacuate. TD: What do you think about all those copy-cat Descent games that have come out? MT: We're flattered. In the end, it's good for us, too, since more games in the Descent "genre" help raise awareness of the original. TD: Will we see a Descent 4? MT: Yes. Our sister company, Volition, is hard at work on the next in the Descent series. TD: What's the key, in your opinion, to making good sequels? MT: You have to provide something new while not losing sight of the core elements that made the original a success. It a hard balancing act -- anything we change from D2 to D3 is sure to generate some passionate mail from our fans. TD: What's the next big trend in gaming? MT: The Internet is of course becoming more and more important, both for combat games like Descent and for persistent world games like Ultima Online. I think game AI will continue to improve, making single-player games more compelling. Realistic physics should be really cool, once someone figures out how to use them well. And the graphics will continue to get better. TD: What do you think about Apple's turnaround? Is the Mac a true gaming machine now? MT: I think the new G3 machines are great for gaming. It may take a while for people to get used to the Mac and a gaming platform, but it's certainly up to the task. TD: What, in your opinion, does Apple need to do next to convince more developers and publishers to port over games to the Mac? MT: Sell more machines! We like being in the game industry because it's fun, but we still have to make a living. I want to keep developing for the Mac, but there has to be a big-enough market to justify the work.