As a dedicated fan of the Alien franchise, I am beyond excited for the upcoming release of Alien: Rogue Incursion. The choice of Zula Hendricks as the player character is a stroke of genius, embodying all that we, as players, aspire to be in this action-packed game – fierce fighters with a strong sense of purpose and camaraderie.
In an exclusive chat with Game Rant, Survios’ Chief Product Officer TQ Jefferson shared insights about the upcoming game, “Alien: Rogue Incursion.” He delved into aspects such as its main character, environment, and aims to captivate both dedicated Alien series enthusiasts and novices who are just joining the franchise.
“Alien: Rogue Incursion” is a VR-exclusive action-horror game, unveiled in April 2024. This game intends to merge nail-biting gameplay with an innovative storyline centered around Zula M. Hendricks, a former U.S. Colonial Marine, who has appeared in more than a handful of “Alien” comic books and novels. Although she is no longer affiliated with the military by the time of “Rogue Incursion”, her resolve to combat the Xenomorph menace never wanes, following her wherever she goes.
Prior to the launch of the game, representatives from Game Rant had a chat with Survios’ Chief Product Officer TQ Jefferson about the origins of Rogue Incursion, its connection to the Alien series, and other interesting topics.
Survios CPO TQ Jefferson Talks Alien: Rogue Incursion and More
A: It seems that you’ve noticed I’ve spent a good portion of my career in the video game industry. Would you like to hear some stories from my journey and perhaps some notable moments I’d like to mention?
Since 1997, I’ve been working in the game industry, starting at Activision as a Quality Assurance Tester. Over almost three decades, I’ve climbed up the corporate ladder and worked with fantastic teams on numerous games, platforms, and intellectual properties. Among these experiences, my time at 20th Century Games included projects like Alien: Blackout and Predator: Hunting Grounds. I believe that the upcoming game, Alien: Rogue Incursion, will rank among my favorite creations, as it has already shown great promise.
Q: You’ve mentioned that you are a longtime Alien fan. How did this come about?
I have mixed feelings about the “Alien” franchise as it encompasses more than just the movies for me. I’m not only a fan of the films, but also the books, comics, collectibles, and so much more. Feel free to ask about my Xenomorph tattoo! However, I watched the first “Alien” at a young age, which scared me profoundly. Later, as I grew older and developed an interest in sci-fi and horror around the time of James Cameron’s “Aliens”, my affection for the franchise deepened. Over time, I evolved from being a casual fan to becoming part of the team that created the first “Alien” video game designed specifically for virtual reality.
Q: You mention purpose-built for VR? What does that mean and how is VR different from PC games?
In the process of creating virtual reality (VR) content compared to PC/Console development, there are several hurdles we face, and I’ll highlight three significant ones. One of the most apparent distinctions lies in Storytelling. Since you become the camera in VR, we can’t use dramatic cutaways to depict events happening elsewhere in the world. Instead, storytelling must predominantly be first-person and instantaneous. Given the importance of the Alien franchise’s narrative, we had to devise innovative methods to convey the story to the player while keeping these unique constraints in mind.
Alternatively, we’re focusing on performance, ensuring a seamless and pleasant playing experience with high-quality graphics. From the outset, we opted for a more authentic art style to emphasize the Xenomorphs and maximize immersion. It’s worth noting that VR requires rendering scenes twice, once for each eye. The level of detail, number of interactive objects, number of aliens, visual effects, lighting, and other factors all influence performance. Every aspect of the game must be designed with performance optimization in mind.
What I find particularly striking is the contrast between using equipment in VR and doing so on PC or Console. For instance, when reloading the Pulse Rifle, injecting health, or opening doors with a plasma torch, in VR you actually perform those actions, whereas in PC/Console, these are accomplished through button presses that trigger pre-set animations. This difference significantly alters the gaming experience.
Each of these elements helps build an immersive experience, making you feel as if you’ve stepped directly into the world depicted in the movie ‘Alien’.
Here’s a more conversational way to explain it: You might not know this, but for Virtual Reality (VR) to work, the system needs to create two versions of everything you see, one for each of your eyes.
Q: How did the Alien: Rogue Incursion project come to be?
At Survios, we aimed to create VR games based on popular and universally recognized Licensed Properties that would surpass any previous development efforts. Prior to joining Survios, I was the Vice President of Games Production for Licensed Properties at 20th Century Games. During my tenure there, I worked closely with developers on titles like “Alien: Blackout”, “Aliens: Fireteam Elite”, and “Aliens: Dark Descent”. As I did so, I often fantasized about crafting an authentic “Alien” game that would fully immerse players in the movie franchise’s universe. Now at Survios, I found myself on a mission to find our next major project, and I believed this franchise was ideal for that purpose.
A: I’d be happy to give you some insight into the progress of Survios’ project and their creative process behind it. Firstly, regarding the development, they’ve been working on this for quite a few years now. As for how they decided what to base the game on, they carefully selected elements that resonate with their vision and audience preferences. Lastly, in terms of content, they aim to include engaging features that offer an immersive gaming experience.
The game titled “Alien: Rogue Incursion” marks our most daring project yet, built upon a decade-long journey in groundbreaking VR innovation, captivating storytelling, and a top-notch franchise. As mentioned earlier, I brought considerable knowledge about the Alien film series to Survios. However, we conducted additional studies to gain insights into the preferences of Alien fans – their identities, origins, and gaming tastes. Research doesn’t dictate content creation; it indicates how well your concept resonates with your targeted audience. It was reassuring to find that many of our assumptions were correct.
Developing Alien: Rogue Incursion was a tough journey, filled with setbacks and even a complete overhaul of the game’s development process at one point. Early on, we managed to create what we called a First Playable – a well-polished section of the game that demonstrated what the finished product might look like. However, this early version didn’t capture the essence of the Alien experience in terms of gameplay and feel.
It became clear that our initial efforts weren’t meeting our intended goals due to trying to take on too many tasks simultaneously. This overload diverted us from focusing on creating an exceptional primary gameplay mechanism. Consequently, we chose to concentrate more intensely on our core competencies and develop a tailor-made VR experience first, with plans to modify it for PC/Console later.
After making some adjustments, we took a few months to come up with something captivating. The situation was tense, but our determination never wavered. By the end of this period, our team had created what we referred to as our Partner Playable demo. We then presented it to Disney, Sony, and Meta, and each time, we received fantastic responses – proof that we had fulfilled the expectations set by our vision.
This demo proved out the vision. In it, you were moving through a facility, steam blasting and lights flickering, armed with just your Pulse Rifle and Motion Tracker, trying to get to the Med Bay and fighting Xenomorphs along the way. They emerged from the ceiling, crawled across walls, shrieked and leaped, and tried like hell to kill you. It looked like Alien, sounded like Alien, and played how we originally envisioned the game: intense, frightening, and fun. This demo transported you directly into the world of Alien. We had found our core gameplay loop, and we never looked back.
Building Alien: Rogue Incursion wasn’t a smooth journey; it encountered several halts, setbacks, and even required a complete overhaul in the game’s production at one point.
Question: Could you give us some additional details about Zula Hendricks? For those unfamiliar with the character, who is she and what is her role within the Alien franchise?
After settling on our chosen game concept – a first-person, action-packed horror game featuring Xenomorph battles – it became clear who our player character should be. That person is Zula Hendricks, a former Colonial Marine who was wounded in her initial deployment and subsequently expelled from the corps. With society’s structure now crumbling around her, she finds herself adrift. Along her journey, Zula encounters Davis 01, an advanced Combat Synthetic who has broken free of his programming and exercises free will. A bond forms between them as they face various challenges and Xenomorph threats together, with a shared goal to eradicate the Xenomorphs wherever they appear. With little more than the clothes on their backs, their weapons, and each other for support, they embark on this quest.
As a devoted fan, I can’t help but feel that Zula personifies the ideal actions and sensations we yearn for players to encounter within the game: a skilled and resilient combatant who dives headfirst into danger without hesitation – just like you do when you pick up Alien: Rogue Incursion. The harmony between player and character is scarcely found, but here it was, already resonating within the expansive Alien universe. This established foundation offered us a wealth of gameplay and narrative possibilities.
Zula embodies everything we want the player to do and experience in the game.
A: It appears she’s traveling to the planet Purdan. Could you share some information about this planet and its importance?
Purdan is an entirely unique invention by Survios, playing a significant role in the narrative we’ve built for the game. Known as LV-354, it’s nearly all covered in silicate salt, giving it a distinctive appearance and feel. It’s often referred to as a “barren rock” since terraforming efforts didn’t fully succeed. In the distance, the Weyland-Yutani Atmospheric Processor stands ominously. Zula travels to Purdan in search of Benjamin Carver, an old squad mate who once saved her life during their time with the Colonial Marines. Upon reaching Purdan, Zula and Davis 01 uncover that Gemini Exoplanet Solutions, a rival corporation to Weyland-Yutani, has broadened its operations from mineral extraction into more clandestine research involving Xenomorphs.
A: Is Alien: Rogue Incursion likely to be enjoyable for players who aren’t well-versed in the Alien series?
A: It’s vital that the story be self-contained and approachable. That means you don’t need to know anything about the Alien franchise to follow the story in our game. Of course, there will be tons of content to surprise and delight fans, like the iconic Motion Tracker and the Pulse Rifle, but there will also be nods to all of the films in the franchise. We never want the player to feel lost, like they’re out of the loop or need to do anything other than play the game to understand the story.
Q: What are you hoping fans will think after playing this game?
They’ve just enjoyed an exceptional VR game. Survios really hit the mark: the immersive environment, the ambiance, and the Xenomorph battles combined to create something extraordinary. In the end, we hope fans will crave more, that they want this game, universe, and story to continue.
The action-horror game titled “Alien: Rogue Incursion” is set to launch on December 19th. You’ll be able to play it on the Meta Quest 3, PlayStation VR2, and Steam VR platforms. The Standard Edition costs $39.99, while the Deluxe Edition (which includes additional cosmetics) sells for $49.99. Both versions are now available for pre-order.
Read More
- ENA PREDICTION. ENA cryptocurrency
- USD PHP PREDICTION
- SOL PREDICTION. SOL cryptocurrency
- BTC PREDICTION. BTC cryptocurrency
- SHIB PREDICTION. SHIB cryptocurrency
- Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare – Where To Find Sasquatch
- LUNC PREDICTION. LUNC cryptocurrency
- USD COP PREDICTION
- USD ZAR PREDICTION
- BRISE PREDICTION. BRISE cryptocurrency
2024-10-10 20:36