Alien: Isolation Video Diary

A video developer diary is online for Alien: Isolation, featuring some of the staff at the Creative Assembly discussing the newly unveiled Alien survival/horror game. Topics include the reasons for undertaking this project, their efforts at getting the story right, the isolated and vulnerable state of the player, the influence of the original movie on their art direction, and more. Thanks Joystiq.

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20.
 
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary
Jan 9, 2014, 08:48
20.
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary Jan 9, 2014, 08:48
Jan 9, 2014, 08:48
 
Prez wrote on Jan 9, 2014, 05:22:
No offence, but you missed my point. In ANY Aliens game done before, there is always slow times filled with horror moments, and as well action times.

The action in the first (and best) movie was different from the sequel though. The original was far and away the scariest, and all the action was a terrifying culmination of the supremely crafted tension leading up to it. It also consisted only of violence inflicted by the Alien upon the hapless crew, yet it remains one of THE great sci-fi movies of all time. I don't want cannon-fodder aliens; that shit is old hat by now after tons of games. I want to feel the tension and the terror of the first 'Alien', and this game is looking to be EXACTLY what those of us who groan at yet another gung-ho-space-marine-with-a-pulse-rifle-gunning-down-aliens-by-the-truckload game have been wanting since FOREVER. I'll be tuning out the haters on this one.

Movies and video games are very different creatures. 10 hours of hiding from a lone xenomorph would get boring and few will stick around long enough to finish the game. Imagine if the first Alien movie was 10 hours instead of just under 2. The movie works because you don't get burned out on the horror aspect.

If they add multiple aliens to spice things up later on (imagine something like the Jurassic Park raptors or whatever) we might have a game. But right now, Sega and Creative Assembly aside, there is nothing here that gets me excited. To life-long fans such as Shataan and myself the alien and Ripley are like family members. The Nostromo is a second home. The horror of it has long since faded away and we want to see something new that somehow doesn't shit on the franchise we grew up with and love.

I'm calling it. Alien Isolation will be a 4-5 hour buggy mess at release with the worst AI since A:CM.
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19.
 
Re: I read sept 3 and think Rome II
Jan 9, 2014, 06:42
Tim
19.
Re: I read sept 3 and think Rome II Jan 9, 2014, 06:42
Jan 9, 2014, 06:42
Tim
 
sir wrote on Jan 9, 2014, 05:24:
They look like they're doing an excellent job on the visuals, so well done for that. But a major part of the appeal of the Alien movie, for me, is that you don't actually see the alien very much, but you know that it's there, somewhere, menacing and lurking. When you do actually get to see it, it's not a fast moving critter - it moves very slowly and deliberately, which seems to add to the menace, as well as give it a sense that it's toying with its prey. How well those things will translate to an interactive experience presumably lasting for a good few hours, well, we'll need to wait and see.

Try reading the interviews/previous on RPS - they've done exactly that you 'see' it very rarely and there's lots of talk of hiding under tables or in lockers where you *can't* see it at all and the very fact that you can't makes it all the more terrifying. There's some great little snippets on what they've observed with journalists playing it - how they spent a lot of time hiding or returning to hiding places out of anxiety that it 'might' be around (rather than physically seeing it). The motion tracker is used to great effect here.
I have high hopes - despite loving FPS games I think this is going to float my boat in terms of tension and atmosphere (e.g. how they talk about getting sound effects from the original film or from the engineers who worked on those effects - see the tennis ball anecdote).
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18.
 
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary
Jan 9, 2014, 05:24
sir
18.
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary Jan 9, 2014, 05:24
Jan 9, 2014, 05:24
sir
 
They look like they're doing an excellent job on the visuals, so well done for that. But a major part of the appeal of the Alien movie, for me, is that you don't actually see the alien very much, but you know that it's there, somewhere, menacing and lurking. When you do actually get to see it, it's not a fast moving critter - it moves very slowly and deliberately, which seems to add to the menace, as well as give it a sense that it's toying with its prey. How well those things will translate to an interactive experience presumably lasting for a good few hours, well, we'll need to wait and see.
Avatar 17694
17.
 
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary
Jan 9, 2014, 05:22
Prez
 
17.
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary Jan 9, 2014, 05:22
Jan 9, 2014, 05:22
 Prez
 
No offence, but you missed my point. In ANY Aliens game done before, there is always slow times filled with horror moments, and as well action times.

The action in the first (and best) movie was different from the sequel though. The original was far and away the scariest, and all the action was a terrifying culmination of the supremely crafted tension leading up to it. It also consisted only of violence inflicted by the Alien upon the hapless crew, yet it remains one of THE great sci-fi movies of all time. I don't want cannon-fodder aliens; that shit is old hat by now after tons of games. I want to feel the tension and the terror of the first 'Alien', and this game is looking to be EXACTLY what those of us who groan at yet another gung-ho-space-marine-with-a-pulse-rifle-gunning-down-aliens-by-the-truckload game have been wanting since FOREVER. I'll be tuning out the haters on this one.
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
- Mahatma Gandhi
Avatar 17185
16.
 
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary
Jan 9, 2014, 03:57
16.
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary Jan 9, 2014, 03:57
Jan 9, 2014, 03:57
 
Shataan wrote on Jan 9, 2014, 01:40:
No offence, but you missed my point. In ANY Aliens game done before, there is always slow times filled with horror moments, and as well action times. JUST like the movies. Ya need both types of moments in a game to know and FEEL the real differences between them.

Ya can`t have too much slow, or too much action. Ya need a good blend between the 2. At any rate, we obviously won`t know till the fat lady sings as far as AI is concerned. But I can already see the writing on the wall.

I disagree. If I'm playing an action game, I play it for action. If you're forcing me to be stealthy or solve puzzles when I just want to kill stuff, that's irritating. Same applies to stealth games or platformers or horror games. I play certain genres for specific reasons. To assume that players enjoy gameplay that's irrelevant to your game's genre is folly.

In a horror game, you should never, ever feel empowered. If I can easily dispatch enemies, why should I ever fear them? The tension needs to be consistent. That's why action horror games aren't scary. The Suffering, Dead Space, Resident Evil, FEAR, Condemned... none of those games are scary because I know that I can deal with any enemy that comes my way.

From what I've seen and read, Isolation looks to be a breath of fresh air. There are tons of Aliens shooters. Tons. Last thing we need is another one. The original film has never been used as inspiration for any of the games and none of the games have attempted survival horror. This is the shot in the arm the series needs.

The AI is really the most important part here. If the AI becomes formulaic and predictable, then dealing with it will become a matter of routine. In a horror game, nothing should ever feel routine. Amnesia and Outlast suffered from that due to their heavily scripted encounters and predictable mechanics. Players need to be kept on their toes if you want to keep them scared.

On a side note... you loathe playing as a female? Really? Way to fulfill gamer stereotypes. And then to mention NOLF as if it's a bad thing? The NOLF games were awesome. Great writing and gameplay. If you seriously take issue with playing as a female character, you may be insecure about your sexuality.

This comment was edited on Jan 9, 2014, 04:07.
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15.
 
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary
Jan 9, 2014, 01:40
15.
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary Jan 9, 2014, 01:40
Jan 9, 2014, 01:40
 
No offence, but you missed my point. In ANY Aliens game done before, there is always slow times filled with horror moments, and as well action times. JUST like the movies. Ya need both types of moments in a game to know and FEEL the real differences between them.

Ya can`t have too much slow, or too much action. Ya need a good blend between the 2. At any rate, we obviously won`t know till the fat lady sings as far as AI is concerned. But I can already see the writing on the wall.
14.
 
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary
Jan 9, 2014, 00:53
14.
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary Jan 9, 2014, 00:53
Jan 9, 2014, 00:53
 
Looks interesting.

As for people complaining that it's not an action game...There are enough action games out there to keep people busy for their entire waking lives, and the Alien from the movies is cheapened by having multitudes of them.

You can do action with anything, the true Alien horror is a rarer emotion, and if this game is done right, then it will be a lot more memorable than an alien vrs predator type game.

I like action games a lot myself, but action doesn't need Alien, Alien needs horror to be as good as it's been in the movies however.
13.
 
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary
Jan 9, 2014, 00:30
13.
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary Jan 9, 2014, 00:30
Jan 9, 2014, 00:30
 
I agree with MadMax. And imho Ripleys daughter who is barely mentioned in the movie.... is not canon. I agree, lazy writing. I am a pretty big fan of the Aliens/Predator thing.... and am way passed pizzed off at what has been done to the franchise. So much so that I hope Rebellion, the original creator of AVP NEVER gets the chance to attempt another after pizzing all over AVP 3 like they did.

As for Gearbox and what they did to A CMs? ALOT of us saw right thru their total marketing B/S from the beginning. They truly put one of the last nails in the coffin lid of the franchise. Thx GB and Sega/FOX... azzholes!!!!

As for Alien Isolation and how good it looks... does the AL()EN/Predator FPS Fan of today who wants and craves action and has been waiting for years for the Definative AL()ENS/Predator Next Gen PC Experience... really wanna don your Space Panties... pack a wrench inhand and go sneaking around for 10 hours? REALLY????

Well, good luck with that.
12.
 
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary
Jan 8, 2014, 23:39
12.
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary Jan 8, 2014, 23:39
Jan 8, 2014, 23:39
 
Mad Max RW wrote on Jan 8, 2014, 22:01:
It's just lazy writing. Why do they have to expand on the background story to a movie most people who buy this new game will have never seen?

I don't know, it seems to be a fad. Only the AvP games did it right by not mentioning anything from the movies or characters and just used the universe lore to build a story, which worked perfect.

But now they want Ripley's daughter retconned so you get a 'feelz' to the first Alien movie I guess. Technically she is dead and lived to be old while Ripley was just floatin' in space.

The game does look good though. Still applying skepticism, but I'm crossing my fingers hoping this doesn't suck.
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11.
 
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary
Jan 8, 2014, 23:23
11.
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary Jan 8, 2014, 23:23
Jan 8, 2014, 23:23
 
SlimRam wrote on Jan 8, 2014, 22:13:
The promotional trailer looked AMAZING...

I wonder if the actual game will resemble it at all upon release?

I can tell you one damn thing, if I buy it and you can actually install, play and finish the game without it sucking ass harder than a confused face-hugger; THAT'S when i'm going to need diapers

apparently the guys who previewed the actual game prototype says it currently looks like the scenes in the trailer right now. they wanted it to be semi-playable so press don't think it's another Colonial Marines crap. definitely looking forward to playing it.
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10.
 
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary
Jan 8, 2014, 22:13
10.
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary Jan 8, 2014, 22:13
Jan 8, 2014, 22:13
 
The promotional trailer looked AMAZING...

I wonder if the actual game will resemble it at all upon release?

I can tell you one damn thing, if I buy it and you can actually install, play and finish the game without it sucking ass harder than a confused face-hugger; THAT'S when i'm going to need diapers

This comment was edited on Jan 8, 2014, 22:23.
With a damaged Panzer still hunting 'The Haunted Tank' and Gus out of ammo, Jeb knew there was only one option, "Slim, RAM!"
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9.
 
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary
Jan 8, 2014, 22:01
9.
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary Jan 8, 2014, 22:01
Jan 8, 2014, 22:01
 
It's just lazy writing. Why do they have to expand on the background story to a movie most people who buy this new game will have never seen? All it does is further cheapen the only good parts of the franchise in a way people joked about. The comic books were bad enough. AvP3 was supposed to resurrect the brand in 2010. It failed. A:CM was supposed to resurrect the brand in 2013. It failed. Alien Isolation is not going to resurrect the brand as long as Sega still owns the game license and Creative Assembly.
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8.
 
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary
Jan 8, 2014, 21:18
Prez
 
8.
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary Jan 8, 2014, 21:18
Jan 8, 2014, 21:18
 Prez
 
Shataan wrote on Jan 8, 2014, 21:10:
The lone person against a Predator in a PC game... a single Predator imho WOULD work. Because in the movie it works great... albeit Arny had some disposable supporting actors. In Alien, it was not just Ripley. It was a whole crew who had no clue wtf they were up against.

I am not attracted to the idea concept of 1 lone player... a girl character which I loath playing. Think NOLF here. Not to mention Ripleys daughter is as far from canon as you can get. And then you get a what? A wrench?

The only thing I do like is the environment visuals. To me the visuals/sounds/lighting stick out as being very well recreated. But no way am I interested in playing hide and seek with a single Alien for 10+ hours.

I am glad they are creating a game that THEY wanna play. Maybe someday a Dev Team will come along and make the Alien/Predator PC experience, that "I" wanna play.

Your game could turn out awesome, no doubt. But first they need to resurrect the brand. It has been tarnished by mediocre/bad movies and mediocre/bad games for so long, that can only happen I think after some good products in the universe, and this looks like a definite start as long as they don't screw it up.

As for Ripley's daughter not being canon, she is mentioned in the extended cut of Aliens. Ripley is crying over a picture of her after she is told by Burke that she (her daughter) died years before while Ripley was in cryosleep. It was actually an important scene - it shed light on just why Ripley was so dead-set on saving Newt in the second film. I surprised it got cut from the theatrical version. Anyway, it would make sense that she might go on a search mission to find out what happened to her mother's ship.
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
- Mahatma Gandhi
Avatar 17185
7.
 
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary
Jan 8, 2014, 21:10
7.
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary Jan 8, 2014, 21:10
Jan 8, 2014, 21:10
 
The lone person against a Predator in a PC game... a single Predator imho WOULD work. Because in the movie it works great... albeit Arny had some disposable supporting actors. In Alien, it was not just Ripley. It was a whole crew who had no clue wtf they were up against.

I am not attracted to the idea concept of 1 lone player... a girl character which I loath playing. Think NOLF here. Not to mention Ripleys daughter is as far from canon as you can get. And then you get a what? A wrench?

The only thing I do like is the environment visuals. To me the visuals/sounds/lighting stick out as being very well recreated. But no way am I interested in playing hide and seek with a single Alien for 10+ hours.

I am glad they are creating a game that THEY wanna play. Maybe someday a Dev Team will come along and make the Alien/Predator PC experience, that "I" wanna play.
6.
 
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary
Jan 8, 2014, 21:04
Prez
 
6.
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary Jan 8, 2014, 21:04
Jan 8, 2014, 21:04
 Prez
 
After seeing this and reading the PC Gamer preview Blue posted today all I can do is try to curb my unabashed excitement with the mantra "this can still suck. This can still SUCK!" But damn if they aren't headed in EXACTLY the right direction so far. Just imagine... an 'Alien' being scary again! Then imagine more... What if this began a string of great new Alien movies? In a word, A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!!!
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
- Mahatma Gandhi
Avatar 17185
5.
 
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary
Jan 8, 2014, 19:30
5.
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary Jan 8, 2014, 19:30
Jan 8, 2014, 19:30
 
Ash: You still don't understand what you're dealing with, do you? The perfect organism. Its structural perfection is matched only by its hostility.

Lambert: You admire it.

Ash: I admire its purity. A survivor … unclouded by conscience, remorse, or delusions of morality.
"The horse I bet on was so slow, the jockey kept a diary of the trip." - Henny Youngman
4.
 
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary
Jan 8, 2014, 18:38
4.
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary Jan 8, 2014, 18:38
Jan 8, 2014, 18:38
 
I dig the late 70's retro sci-fi look. Prometheus should have done this.
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3.
 
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary
Jan 8, 2014, 18:21
3.
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary Jan 8, 2014, 18:21
Jan 8, 2014, 18:21
 

Wow, playing this with Oculus Rift may require wearing diapers too.

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2.
 
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary
Jan 8, 2014, 17:08
2.
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary Jan 8, 2014, 17:08
Jan 8, 2014, 17:08
 
Holy shit they better do it for the OR. Dont fukin cop out and console it boys..
1.
 
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary
Jan 8, 2014, 17:07
Fly
1.
Re: Alien: Isolation Video Diary Jan 8, 2014, 17:07
Jan 8, 2014, 17:07
Fly
 
Looks brilliant and if there's Oculus Rift support, I shall surely have heart meds within close proximity while playing.
"This is more than anyone can bear, but we will persevere." -Vort
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