Survival Horror has been around for a while now in gaming, scaring the beejeebers out of those who play them. Now Surreal Software is taking a different approach to scary games with what they call an Action Horror game, focusing on fighting back while still being scared to death in The Suffering (GC, PS2, XB). We recently had the chance to talk with the game's lead designer, Richard Rouse III about the game. So sit back, and enjoy.

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The Suffering Q&A

Let’s get this interview started with the requisite “Name, Rank, and Serial Number” question. Who are you and what is your involvement in The Suffering?

Greetings. My name is Richard Rouse III and I'm Lead Designer and Writer on The Suffering.

What are the key features in The Suffering that will help to set it apart from the legions of other survival horror games on the market?

First and foremost, it's important to note that The Suffering is not a survival horror game; it's an action horror game. Indeed, we're the only horror game I know of that that is so focused on action, which makes us immediately stand out. Our hope was to make a game for people who want to play a game in a horrific setting but who don't want to suffer with frustrating controls or feeling that their character in the game-world is a clumsy dufus. To make the comparison in horror film terms, the difference between existing horror games and The Suffering is like the difference between The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the Aliens series. In the former, the main character survives mainly through luck. In the latter, Ripley survives because she's extremely strong, smart, and determined. That's the feeling we really wanted to capture.

In the game, Torque will have the ability to change into a beast when his rage meter is maxed-out. Besides the expected increase in strength, what other benefits will Torque’s beastly alter ego have?

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We wanted to put something in the game that would make it more than just a shooter. Torque’s monstrous form switches combat from projectile based to melee based, and basically allows the player to go completely berserk for a short amount of time. It’s a very intense, visceral experience. The player has a basic set of melee attacks he can perform while in that form, in addition to a special “impale” attack, as well as a succession

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of even more horrific assaults that increase in strength over the course of the game. In general, the creature is faster, stronger, and far more lethal than regular Torque, but the player has to use the creature form wisely and sparingly. Of course Torque’s ability to transform also figures prominently into the story. Indeed, without it there wouldn’t be much of a story left. Of course I can’t give too much away, but hopefully that will pique your interest.

What sorts of weapons will be available in the game?

Torque will find all manner of weaponry one would expect to find in a prison setting, including the inmate-made shiv you start out with, to the significantly more effective fire axe, to projectile weapons such as revolvers (double and single), a Tommy gun, and a shotgun. And we’ve got a pretty cool uber-weapon you find toward the end, or earlier if you're clever. And then there’s a barrage of thrown weapons as well, so there’s a lot of variety there.

Is the Suffering planned to be more of a scary action game, or will it be a mix of adventure as well?

The focus is definitely on action, but the type of storytelling we're doing as well as some of the puzzles we have push us a bit in the adventure game direction. These are not tremendous brain-teasers or anything, but they are more involved than what you might find in Halo or Max Payne. We felt this was what was best suited to the game's setting, and it helps us to achieve the pacing that we wanted.

With the game taking place in a prison what sort of environments can gamers expect? Will there be more than places like the cafeteria, showers, cell blocks, and laundry facilities?

The entire game takes place on Carnate Island, where Abbott State Penitentiary is built. You start out in the prison, on death row, and spend some time navigating a variety of prison environments. But after about the one third point, you leave for bigger, outdoor environments. Fortunately Carnate is quite a bit larger than, say, Alcatraz Island, and it has a long and storied history. There’s an old Victorian mansion that was converted into an Asylum around the turn of the century. There’s an old rock quarry out of which the prison was built. There are extensive wooded sections that connect up to a beach with a slave ship wrecked on it. So there’s really quite a bit of variety.

With the game having multiple endings, that opens the door for replay value. How different will the paths be to the different endings for The Suffering?

The difference is less in the game environments and story itself, but more in the way the player makes choices throughout the game. We present largely the same situations to the player regardless of what path they happen to be on at the time, and then it's how the player deals with those situations that cause the player to move from one path to another and then get the different endings. With all the multiple-path content we have put in, the player will still very much feel like they're charting their own way through the world.

How has development varied for each of the consoles? Is there any special considerations that have needed to be taken into account for the respective systems?

They’re each a challenge in their own, but the biggest difference is in terms of what they allow us to do. The PS2 and Gamecube are both great systems, and the game plays relatively similarly on them. The Xbox, of course, is a real powerhouse, and has truly allowed us to take the quality of the game up a notch graphically. We’ve got much more detailed textures, higher quality audio, full screen anti-aliasing, and HDTV support.

The Suffering is planned for release in the busy fourth quarter when everyone and their mother is releasing games in time for Christmas. Why should gamers snap up The Suffering as opposed to the many other games coming out at the same time?

Actually, our release date has recently changed to Friday, February 13^th 2004. This decision was made in order to give us more time to really polish the game and make sure it's the most disturbing, intense, and terrifying experience possible. I can assure you, there is nothing that comes even close to The Suffering in terms of realism of the gritty environments, hideousness of the creatures, and maturity of the subject matter, so I'm confident it should have no trouble standing out from the pack.

A big thanks to Richard for taking the time to do this interview and also to Brian Poel at Surreal Software for helping to make it possible. :)


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