XCOM Creative Director Pelling: Emotions Make A Sequel

Author: by Staff

2K Marin creative director Jonathan Pelling describes, in a new Gamasutra feature interview, how the dual 2K Marin teams working on the upcoming XCOM hope to refer back to the popular '90s PC strategy series as it transfers genres to first person shooter. The game, which comprises both shooting and strategic elements, is a departure from the original tactical gameplay of the series but retains some of its elements. Says Pelling, "It's what makes XCOM XCOM. It's more of an emotional state, like 'when you're playing the game, this is how I'm feeling'. That's the most important thing that we're trying to capture with this game." "It's not so much the nitty-gritty mechanics, but translating that into something that still feels the same to play, that still achieves the same feelings in players that [the games] used to, but now in a much more modern way." The game features strategic decision-making, and includes a hub where the player determines the course of research on alien technology. "It may not be aesthetically the same, and of course it's not a turn based tactical game anymore, it's a first person shooter." "But it still maintains that essential vibe, that fear and tension of going up against an unknowable enemy and being in charge, and running an organization, and making all the big choices," says Pelling. This approach underscores the team's belief that there are "core tenets" of the XCOM series, and while players may not get the same exact gameplay, the team will still be able to invoke the same emotions in its audience -- thereby ensuring continuity. "I played the original when I was a teenager, when it first came out. I spent a long time in that game, and I loved it to death," says Pelling, of the original X-COM. You can read more in the full feature-length interview, which is live today on Gamasutra.