Werewolf : The Apocalypse

Werewolf : The Apocalypse

In Focus Home Interactive's What's Next 2018, I had fifteen minutes of planned interview, but I scrambled like a dirty ten-minute minutes, to retrieve information on one of Cyanide's next upcoming games, namely Werewolf: The Apocalypse. This universe is clearly not unknown to me because I have done a few parts of the paper role play of the same name, in the middle of other parts of Vampires and Magi. Guillaume Blanchard, Project Manager, was able to provide some details on this new work that is approaching the end of its pre-production. Find below the transcript of this short exchange. Let's go !

I'm all ears for you to present me the project Werewolf: The Apocalypse ...

Then it will be a third-person RPG Action in the world of Werewolf, which belongs to World Of Darkness, where monsters have lived among humans for many years. In this universe, we thus find werewolves, which were created by Gaia to be the guardians and protectors of Nature. Since the dawn of time, they kept the human population under control: they hunted them, killed them, and made sure they did not come out of a certain frame. At some point, because they are not insensitive and they have a human part in them, they ended up saying: let them have a chance, see what it can give, they are not so terrible. A few thousand years later, they regret it bitterly because they see all the destruction / pollution / havoc that humans have done on the planet.

All of this has resulted more or less indirectly in the fact that a balance between several cosmic entities, including the Worm and the Weave, is broken. The more destructive the Worm is on Earth, the more powerful it is, but it is also reinforced by all human actions against the Earth. It is an infernal cycle that is supposed to bring him to the Apocalypse. The Garou are the last ramparts to fight against all the manifestations of the Worm. The Worm intervenes through a mega-corporation sprawling, Pentex, through full of subsidiaries in alcohol, cosmetics, industry, etc ... and pushing the world to destruction. There are several mega-corporations that intervene for the Worm, but without necessarily knowing that it exists. Pentex, they know.

In the game, we chose to focus on one enemy in particular, which are the energy and oil mega-corporations, including Endron Oil. So, specifically, it's happening in the United States, and the player is going to face these protests in Alaska, Nevada, etc ... Also need to know that the action is happening today, and it's really at the heart of this what is World Of Darkness, to talk to the player about things that are perfectly rooted in everyday life, on topics that can affect us directly. The hero is a werewolf who was banned from his pack many years ago ...

Can we choose the tribe?

No. What we wanted was a story written and under control. The player will not be able to choose his character. On the other hand, the character is a ronin; that means he left his pack and he no longer has the totem that gave him his powers. This is not a blank page, but the player will be able to reshape it in his image. We wanted the player to embody an interesting character, with a story and a past, because we wanted to tell a specific story. On the other hand, we still integrated members of other tribes, history that the player can see the different possible interactions

So, the character comes from what tribe?

The character is a Fianna, and events will bring him back into the struggle and into that pack that had banished him, because his son has disappeared. And among the Fianna family is a value that is really very important. So much for the setting. For the gameplay, the player can have three shapes ...

three out of five? (note: Homidae, Lupus, Glabro, Crinos, Hispo)

Yeah. We put the ones that we thought were most interesting for the gameplay, and the player will be able to switch at will from one form to another. And of course, each form has specific gameplay elements. First we have the wolf, which is going to be the form of exploration, where we will be able to go very quickly; we will have a system of rather large hubs.

Rather in nature or in urban environments?

We will have beautiful natural environments, but which are threatened by human activities, via companies, excavators, etc ... So, we will also have missions that will take place in industrial environments rather typical, where you will have for example t ' infiltrate a dam to sabotage it. To return to the forms, the wolf will be useful for exploration. We will then have the human form for social interactions such as dialogues, or use machines and objects, trigger traps, access a computer, etc ... To give you an example of a situation, we can stealthily kill enemies in silently approaching in the shape of a wolf, it is strangled in human form, then we go back to the shape of a wolf.

In human form, you can also use a crossbow; werewolves (or at least most) do not use firearms. There it is a weapon which the character has made himself, and on which he can attach spirits; if he gets gifts from the spirits, then he will be able to make improvements. The crossbow is obviously used to kill enemies from a distance, but it can also be used to interact with the environment (exploding an explosive barrel by unlocking the flaming arrows, or shooting a case to cause a short circuit and open a door , etc ...).

In wolf and human, we will have access to a Penumbra vision, which will allow us to see the spiritual nature of things around us and to interact with spirits. For example, we can see if some guards were corrupted by the worm; when they die, they will respawn in Fomori and it will be a different challenge. Level interaction with the spirits, we can communicate with them and they can give us a challenge in a small area of the Umbra (... there will be no great trips in the Umbra) so that we can prove it our value. If we get there, he'll give us some of his power.

And finally, the third form, we have the Crinos, which is used for combat, and the player becomes super powerful. In the beginning we will destroy all the guards we are going to send, but the enemies will become powerful themselves as and when; some guards will have exoskeletons, others will have silver weapons, there will be Fomoris, etc ... In wolf and human, we go from one form to another without constraint and in a fluid way. In Crinos it's a little different; I release my Rage, so I have to kill all the enemies to be able to calm down and come back in another form.

How is the Rage system managed?

In each of the three forms, I must manage my Rage, which is an element at the heart of Werewolf's experience. That's the strength of werewolves, but it's also their weakness. My Rage will be influenced by things that would be in the environment, or through dialogue. If I can not manage his level, I will turn into Crinos, which can have consequences. For example, I am in dialogue, and I speak with a scientist who explains to me how he did his tests on animals; I can either not want to control my Rage, or just want to control it because this guy could have hyper-important information to succeed my mission. In any case, there are always several solutions. And in this case, if I do not have the information, I will not be able to deactivate safety drones and when I'm in Crinos it will be harder ... But after all, why not; he has irritated me since earlier, my Rage is rising, so I go to Crinos, I tear off his head, and that's the end of the dialogue ...

You amaze me (laughs)

We want the player to have the choice and not be forced to always have control. On the other hand, when one is in Crinos, one also has another mechanics of Rage. The more damage we receive, the more the Rage will go up. And the more one makes finish moves, and the more the level will go down; It's going to be spectacular, it will be satisfying for the Crinos, and its rage will go down a bit. If you reach the maximum of Rage, either because the player has not managed to control it, or because he did not want, he will go into a frenzy. In the role play, when the player went into a frenzy, he would give his character card to the master of the game, he would smoke a cigarette or drink a coffee, then he would come back and be told what had happened. It was not a solution for us, but we wanted to reproduce this feeling of loss of control.

This is a phase where we will be a spectator?

No. The idea is that we will really release the Beast, and we will become extremely powerful. The fight, which was until then in beat'em all, will go muso to the Dynasty Warrior: the enemies is cardboard, the Crinos do not feel anything because it is in total berserk, and there is much more inertia which makes it more difficult to maneuver. The problem is that we lose information; for example, if I am in a room where there are enemies and hostages, everyone becomes a threat, and then everyone will have to be killed to get out of the frenzy and suffer the consequences. If you had just been in Crinos, once the enemies were killed, you could have saved the hostages (... or not, because it is also a possible choice).

The last consequence of the frenzy is that we are getting closer and closer to the worm. We really use anger and destruction, and the Worm feels it. We will have a kind of timer where he will kill all the enemies present, otherwise the worm will continue to send him. And the more we will be in a frenzy, the more it will be complicated. After a while, he will be corrupted by the worm, and it's a game over, because we became what we had come to fight. It is this mechanics that will structure the game. This level of Rage, the characters that we will cross will be able to feel it, and it could also have consequences on a player tattoo. Or, animals that can be crossed in the hubs would tend to move away if the level is high.

And our werewolf is rather a loner or he will have companions?

He is mainly solitary as he is a ronin. He has his own personal quest where he wants to find his son, but he is going to need the members of his old pack. He will also meet other characters who could help him punctually. We will not find a pack mechanic, but there will still be a group dynamic with mutual help for example, but out of combat.

How is the metal-silver handled?

So, if we take normal damage, then once back in human form, we regenerate. On the other hand, if we took silver damage, then I will not be able to heal myself and it will stack up and lower my life level.

Well, if I understand correctly with all that you explained to me, Werewolf: The Apocalypse will not be the Vampires: Bloodlines for werewolves?

With as many choices as Bloodlines, no, clearly. We really wanted to choose our story and tell it the best way possible. Our goal is to show the license to those who do not know it, and to people who know it to find elements that speak to them and that are interesting. We do not try to make the final game that will bring everything together, and that's why we chose an imposed character. For once, Bloodlines was maybe ... a little too ambitious? In our game, the Crinos will remain at the heart of the experience, and we will not be able to finish the game without fighting.