The first and most crucial decision we made for Vietnam was to explore Helicopters as a major feature. We had to go to the source material and start fresh. We also knew that we wanted the end product to be a reflection of the war, and give the same authentic ‘war is hell’ feeling that had become the hallmark of the series. We knew, though, that Vietnam was an interesting and unique conflict fought by two very different armies. What’s more, the armaments of the average foot soldier in Vietnam were much more similar between the two forces the North Vietnamese were armed largely by Russia and China, and had access to modern guns like the AK-47 just as the Americans now had the M16. We couldn’t simply repeat the formula of the first Rising Storm - it wouldn’t feel accurate to the very different conflict or very different period.
We wanted to ground every feature and weapon in reality, so because the Japanese had inferior, more dated armaments in the history books, they did in the game, too.įor Rising Storm 2, we knew that the Vietnam setting - moving the series out of World War 2 for the first time - would provide some unique challenges. The result was a game in which playing as each team felt very different, and where we had to design maps with the differing tools of each army’s troops carefully in mind. The US had access to an outrageously dangerous flamethrower, whilst their opposing forces relied on tools like an indirect fire ‘Knee Mortar’ to counteract them.
For example, the United States rifleman had the semi-automatic M1 Garand - a gun which fairly closely resembles the modern M14 - whilst the Japanese had the bolt-action Type 38, first designed in 1906.
Each team had strikingly different arsenals for each player, a decision that was inspired by the historical context of the two sides in the conflict. In the first Rising Storm, we centered on real battles fought between the Japanese and US in World War 2. With Rising Storm 1, the hallmark of our addition to the series was a new approach of asymmetrical design for the two teams. The games are generally known for being hardcore, true to history and with sense of authenticity to the ‘horrors of war’. What: Designing from Historyįor those not initiated, the Red Orchestra series is generally known as a brutal and very challenging large-scale multiplayer FPS: 64-player battles lasting 30-40 minutes where one or two shots is enough to kill the player. When I’m not paying for my sins at Antimatter, I’m working on a PhD in non-linear narrative design at Falmouth University.
We were lucky enough to get an opportunity to partner with Tripwire on the first Rising Storm game, a standalone expansion to Red Orchestra 2.Īfter Rising Storm released in 2013 and won Multiplayer Game of the Year from PC Gamer, we began work on Rising Storm 2: Vietnam, which released earlier this year. Who: Jack Hackett, producer at Antimatter GamesĪntimatter Games is a studio that was founded from a team that worked as modders and freelancers on the Red Orchestra series with Tripwire Interactive. Check out earlier installments, including creating the striking pixel animations of Crawl, achieving seamless branching in Watch Dogs 2 ’s Invasion of Privacy missions, and creating the intricate level design of Dishonored 2 's Clockwork Mansion.