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Not so long ago I made a review video for Crytek´s free-to-play FSP game “Warface”. And since I really enjoyed the game, I requested to get an interview with Crytek. Well, I got that chance. So I sat down with Loic Raimond (Online Operation Producer at Crytek) to talk about “Warface”, virtual reality, Crytek´s plans for the future and much more. So, please enjoy my interview with Raimond =)

Jonas TGG:
Could you tell us a little bit more in detail what’s new in the “Earth Shaker” expansion? (Weapons, mods, maps, etc.).

Loic Raimond
Operation Earth Shaker is a major update for Warface: a brand new Special Operation mission where a team of Warface soldiers have to infiltrate an enemy base located inside a Volcano. In this new PVE mission, players face a new type of Warface enemy: robotic turrets that require teamwork and combining the strength of different classes if players are going to emerge triumphant. In this update, we also released a new semi-automatic sniper rifle perfect for tackling turrets from afar. In the weeks following, we also released some exciting new content for our PVP oriented players. We added a new Storm map, where players have to capture up to 3 enemy core points and dominate them, plus a new Bag and Tag map, a free-for-all where players slay and collect dog tags from the enemy.

The “Operation earth shaker” update brought some fresh life and action into the world of “Warface”.

Jonas TGG:
What are you guys hoping to achieve with the new expansion?

Loic Raimond
It’s a rich update which adds a lot of new content for experienced players and newcomers alike. More information is revealed about Blackwood, the evil organization trying to run world affairs, and we’ve got an epic new boss battle which players take on with a brand new rail gun weapon. It’s a meaty update.

Jonas TGG:
Warface has existed since July 2014. How do you feel about your journey so far? Has everything turned out the way that you had hoped for? Or perhaps things have gone even better than you originally thought?

Loic Raimond
Warface went live in October 2013 and launched on Steam in July 2014. We are really happy with the game so far, Warface has moved on quality-wise and expanded massively since launch. Much of that evolution has come from community feedback and the data acquired from thousands of players playing the game every day. It’s a formula that’s working – we’re adding new players constantly and development never stops – there’s a pipeline of substantial content lined up so we’re always giving players something fresh and improving the gameplay experience. It’s great to look back at how far Warface has come, and how much the game has improved. And we’re not going to stop!

“Warface” didn´t do all that well on 360. So it´s not very likely that we´re going to see the game on a PS4 or Xbox One anytime soon.

Jonas TGG:
Have you guys ever thought about releasing Warface to console?

Loic Raimond
We partnered with Microsoft to release Warface on Xbox 360 as one of the first free-to-play game on that console. However, we did not feel that the free-to-play model worked for Warface on that generation of consoles, so we decided to focus instead on serving our PC community.

Jonas TGG:
What´s your take on the future when it comes to FPS gaming? Especially with all the new upcoming gaming technology like VirtuixOmni VR. And is it something that you might consider working with in the future? (Virtual reality foremost).

Loic Raimond
I really think that VR will be a big part of gaming in the future. FPS has always been a space for immersive experiences and pushing the limits of gaming, for instance, games like Duke Nukem, Half-Life and Crysis. They are all in their way landmark releases and set the standards and expectations for FPS games. The complete immersion that VR provides, will provide great potential in the FPS genre, and I am sure we will see experiences of that quality on the platform in the years ahead. Crytek is already a leading company in terms of VR, and our debut release The Climb allows you to experience the vertigo and adrenaline of extreme free solo rocking climbing. It really is an amazing experience. We are also experimenting at an early stage in different gaming genres as we have one of the largest dedicated VR teams in the business.

What will the virtual reality technology bring to the world of FPS games? (or games in general for that matter). Only time will tell.

Jonas TGG:
What is your opinion on fan feedback and ideas? Is it an important factor for game developers in general? And is it something that you have used in-order to improve and evolve Warface?

Loic Raimond
I think it’s extremely important to listen to what your players think about your game and what they like or don’t like. Ultimately, it’s all about the players. Every day, we are following up on player reported bugs and issues, but that’s just the start. We also have introduced changes to the game based on our community’s feedback, and will continue to do so. However, I still believe it’s important to have an overall creative vision and strategy for the game and what you want to achieve, but you should always prioritize changes requested by a wide range of the community when it fits that vision.

Jonas TGG:
Warface has more game modes than any other FPS game than I´ve seen and played in a very long time. And that makes me wonder. Do you think that having a lot of unique game modes, is a good approach for getting players to keep playing the game? And is it something you would advise other fps developers to try as well?

Loic Raimond
We have been operating Warface for years now and we’re always happy when we can surprise the community with a new mode or an update that goes down really well. Our development team has integrated new tools and abilities within the game engine that allows them to create new tactics or objectives, so we can keep serving up fresh content and challenges. We hope that our community can always expect new content and will always be looking out for the next challenge, and I think that’s really important. You can’t rest on your laurels, and by committing to trying new things, regularly updating the game, evolving the game experience, and refining the gameplay – well, that’s what helps serve and grow the community.

If you are good at “CS:GO”, then you´re going to do pretty well in “Warface” as well.

Jonas TGG:
Since I just happen to be a pretty decent Counter Strike player. I can´t help to ask you how good (or bad) would I (and other CS players) fair in Warface?

Loic Raimond
Counter-Strike and Warface are quite similar in terms of speed of gameplay and global game mechanics. However, Warface places a lot of emphasis on our class system (Rifleman, Medic, Engineer and Sniper) with a class specific weapon arsenal and class specific perks. Every team will have to combine the strengths of each class in order to succeed in battle. The classes add a new tactical dimension and allows for players to really specialize in one class to support their team. Warface also has a huge weapons arsenal so that the player can choose the weapon that fits his playstyle, or experiment with all sorts of different weaponry.

Jonas TGG:
What´s your thoughts about custom modding? (maps, weapons and modes, etc). And would you consider it for Warface? (especially if custom modding got a lot of positive feedback from your players via an online petition, for example).

Loic Raimond
I’m really in favour for custom modding if the game supports it natively with a system that makes it easy for players to mod, and also for those mods to be distributed to the game and other players. It’s great for the game community to be able to contribute to the richness of content and it also generates ideas that we (game developers) may not have thought about.

When Warface was developed we did not build the platform to allow modding, which is now an extremely difficult task to ship in, as it requires us to completely change the game architecture. Our focus is instead on evolving the game and adding regular new content.

ESL Gaming is also running regular “Warface” tournaments. So if you´re into “Warface”, then don´t miss out on ESL Gaming´s tournaments!

Jonas TGG:
Does Warface usually hold any competitions or tournaments?

Loic Raimond
Yes, we have regular competitions happening every week in Warface. The best thing to do is to check Warface.com’s recent news section to keep up to date with the latest tournament. We also run monthly tournaments for our competitive players and are pushing to expand the tournament scope further. ESL Gaming is also running regular tournaments and we are supporting them with rewards and spreading the news to our players.

Jonas TGG:
Have the player feedback and reviews been mostly positive, negative or mixed so far?

Loic Raimond
We’ve received a lot of positive feedback, and increasingly so as the game continues to evolve, which is great testament to the development team. Of course, we do have areas where we need to improve and we’re always listening. Feedback, good and bad, directly affects our development road map and we tackle issues as fast as we can to make Warface the best it can be.

Jonas TGG:
What´s your plans, hopes and expectations for 2016?

Raimond
We are looking to further improve our quality of service by supporting localized game servers, improving the latency for players all around the world. We have new and substantial content coming in all year round. We are also looking at supporting more and more tournaments and competitions, and seeing how we can support the e-Sport scene. We have some seriously talented gamers in our community that really deserve to be in the spotlight!

Credit:
Robin Ek – Editor