The post-apocalyptic survival horror series Metro - based on the best-selling science fiction novel series of the same name by Dmitry Glukhovsky - plunged players into an oppressively dark and damp underground network and the ruins beyond.
Highly engaging and critically acclaimed, the franchise has spawned three games to date. Before the end of the year, that count will reach four. Announced at State of Play last January , Vertigo Games - creator of Arizona Sunshine and After The Fall - has revealed that it has spent the last few years working on a brand new game created for PS VR2. Metro Awakening is an independent story set before the events of the original title - Metro 2033. I sat down with creative director Martin de Ronde and game director Samar Louwe to discuss more about how this world has been adapted for VR and how they are keeping the title authentic to the series.
The game's story was created in collaboration with the original author
"One of the first things we did when we embarked on this project was to get in touch with Dmitry [Glukhovsky]," explains de Ronde. "For us, it was almost as if we were expecting him to come and create another story for the game that was in line with the other Metro games. But instead, he created a very, very personal and emotional story for a new character. [...] It also meant that our focus began to shift from a straightforward approach to a heavier, story-driven approach in this particular game. And, of course, the Metro series has always been known for the story that sets it apart from other first-person shooters out there, but this time, I think Dmitry really wanted to make sure that the story and character development were even more important."
It will still be close to the style of play of the main games...
" Part of our onboarding process for each team member is to play the games, of course," explains Louwe. "And then we look at what the strengths of the franchise are and, specifically, which of those strengths are transposable to VR. And some of the things we noticed is the dynamic they have between stealth and combat. And always making sure that you're alert and that you're never sure when people are going to see you. That's something that works very, very well in VR. There's something about sneaking up on enemies, listening to what they're saying. Of course, the nature of VR, you can physically sit behind cover, maybe you can peek through a hole in the cover and then you can spy on your enemies."
"But rest assured for everyone who's a bit quicker on the trigger," interrupts de Ronde. "There's a lot of classic Metro action in the game."
"I think it's also good to say that the main games, of course, have Artyom," Louwe continues. "After the first game, he becomes a Spartan. But in [Metro Awakening], our protagonist isn't necessarily a combat specialist. So with that in mind, it also fits better to have a slightly slower pace for combat versus narrative than the original Metro series."
...and maintain the original look and style, thanks to original developer 4A Games
"We were very happy that 4A helped us fantastically well with sourcing all the assets they have from these games," explains de Ronde. "We were able to use some of those assets directly or use them as a reference for most of the things we built in the game... that helped ensure that the game looks the way it does.
"There are assets that we analyzed and we wanted to use them specifically because they play a role in the main series, we wanted to reuse them again. In our game, you also want to make sure that fans recognize these elements. And so, obviously, there were things that serve the purpose as a reference. And then, there are things that we're almost regressing in terms of what it would have looked like, X number of years before the events in the main series."
You'll still feel the pressure of the bullet count
"You're basically constantly looking for ammunition," laughs Louwe when asked if, as in previous games, getting bullets will be a constant concern. "We have this beautiful environment, we have this beautiful world, our art is made to ensure that there are details to explore. But you also need a reason to explore. And the main reason to explore every nook and cranny is just to find bullets. We thought it would be better to hide them in small packages. So you won't necessarily find full combs all the time. Instead, you'll find individual bullets here, a few bullets there. And we've also made an effort to ensure that, in some cases, there's a bit of an environmental narrative about how this ammunition got there and something to stimulate your imagination.
"The philosophy we bring to this is also that, basically, if you look everywhere, you'll probably have enough bullets to get through your combat encounters. If you only look on the critical path, you'll probably have to be a better marksman. And if you don't look at all, then you'll struggle. Of course, you can always fall back on stealth. If you succeed at that, then that's always an option."
Translating the tactile nature of Metro to PS VR2
Cleaning your gas mask, opening maps, looking at the ammo count on weapons instead of the UI helped immerse you in Metro. I wonder if that makes it an easy adaptation for VR. Vertigo's research proves that it can't be anything like that.
"It's an interesting point you raise about wiping your gas mask... because Metro is such a tactile world, it was obviously for us something we definitely wanted to try and incorporate into the game. We tried to create an alternative way of cleaning your gas mask that I think fans will still really like, even if it's a slightly different version and cleaning it when you have it on your face."
"We chose to keep many of our user interfaces and interactions as diegetic as possible," Louwe continues. "For example, if you want to see how many bullets you have in your gun, we could have put a counter on it. But we didn't do that. Instead, we opened the magazine, so you can actually see how many bullets are in there. So, if you want to know how many bullets are in your comb, you have to pull it out. It's a bit more engaging when you go into a combat encounter and you're like "ok, let's get ready, I'll pull out my comb, check. That'll be enough for this one" so you snap it back on. If you want to put your gas mask on, we put it in a backpack. Then you pull your backpack off by grabbing it from your shoulder. The gas mask is hanging from it. You just take it from there and put it on your face, then stick it on. These are the kinds of interactions we were very keen to make as diegetic as possible.
"The adaptive triggers are a great example of how you can increase the immersion even more, because they give you just a little bit of extra feedback as you fire your weapon. And our weapon designers really had a lot of fun implementing this and adjusting it for each weapon. It seems like a very small thing, but it's like those subtle elements that make you forget you're playing a game once it's there, right? Another example is tactile feedback. It gives you that little bit of extra experience to do the intense things that will happen to you in this game, to make them a bit more visceral."
Game comfort settings
"We want to focus on immersion," says Louwe. "So our default locomotion setting, we're offering two presets, so we have Comfort and Immersion. In Immersion, the default locomotion setting is continuous stick movements with fast rotation. Of course, we also offer settings that you can simply change in the Settings menu to make something even more immersive, such as continuous rotation. If you want a slightly more comfortable experience, you can set your locomotion settings to teleport. That said, we're not really avoiding pushing the boundaries of VR when it comes to creating a visceral experience. So, in Immersion mode, you can also expect to be moved around in a bed or knocked over to wake up unconscious on the floor or even thrown from a train car, for example."
This version of the interview has been condensed for brevity. You can listen to a fuller version of the interview on the PlayStation Podcast, out this Friday. Metro Awakening will be released later this year on PS VR2.
Original post by PS. Blog.
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