As a seasoned developer with over two decades of experience under my belt, I must say that the current state of gaming is nothing short of breathtaking. The advancements we are witnessing are truly remarkable, and it’s an exciting time to be part of this industry.
In a market overflowing with multiplayer shooter games, Double Eleven is aiming to make a notable impact by introducing their latest creation, “Blindfire.” At the Xbox Partner Preview last month, this innovative multiplayer FPS was unveiled and released early for access, turning traditional shooter rules upside down in intriguing ways. With an appealing concept and initial positive feedback, we were eager to learn what makes “Blindfire” unique. To get all the details and more, we had a chat with the game’s lead designer, Matt Dunthorne. You can find our interview below.
The player feedback on Blindfire has been tremendous thus far. Given its innovative nature, where numerous fundamental aspects of conventional shooter games are either redefined or eliminated, it’s truly inspiring to observe the adaptability and openness of these gamers.
Initially, I’d like to extend my congratulations on the early access debut of Blindfire. In the wake of its release, what have been the player reactions, and how is the team’s mood?
I truly appreciate your thanks, and I’m equally grateful for your insightful questions. It’s a pleasure discussing ‘Blindfire’ with you at GamingBolt!
The feedback from gamers about Blindfire has been nothing short of terrific. Given its innovative nature, which significantly alters or even eliminates key aspects of conventional shooter games, it’s quite impressive to witness such a receptive response. Players seem eager and open-minded, readily taking up the challenge and discovering the gameplay’s captivating potential.
Regarding our team, we couldn’t be more thrilled! Working on Blindfire has been an emotional journey for everyone involved, so releasing it to the public and witnessing players interact with it is immensely gratifying. We’re all passionate about this game, and reading the feedback, as well as battling against players in the arena, has been a delightful experience.
On the very same day of its announcement, Blindfire began its early access phase. Dropping a game unexpectedly like this can generate quite a bit of excitement, but it also carries potential risks, particularly in the highly competitive realm of multiplayer shooters. Was releasing the game this way part of your original plan? What factors influenced your decision to adopt this strategy?
From the outset, our intention was to debut “Blindfire” in early access and engage the community from day one. The chance to collaborate with the Xbox Game Preview program arose somewhat serendipitously rather than strategically. Given our ongoing work on various projects with Microsoft, we frequently interact with them. When we presented the “Blindfire” concept, they showed great interest. They inquired if we had thought about launching the game on Xbox, which initiated the conversation.
Following this, the game was demonstrated to the team responsible for the Xbox Partner Preview showcase in October. They recognized its ability to shine among others. The pace picked up from there. Although it was tough to develop an early access version compatible with various platforms within a limited timeframe, the prospect of such visibility – a sneak peek at such a significant event – was something we couldn’t ignore.
It was truly thrilling to witness Blindfire at the showcase, along with some of the most promising upcoming games from various global regions. We organized a viewing party in our office, and it’s an experience we’ll always cherish.
Intriguingly, Blindfire’s fundamental concept captivates me. The thought of a multiplayer shooter set in the dark sounds straightforward, yet as I ponder upon it, the allure deepens. Could you share some insights about the genesis of this idea and the hurdles encountered while converting it into engaging gameplay?
The inspiration behind Blindfire originated from an unconventional place. Approximately every two months, I host an event with my team called “Shatterday.” This is a creative exercise where I divide the developers into compact, diverse groups and assign them peculiar design problems to solve. Each group generates ideas for their potential concept before presenting it to me and the rest of the team.
The twist is that these challenges are generated through a sort of “choose your own adventure” system, where the teams select random elements that must be incorporated into their pitch. On this particular Shatterday, one team ended up with a challenge that read: “What if you had to design an FPS where the only way to see the environment and the enemies was to shoot them?”. What they came back with was Blindfire, essentially fully formed.
Upon hearing the team’s idea, it immediately resonated with me due to its straightforwardness and authenticity, which seemed quite extraordinary – it possessed a unique quality of being both clear and promising. It was hard to get it out of my mind. A couple of weeks down the line, I expanded on it, creating a comprehensive pitch that I later presented to the Double Eleven board. To my surprise, they too recognized its potential, and by the time the presentation concluded, everyone was brainstorming about weapons, traps, and mechanisms. There’s just something about this concept that invites further development.
We had the core gameplay prototyped within a couple of weeks, and playtesting amongst the team revealed that it was just as fun as we’d hoped. Interestingly, that core experience has barely changed from what we initially developed to what players can play today.
The main purpose of Shatterday isn’t to produce marketable items, but rather to challenge the team as designers and enhance their pitching abilities by pushing them beyond their usual comfort zones. Incidentally, Blindfire turned out to be an unexpected bonus in this context – a fortunate occurrence indeed.
As soon as you discharge your weapon, the bright muzzle flash makes you visible to all around. Consequently, the action of shooting, a key element in first-person shooter games, can become risky due to this illumination.
Navigating through darkness, searching for adversaries without revealing your own position creates a unique flow for Blindfire in multiplayer shooting games. How did this distinctive gameplay present balancing difficulties, especially since balance is crucial in multiplayer scenarios?
What I particularly enjoy about the game Blindfire lies in its unique blend of risk and reward, as taking a shot in the dark carries significant consequences. Each time you discharge your weapon, your muzzle flash exposes your position to all opponents. Engaging in the main objective of an FPS (First-Person Shooter) game thus becomes perilous – it’s that exhilarating sense of frustration and hopefulness when you decide to take a chance.
From a player’s perspective, it’s a strategic advantage when an enemy’s suit lights up upon being hit, as they become more conspicuous than yourself for a brief moment. This enhancement makes it easier for tactically-minded players who heavily rely on their senses, especially hearing, to precisely locate and stealthily eliminate opponents without giving away their position.
Due to sound’s significant impact in the game, our exceptional audio team has put in extra effort to ensure the 3D positional audio is as accurate and enveloping as possible. Our aim was to empower players to trust eliminating someone without even needing to see them, and I believe they’ve accomplished this marvelously. They’ve truly given their all to achieve this goal.
Navigating through complete darkness can be tricky, but we’ve introduced a helpful feature called ‘Echo’. Echo offers a quick snapshot of the surroundings, allowing players to strategize their next steps with a touch more confidence. What makes Echo even more valuable is that if used within range of an enemy, it reveals the last known location of said foe. This enables players to take calculated shots while maintaining the game’s suspense and threat level.
Achieving this balance wasn’t effortless, but I believe we’ve found an excellent mix – the exhilaration of the unexpected alongside the fulfillment derived from a meticulously orchestrated apprehension.
In the game, players battle in the dark while deceased viewers can observe using night vision goggles. The scenery appears dramatically altered under these conditions, offering an even more striking version of the game’s already unique appearance when everything is pitch-black. Can you share the reasoning behind creating this difference? How did you decide on the overall aesthetic for the game?
One of the big challenges for our art team was figuring out how to give the game a distinctive visual identity when most of the gameplay happens in total darkness. It wasn’t an easy task as you might imagine- how on earth do you create a striking art style when player visibility is intentionally limited?
The answer was found through the use of blacklights and UV graffiti on the streets. In the dimly lit stadiums, ultraviolet light unveiled a world filled with bright hues and lively patterns, not only in the surroundings but also on the players’ virtual characters. This method enabled us to infuse a great deal of character into the game’s visual style while maintaining the gameplay’s fundamental darkness.
I’m thoroughly enamored with the contrast it offers – the ominous, pitch-dark atmosphere during gameplay on one hand, and the burst of brightness and vivacity when bullets are shooting, on the other. It’s a distinctive approach that truly showcases the exceptional creativity of our art team, and they’ve nailed it brilliantly.
What are your current plans for supporting Blindfire? What should players expect from content additions and updates, and the cadence at which these updates will be released?
Kicking off strong, our initial content update will go live at the end of November. This launch presents a fresh game mode called Kill Race, which is essentially a pitch-black version of the timeless Deathmatch. Additionally, it includes new weapons and global leaderboards to keep track of your performance. We’re looking forward to this as the beginning of regular updates during our early access phase.
We strive for a harmonious blend of routine bug corrections, enhancements that improve the overall user experience, and significant content releases. Our aim is to unveil major updates approximately every two months, supplemented by intermittent smaller updates to maintain an engaging and dynamic gameplay environment, while ensuring we remain receptive to player feedback.
Our goal is to foster a genuine community around the game, Blindfire. You’ll find our development plan on both our website and our Discord server. We actively revise and adapt it according to the insights we gather from our enthusiasts. In my view, community engagement plays a crucial role in shaping multiplayer games, and early access gives players a sense of belonging in the game’s evolution, which I truly appreciate. I aspire for Blindfire to become a game that captivates players deeply.
Roughly how long do you intend to remain in early access?
We’re committed to letting Blindfire evolve at its own pace, ensuring it has enough time to develop and transform according to the preferences of the community. While I have a vision for version 1.0, what truly matters is aligning with the players’ desires. Therefore, we’ll maintain flexibility and be open to changes based on the community’s interest.
Taking our time is key. What matters most to us is crafting an exceptional product, not meeting a deadline. By offering early access, we can collaborate closely with those who understand the game inside and out, ensuring its quality as we go along.
Achieving this balance wasn’t an easy task, but I believe we’ve found a perfect blend – the exhilaration of the unexpected with the gratification from a meticulously planned takedown.
As a developer, I’d love to share my perspectives about the potential PS5 Pro. In terms of game development, how does an upgrade in GPU affect your project in comparison to the standard PS5?
To start with, I’m an avid PlayStation enthusiast who’s eagerly anticipating obtaining a PS5 Pro. Regarding Blindfire, we haven’t explicitly talked about a PS5 Pro-enhanced version thus far, but it’s a project we’re keen on developing in the future.
As a game enthusiast, I can tell you from experience that more power under the hood translates to more creative freedom. A substantial increase in performance allows us to elevate aspects like graphical detail and smoothness of gameplay.
As an enthusiast, I’m thrilled about the prospect of console gamers getting to enjoy Blindfire at parity with our top-tier PC settings, ensuring a smoother gameplay experience and the freedom to adjust frame rates. It undeniably adds another layer of enjoyment to the game.
What are your thoughts on PSSR? What kind of opportunities will this open for the game?
The PSSR technology is truly captivating, and it holds a significant potential to significantly improve the gameplay experience of Blindfire, considering the crucial role sound plays in its design.
As a gamer myself, I can appreciate the possibilities that PSSR holds for enriching our auditory gaming journey. For instance, with its advanced spatial sound placement capabilities, PSSR could help us fine-tune positional audio to an extent where we’d be able to pinpoint the precise direction of an enemy’s footsteps or hear the subtle cues of a weapon being reloaded or shells landing on the ground more accurately.
I am confident beyond measure in our exceptionally skilled audio group, and I am certain they will take this opportunity to create something remarkable. They are eager to tackle the technology at their earliest convenience. To be honest, I can’t wait to witness how it will elevate the game’s sound design to new heights.
What resolution and frame rates will the game target on the Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PS5 Pro?
My approach has consistently been that when a decision is debatable, it’s often best to let the player take control instead. The era where game creators dictate the optimal playing style for their games is now past. In line with this belief, we aimed to provide players with the autonomy to choose their preferred playstyle, which led us to include both Performance and Quality modes in the console version of our game.
A quick rundown of the impact of these settings is as follows:
- PS5 Performance Mode: 1080p, 60fps
- PS5 Quality Mode: 4K, 30fps
- Xbox Series X Performance Mode: 1080p, 60fps
- Xbox Series X Quality Mode: 4K, 30fps
- Xbox Series S Performance Mode: 1080p, 60fps
- Xbox Series S Quality Mode: 1440p, 30fps
In simpler terms, Performance Mode is designed to provide the fast and fluid gaming experience that many FPS fans desire, aiming for a frame rate of 60fps. On the other hand, Quality Mode focuses on delivering a visually stunning experience in higher resolutions, but this comes at the expense of overall frame rate performance.
As an ardent enthusiast, I’m constantly striving to refine and enhance the quality and efficiency of Blindfire. I regularly assess our Performance and Quality settings to identify areas for improvement, with the ultimate goal of delivering a superior user experience on all platforms.
Although there’s no confirmed next-gen PlayStation Pro support at this time, we’re eager to explore the limits of the latest hardware as soon as it allows us to do so.
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2024-11-27 18:42