English version translated from the Danish to the best of our abilities here at Railgun.
Back in 2006 a trailer with the name of a game called Interstellar Marines popped out of almost nowhere. The trailer received incredible positive response, and in some way it is actually due to this trailer that Zero Point Software is where they are today. They have just recently launched a community site for their upcoming Science Fiction FPS-title Interstellar Marines.

We, at Railgun, were lucky to get a talk with the games' Game Producer Kristian Waneck about the game and the interesting AAA-Indie combination.

Enjoy!

Lars Nørgaard: First of all congratulations with the launch of your community site for Interstellar Marines. How does it feel to finally be able to give something back to those who have supported you for the past couple of years?

Kristian Waneck: Thanks! It was a tough ride to get the community up and running. We had six weeks to deliver it and when one of the leading Danish web bureaus rejected the assignment saying “It is not possible to get a community website up and running in such short time, it’s going to take at least double the time”. But apparently it could. The team has worked their butts off and it could not have been done without their extraordinary effort.

It’s great finally being able to give something back to the community. There were not many who believed that an organization without a track record or any technology could bring an AAA title to the market when we released the trailer for Interstellar Marines back in 2006. But the trailer changed all that. Since then it has been downloaded three million times, have gotten Interstellar Marines rated +9 on numerous gaming websites, and brought Zero Point Software into negotiations with a number of international game publishers.

This opened up for the investors as well, which have helped us finance the further development of the game. The community has, so to speak, made the financing of the game possible just by showing interest in the project. This has also confirmed our belief in the fact that all you need to realize the dream of a game is a strong concept, a strong team, and direct contact to the community.

LN: The project started back in 2004 and you came on board at bit later. How do you describe the team of developers you met at the time you joined the project?

KW: When I arrived in early 2007 Zero Point Software consisted of eight developers. It was a group of extremely dedicated, talented and hard-working developers. There was not much structure in the way they worked but we have adjusted that. It was also in that period that we had started establishing the technology platform for the game. We had worked on the platform for about six months and had increased our knowledge and skill on how to make use of the technology.

The team has later been increased to 20 people and it is still a bunch of extremely dedicated and enthusiastic people believing 100 % in what they are working on. It is really a pleasure to work with such an amazing team.

LN: Your big project is Interstellar Marines. To those who don’t know the game yet, would you explain what we’re dealing with here?

KW: Interstellar Marines (IM) is a First Person Shooter where the player embodies the role of a soldier from a special unit from the start of the 23rd century. IM combines hardcore action from arcade shooters, the tactical game play and military realism from tactical shooters, and the narrative depth and character development from Role Playing Games.

The player will be taken on an epic journey through different destinations in the solar system and at last taken to the first colony of another solar system where he will meet the ultimate threat to mankind: A non-earth civilization.

LN: You attended last year’s Game Developers Conference and received very positive response from different publishers, however, you chose the Indie-path taking care of everything yourselves. How was that decision made?

KW: There are a number of reasons for that. It is true that we got incredible response from the publishers we talked with. We were a part of an exclusive group of developers whose projects are considered for the publishers’ approval process – the so-called greenlight process. The main problem is that when you talk with a publisher at this stage of the project they will always try to make you pay as much as possible for the development of the game as well as starting to make demands to the further development of the game. A couple of examples that we bumped in to: “The story has to be able to be cut down to five bullet points, otherwise we can’t fit it on the back of a box” “Your main character needs an identifiable silhouette; otherwise we can’t sell the game” “History is an apology for shooting stuff (sic!)”.

With this kind of feedback you have to ask yourself what kind of game you really want to make? Do you want to try and satisfy five different publishers with their different preferences or do you try and aim at making the game you want to make, and the game the community has shown such a big interest in since the release of the first trailer? We picked the latter.

LN: Interstellar Marines is a so-called AAA-title, which is pretty much the biggest thing you run into when you're talking about game development. If you take that into account as well as Zero Point Software being an Indie-firm that's a bit untraditional. Can you understand that some are skeptical about the financial part of this AAA-Indie combination?

KW: Yes, of course. But the case is that the traditional business model in this industry is just as risky as what we’re trying to do. Maybe even more risky. Usually you’ll see a publisher having the independent developers invest massively in the production – to share the risk, as they say. The publisher will take all the profit until their investment is covered and after that they’ll still take the majority of the turnover. The result is that the developer depends on the title to be a massive success; otherwise the publisher will run with all the money. This business model has cost a number of independent developers their life within just the past year, and it is a business model we’re not interested binding our company to.

Even though there are obvious risks connected to AAA Indie we do at least have the control over our own company. We don’t depend on a publisher’s mood, strategy changes, early deadlines etc. We’re in charge of the financing, development, and marketing of our game, and that means that we can adjust the scope and pace production depending on the demand of our products.

There has been quite a discussion whether the gamers should finance the development. Yes, they have to. But financing doesn’t necessarily mean paying. Today interest equals value and if gamers pay our community a visit and enlist as Marines they will contribute to the project the same way the gamers who downloaded our trailer back then have supported the project.

We let the people decide how much they want to invest in the project. They can visit our website, they can enlist as Marines, and they can pay for unique services on our community site. No matter at which level they chose to contribute they will help the project, however, it is obvious that the more you invest the more we will give back to you.

LN: On the community site it is possible to enlist as a Spearhead unit (as well as lower ranks), what are the advantages – and possible disadvantages?

KW: The advantages as a Spearhead are many and I would like to encourage your readers to visit InterstellarMarines.com to look at all the details. Spearheads will have access to a number of services such as: exclusive content, pre-access to various releases, and last but not least they’ll support a revolution in the video game industry.

Disadvantages… well, it costs money. Is that a disadvantage?

LN: There are a lot of people who are very positive towards your approach to the project. How’s your general feeling on how all of this has been received since the launch of the community site?

KW: AAA Indie and the community site have been received extremely positive. We have had massive press coverage worldwide and we already have Spearheads from Norway to South Africa and from California to Australia.

Is seems as if AAA Indie have struck a nerve in the community and I believe that we’re just beginning to see the start of this. I believe that AAA Indie has the potential to become a lot bigger than Zero Point Software and Interstellar Marines, and will become a movement which both gamers and independent developers will support.

AAA Indie comes with all the good parts. Fundamentally it’s a democratizing of game development and AAA Indie is all about breaking down the barriers of entry of the industry and liberalizing the pricing and distribution of games as well as increasing the involvement of the community in the development of games. Who’s not interested in that?

LN: What are your expectations of the newly launched community site apart from a minor economic helping hand from your fans?

KW: InterstellarsMarines.com is a fantastic opportunity for us to come in direct contact with our audience. We have just implemented a forum in which our users can discuss everything, and I'm already amazed at the involvement and inventiveness that our users have shown.

In the long term InterstellarMarines.com and Interstellar Marines (the game) will be fully integrated. Achievements obtained in the game will reflect on your community profile and vice versa. For example will our Spearheads be a special unit in the Interstellar Marines universe that only 75.000 Marines will be a part of.

LN: Let’s get back to the game for a second. It’s described as a Science Fiction First Person Shooter taking place in a realistic future. Can you go into details about how this is expressed in the game?

KW: Games in the distant future sci-fi-genre have a tendency to become all glaze and glamour. It seems as if the Art Directors in video games have discovered some sort of force of nature which in time will make all materials screamish light green, getting buttons to grow to monstrous sizes as well as replacing projectile weapons with laser guns and BFG’s. It’s cool but Interstellar Marines is not that kind of game. IM is inspired by sci-fi worlds such as the ones from Aliens and Starship Troopers. Worlds with emphasize on depth, credibility and a thorough premise.

For example the level design in IM is inspired of that which you know from tactical shooters. You get a mission in a complex which is designed for the purpose it has in the narrative. If you’re infiltrating a factory then you can expect a factory and not some game designer’s wacked-out dream; not a railshooter but an actual place that will be experienced as if ordinary human beings live and work there.

LN: The game offers a single player as well as co-op part for up to four players. Where’s the biggest emphasis, if any, and how will you be able to feel the difference?

KW: The emphasis is equally on single player and co-op.
However, it is necessary to note that the more players you are the more tactical possibilities will be available. The character development makes it possible for the player to build a unique character with its own unique abilities, weapons and equipment. The more abilities and equipment present in a team the more options to take on the situation at hand.

Story wise there's no difference. IM is the only game that I can recall being designed from bottom up to have four main characters. No Master Chief and three sidekicks here.

There's going to be a drop-in-co-op so your friends can join whenever they want. The games' difficulty will adjust dynamically depending on the number of players in the game.

LN: So far we’ve only seen one enemy which is the so-called “land-shack” from your trailers. Can you get reveal a bit more about what we’re up against here?

KW: Good try, Lars, but no story spoilers :).

LN: I’m a bit of a horror fan myself and your “land-shark” looks pretty scary. Can we expect horror elements that possibly will make you squeal a little bit or is more action-paced?

KW: IM is not a traditional genre game. It will vary in pace and you will experience both slow-paced horror as well as fast-paced action. One thing is certain, this will not be boring!

LN: For the fans of the more technical kind, can you tell which primary programs and engines have been used for the development of the game?

KW: Sorry, I can’t reveal the technologies used to build IM at this moment.

LN: On the 9th of June you could reveal that the former EA employee and game developer on Burnout Paradise, SSX3, and NBA Street Vol 3. San Shepherd became a part of the team. How did that happen, so to speak?

KW: It is worth stressing that Shepherd was Senior Producer on the games mentioned. In other words he had the superior responsibility for the delivery of the games. So he is one of the big guys in this industry.

Since Shepherd stopped at EA he has focused on the development of innovative business models in the industry. We share the same vision that the future of this industry lies with a convergence of games, social networking and digital distribution. So it’s a natural match.

We see it as a pat on the shoulder to the product, the team and AAA Indie that we have been able to attract someone of Shepherd’s caliber and we look forward to the future co-operation.

LN: What do you believe San’s experience within this industry can contribute to the project?

KW: Shepherd has a colossal capacity. There isn’t many in this industry that has been able to bring three AAA-titles to the market in a row with a metacritic score of +85. It’s a track record that speaks for itself. Shepherd will strengthen us on all levels: production, marketing, and business development.

LN: The game is announced as a trilogy and it looks like you’re already pretty far in the development. Can you get any closer to a possible release window of the first part?

KW: IM will be released when it’s done. However, I can reveal that we have a couple of surprises for our community already this year.

LN: Thanks for taking the time to do this and good luck with the future development of Interstellar Marines. Are there any last words you’d like to get of your chest?

KW: Yeah! Drop by InterstellarMarines.com and support the revolution. AAA Indie rocks!!!