When Homefront was first revealed earlier this year, much was said of the game’s Drama Engine, an engine designed to ensure that important in-game events never escape the player’s attention. I spoke with Kaos Studios general manager Dave Votypka about it, and learned that Homefront will throw dead bodies at you in the name of immersion.
“When we first talked about it at E3, we mostly spoke about the procedural elements of the system (like magnetism toward the player), which have undergone some changes, but are still in there,” he says. “You’ll encounter moments in the game when explosions throw debris right at you (based on your location), ragdoll character models also trend toward you after being blown into the air by a grenade or other explosion.
“But internally we’ve evolved the term ‘Drama Engine’ to be more than just a procedural tool set. It’s really a design philosophy of how we affect the player’s experience with the game world. Sometimes it’s procedural, sometimes it’s scripted. It’s really about ensuring that the player has a strong sense of presence in the game. Even if there is a great deal of action happening around the player, without sufficient effect to the player (in one way or another), the player will feel disassociated with the experience. When you play the game we hope that you find yourself affected by the game events in ways other than being shot at.”
Many games feel like you’re just an outsider looking in, so it’s always nice to see a developer who wants to truly make you feel like part of the experience rather than an audience member. If nothing else, the idea of having exploded ragdolls flung at you is grounds enough for a good time. Keep reading Destructoid for more upcoming Homefront coverage.
