The Indie Game Magazine December 2014 | Issue 44 | Page 16

metropolis come to life in Satellite Reign? its all up to the player.
Chris: Civilians in the city all have minds of
their own. They have a pile of stats that are
constantly changing and needing attention;
fear, hunger, thirst, bladder fullness. Yes,
the civs will actually get thirsty and go find
a vending machine (or some other place
to get a drink), drink it, eventually get a
full bladder and then either go find a toilet
or just run down a back alley and relieve
themselves. Doing this will actually cause the
enemy soldiers patrolling the streets to take
notice, and then depending on the soldiers
stats, they may either let the perp off with
a warning, kick them to the ground, or even
execute them in the street.
IGM: When it comes to completing missions
and objectives, would you say Satellite
Reign is linear, open-ended, or somewhere
in between?

Our goal was to set up areas of interest/
events/goals and allow the player to decide
which direction they feel is the most appropriate to use.
IGM: What was it about the original Syndicate Wars that was so appealing to you?
Chris: The dark and shadowy corporations,
the horribly bleak look at the future, commanding 4 heavily augmented and armed
agents around big maps bristling with life.
The original Syndicate games were part of the
reason I became a games developer. What
we are trying to do with Satellite Reign is to
capture the memories and emotions we had
while playing those old games. The feelings
of growing an arsenal of gear and weapons,
of building up my agents into walking death
machines, becoming the head of a powerful organization within a world filled with
shady dealings, dark alleyways, bribery and
assassinations, and having the ability to just
cause havoc.

Dean: Very much open ended, we have no
strictly linear missions. The player uncovers
events in the game and interacts with them
as they see fit. Whether you decide to take
down a CCTV command centre to lessen your IGM: How does Satellite Reign improve upon
chances of being spotted breaking into the the squad-based strategy formula that was
bank, or just gear up and go in guns blazing... introduced in the Syndicate series?

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