Interceptor Entertainment – Rise of the Triad Interview

Released in 1994, Rise of the Triad was a FPS released and developed by Apogee Software. Featuring engrossing gameplay, and a penchant for being over the top, the game has gone on to be a cult classic. Lucky for us, the game is being faithfully remade by Interceptor Entertainment, and will see release later this year on Steam.

Game Director Frederik Schreiber was kind enough to answer some questions for me, so read on below to hear all about the game!

Jason: I know Interceptor originally got its start by developing the now-delayed “Duke Nukem 3D: Reloaded.” Did this directly influence Apogee approaching you to do the Rise of the Triad remake?

Frederik: After Reloaded was shut down, Terry Nagy from Apogee directly approached me on Facebook about working with them.

The initial project proposal from Apogee was not Rise of the Triad, but another very exciting project. But we really wanted to start with Rise of the Triad, and so did our investor.

We all agreed that ROTT would be a great first project in cooperation with Apogee, and the game you see today was born.

Jason: I notice your Facebook page lists that you have “roughly 25 employees spread across 10 countries.” Does this, as opposed to a ‘traditional’ all in-house development team, create challenges from a game design perspective, or does this approach provide distinct advantages?

Frederik: We have both challenges and and advantages. I wrote a blog entry on our website on this specific subject, which you can check out as well.

The biggest advantage was that we could freely pick the talent we needed for a project like this. Some of the disadvantages were the distance, and the management.

We managed to create a great system that works across the board. This made it possible to get a playable public demo at Quakecon ready in less than 6 months.

Check out the Blog entry for more info about how we work in a virtual team :)

Jason: Your design approaches to the game seem to be very faithful to the original, in everything from game mechanics to level design. What was the decision making process behind making a true remake, instead of a re-interpretation?

Frederik: The goal was from the beginning to create a re-envisioning, which keeps the core values and gameplay mechanics of the original.

We wanted to create an appealing title to new gamers who are ready for something very different from what they are used to, while creating a title that also pleases the old school hardcore fans. We believe our result is a great mix of both.

Jason: With the release to Steam later this year, are there any plans in the works for release on other platforms? (Origin, PS3, Xbox360, etc.)

Frederik: We would love to release on Consoles – If we gain success, and people want to see the game released on other platforms, we are more than open to the idea.

 

Jason: What’s the chance we’ll see an original sequel to Rise of the Triad down the road?

Frederik: If Rise of the Triad does well, we would love to do a sequel. But let’s get this game out first ;)

Jason: Any chance we’ll hear any more news about Duke Nukem 3D: Reloaded in the near future?

Frederik: Unfortunately Gearbox Software are the ones making the call on Reloaded. Once we have news about it, we will let you know!

Jason: And last but not least, what is your favourite game of all time?

Frederik: Deus Ex :)

So there we are! If you want to keep track of the game’s development, you can follow the development blog at their official website for the latest in Rise of the Triad news. Thanks again to Mr. Frederik Schreiber for taking his time to answer my questions, and I’m sure he’d love it if you’d give him a follow on Twitter.