PlanetDreamcast | Features | Randy Pitchford Interview

Randy Pitchford Interview Randy Pitchford of Gearbox Software talks to us about Half-Life for the Dreamcast Page 2/2 PlanetDreamcast: Do the new, high-detail character models use the same data format as the PC game? Randy Pitchford: Captivation has written some very clever tools to compress model data into a new format which is very friendly to the Dreamcast. The Half-Life for Dreamcast model format is different than the original PC model format. Lunch break! PlanetDreamcast: Will Blue Shift's new weapons differ significantly from the ones we've seen in classic Half-Life and OpFor? Randy Pitchford: From a balance and game-play point of view, the new weapons are very similar to their counterparts in the original PC games. From an artistic point of view, the new weapons are significantly enhanced and offer improved resolution and detail. PlanetDreamcast: How about the enemies? Are there any new critters in there to scare the crap out of us? Randy Pitchford: The monsters in the game are familiar, but again they have been enhanced to take advantage of the Dreamcast hardware. New details have been added to the enemies and lots of new animation has been added (mostly in Blue Shift). PlanetDreamcast: Are you going to include unlockable extras, a la Goldeneye, to increase the game's longetivity once both missions (Original & Blue Shift) have been finished? Randy Pitchford: In Half-Life for Dreamcast, the player will discover cheat codes by playing the game. Many of the codes are delivered on screen as the player completes certain milestones. Hmm, his gun looks bigger. Once earned, the cheat codes can be entered in the menus to give the player special abilities, jump to specific sections of the game or unlock hidden features. PlanetDreamcast: Will there be any novel uses of the VMU's LCD screen? Randy Pitchford: There aren't any VMU mini-games because that would've taken development time away from more important stuff like the new episode. But, we may show some of the HUD elements on the VMU screen during play. PlanetDreamcast: How many VMU blocks will Half-Life take up? Will you be able to save anywhere? Randy Pitchford: You'll be able to fit two saved games per standard sized VMU. You'll also be able to save game options (like custom configuration, etc) and still have room for the two saved games. And, yes, you'll be able to save the game anywhere you'd like. PlanetDreamcast: And finally... why is Walter such a creep? Randy Pitchford: Heh. You should hear how he treats Barney in Blue Shift. But, it's not his fault, he was just modeled that way. And so we wait. Half-Life for Dreamcast is currently slated for release in the latter half of November, and as fans of the original, we can't wait. Big thanks to Randy for doing the interview. Now, if you could get back to working on the game, that would be great. Thanks! :) Related Links PlanetHalfLife PlanetDreamcast Previous Features Comments on this feature? Mail Feedback, or Take it to the Forums!