Alpha Protocol Interview, Part One

RPG Vault has kicked up the first installment of a new Alpha Protocol interview with lead designer Chris Avellone, senior producer Ryan Rucinski, and systems lead Matt MacLean.

Jonric: Since RPG fans expect strong stories from Obsidian, what will this one be about? How linear or open-ended will it be? Will it be possible to reach different endings?

Chris Avellone: The game takes place in the modern day… no matter what time in the next few years you’re playing. It consists of a series of mostly linear sub-missions and optional assignments you can pick and choose to best accomplish your objective depending on your character’s skill set. Go speak to an informant to get information? Research dossiers on a locale? Intimidate some triad thugs, and maybe kill a few? Buy intel? Hack a CIA listening post? Infiltrate a detention camp?

Depending on these tasks, the objectives, your choices and the results, you then work your way to the heart of the operation. One of the game’s goals is repercussions and consequences for your in-mission actions, so you’ll frequently see outcomes sending ripple effects through other assignments, the hub and the global operations.

Yes, there will be different endings, but we’ll let you play the game to uncover those. It’s also extremely unlikely any operation will end the same way for two people – the repercussions and reactivity will see to that.